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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Were we unreasonable to let the builders park on the street?

40 replies

DyingForACuppa · 19/05/2022 10:02

We're having some building work done and the builders have been parking (two cars) on our street (no lines/bays just general open street parking). Neighbours have come round to complain at us.

We do have a driveway (from the garage to the road) long enough for two cars which the builders could have parked on, but in doing so they would block in our car (in the garage), and mean we have to get both builders to move their cars each time we go in or out.

The builders are only there weekdays and are gone by 4pm before most people get back from work, but apparently this neighbour was annoyed as they had a party and there wasn't enough street parking for all their guests.

OP posts:
ComDummings · 19/05/2022 10:05

Couldn’t you have parked on the street so they could use the driveway without having to move their vans

ComDummings · 19/05/2022 10:07

i don’t think your neighbour was right to complain either way though, just ignore them

dylanthedragon · 19/05/2022 10:09

Yeah, not unreasonable, no one owns the public road etc etc. But I probably would have put the one car on the road during the day and let the builders have the drive to make best use of the space. Especially if it was a busy street.

Neighbour could have called round in advance to work out a solution if they knew there was lots of visitors coming.

Fdora · 19/05/2022 10:09

Your neighbour's guests have no more and no less rights than the builders to park on the street so your neighbour should wind his neck in (assuming it's a male lol)

But at the same time it would have made sense like the previous poster stated to park on the road and let them use your drive out of courtesy for your neighbours

stealthninjamum · 19/05/2022 10:12

In theory you did nothing wrong but….. if there’s a shortage of parking on the street I think it would be considerate for you to park on the street while they park in your driveway.

KrisAkabusi · 19/05/2022 10:13

By not letting them use your driveway they are taking up two spaces instead of one. Put your car on the road.

JenniferBarkley · 19/05/2022 10:18

The neighbourly thing is to minimise disruption to others when you have work done, and that includes minimising the extra parking. As others have said i would've parked on the road and given the builders the drive.

OTT for your neighbours to knock and complain about it though.

SoggyPaper · 19/05/2022 10:20

I really do wish people would just accept that not having their own parking for all their cars means accepting the street parking free for all.

It doesn’t matter if your neighbour has a 6 car drive way that they use to house their garden gnome collection rather than their 6 cars. They can choose to use the freely available street parking if they like. And accept that might mean not getting to park anywhere near their house.

I don’t think it’s ok to moan at your neighbours about parking. If it really matters to you, then you need to prioritise it in housing decisions. If you can’t prioritise it (or choose not to), then you are accepting that you might never get to park outside your house. Worrying about whether the neighbours are maximising their off-street parking is just silly.

comealongponds · 19/05/2022 10:20

YANBU

ironic that they think their guests have more right to park in the street than yours!

Gizlotsmum · 19/05/2022 10:20

So your drive was empty and they parked on the road? I would have parked my car on the road and let them use the drive

Irishfarmer · 19/05/2022 10:29

YANBU, but I also would have let the builders park on the drive and parked on the road myself as it would have saved space.
If I was your neighbour I doubt I would have said anything!

Cheeseandlobster · 19/05/2022 10:30

Fdora · 19/05/2022 10:09

Your neighbour's guests have no more and no less rights than the builders to park on the street so your neighbour should wind his neck in (assuming it's a male lol)

But at the same time it would have made sense like the previous poster stated to park on the road and let them use your drive out of courtesy for your neighbours

This.

easyday · 19/05/2022 10:31

I agree they had no right but I think leaving your cars on the road would have been better.
When I had an extension done a guy actually walked by one of the vans and told the builder 'we don't need your kind around here'!!!!! Yea buddy hope you never need your roof fixing or anything.

AryaStarkWolf · 19/05/2022 10:31

YANBU, it's public parking. What did you say to them when they complained?

Inertia · 19/05/2022 10:45

When we had builders in we moved our cars off the drive so the builders could park there- less impact on the neighbours, and also gave them access to their tools etc in the van.

Awoooga · 19/05/2022 10:46

If I was your neighbour I’d have been annoyed that you didn’t park your car on the road allowing the vans to go on the drive, but the road is for anyone to park on so I wouldn’t have complained.

breatheintheamazing · 19/05/2022 10:49

If you have a driveway you should be using it so on that basis yes YABU and a tad selfish

Badbadbunny · 19/05/2022 10:49

We always move our car off our drive to let workmen park their van on it. Surely it's just courtesy and common sense to let the workmen park as close as possible to where they're working so they don't have to keep traipsing up and down the drive and onto the roadway to carry their tools/supplies etc?? Our car parked on the road causes a lot less obstruction than a larger builder's van!

Badbadbunny · 19/05/2022 10:50

AryaStarkWolf · 19/05/2022 10:31

YANBU, it's public parking. What did you say to them when they complained?

As long as not causing an obstruction, not parked opposite a driveway, not parked blocking a pavement, etc etc.

AryaStarkWolf · 19/05/2022 10:54

Badbadbunny · 19/05/2022 10:50

As long as not causing an obstruction, not parked opposite a driveway, not parked blocking a pavement, etc etc.

Show quote history

Well obviously but she didn't mention that they were doing any of these things?

AryaStarkWolf · 19/05/2022 10:55

AryaStarkWolf · 19/05/2022 10:54

Well obviously but she didn't mention that they were doing any of these things?

Show quote history

to add, she clearly said the Neighbours were annoyed because they had a party and they didn't have enough parking spaces for their guests

GreenWheat · 19/05/2022 10:56

You're both being a bit selfish and precious to be honest. As PP have said, the neighbourly thing for you to do is put your car on the road and their vans on your drive. But your neighbour doesn't own the road either and should have let you know if they were having so many guests at once that needed parking.

SoggyPaper · 19/05/2022 11:07

breatheintheamazing · 19/05/2022 10:49

If you have a driveway you should be using it so on that basis yes YABU and a tad selfish

Technically they were using the driveway. Their car was in the garage, so the driveway was in use as access to that.

Insisting that your neighbours play musical cars so your party guests have more convenient parking is ridiculous.

Original poster
DyingForACuppa · 19/05/2022 11:07

DH won't leave our car parked on the road - he is obsessed with keeping it in the garage whenever possible (to keep it pristine), so that solution didn't occur to me.

Our garage and drive are at the end of the garden not next to the house so when the workmen were parking on the road they and their tools were next to the work being done, and now they are much further away/less convenient for them.

Anyway, in the interest of neighbourly relations when the neighbour came round I apologized for the trouble/disruption and asked the builders to park on the drive.

OP posts:
AryaStarkWolf · 19/05/2022 11:10

DyingForACuppa · 19/05/2022 11:07

DH won't leave our car parked on the road - he is obsessed with keeping it in the garage whenever possible (to keep it pristine), so that solution didn't occur to me.

Our garage and drive are at the end of the garden not next to the house so when the workmen were parking on the road they and their tools were next to the work being done, and now they are much further away/less convenient for them.

Anyway, in the interest of neighbourly relations when the neighbour came round I apologized for the trouble/disruption and asked the builders to park on the drive.

I mean so as not to cause a fuss maybe that was the best solution but they were being very cheeky when they were telling you that people who were there to do work on your house are less entitled to the public parking than their party guests . I'm not sure I could have bit my tongue in that situation!