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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To ask neighbour to stop parking on shared access driveway?

96 replies

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 09:28

So there is a shared access driveway in between our house and our next door neighbour’s, it leads to some garages at the back of our houses which neither of us to park cars in and we just use them as storage units. Since we moved in our neighbours frequently park their visitors cars on the shared driveway and basically use it as an extra parking space, this has never been much of an issue to us as like I said we don’t use the garage in our garden.

As such we very infrequently sometimes also use the shared driveway for the same reason (we might use it a few times a month where as they use it multiple times a week), however, the last two times we did this our neighbours have complained to us and asked us to move our car as they want to use it.

First time their brother came round and was quite rude and complained he wanted to park his car further down the drive near the garage to do work on it. We apologised repeatedly and offered to move it and he just went on and on about it. The next time my wife parked my car on it briefly to get her car off the drive and the neighbour came out and asked how long it was going to be on there and could we move it asap.

I was happy for us both to use it as overflow parking since we both don’t use it to access our garages, but they seem to be under the impression they have the right to use it whenever they want and we don’t, so I would like to stick to the rules and neither of us park on it at all, as I’m feeling the situation has become unbalanced. Would I be unreasonable to ask this?

OP posts:
Lindisfarne1 · 10/06/2022 15:04

Key word here is SHARED and that's what I'd be telling them its not exclusive to them. Like you say shared or not at all. Cheeky fuckers

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 15:04

vivainsomnia · 10/06/2022 14:54

I wonder if what caused the conflict is the fact that you were not home when blocking the drive, which is a valid frustration.

If they park in front of their garage, they are only blocking your car going to yours but you say you don't use it. If a car is however blocking another one and there is no one to move it for hours, that is a problem.

Can't you just get together and agree ground rules?

Yeah that’s why I apologised, they also don’t keep their in car in their garage though, the brother just wanted to park in car in the shared drive close to the garage.

So the neighbour came out this morning as my wife was swapping our car around ask asked she take my car off the shared drive asap, but it’s now 7 hours later and they haven’t used the shared drive at all, so I guess they’re just deciding we can’t use it at all now 🙄 Which is fine because next time they park on it I will be asking them to move!

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woodhill · 10/06/2022 15:07

Seems so petty of them considering how they carry on themselves

Migraineroundthebend · 10/06/2022 15:20

We have the deeds, it’s shared between both houses, no one owns it outright.
Well approach them with a copy next time there's an argument

Whatsonmymindgrapes · 10/06/2022 15:27

Maybe they have assumed they own it? Maybe remind them it’s shared. And it’s a frost come first served sort of thibg

Noshowlomo · 10/06/2022 15:31

Why did you take the car off the drive this morning?
They sound cheeky !

KosherDill · 10/06/2022 15:36

They clearly think they own it.

You need to make a copy of the deed with the relevant part highlighted.

And take it over to them.

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 15:36

Noshowlomo · 10/06/2022 15:31

Why did you take the car off the drive this morning?
They sound cheeky !

I didn’t speak to my neighbour, my wife assumed BIL was coming round again (he’s round most days) turns out they just don’t want us using it as I’ve been in all day and they haven’t used it at all. I won’t be doing it again. We’ve lived here over two years and never had an issue until the last few weeks so not sure what has changed.

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vivainsomnia · 10/06/2022 15:40

Well what has changed is them being block for hours because you left the house. That was very bad behaviour and apologising probably didn't cut it.

Again, you either meet and agree common parking rules or you agree for it not to be used at all.

girlmom21 · 10/06/2022 15:42

The deeds say nobody should park there, so why don't you all just stop parking there?

She wasn't just moving your car if her car remained there when you went out.

It's there for access, not for anyone to park there. Not for first come first served or anything else.

NoSquirrels · 10/06/2022 15:49

I suppose the problem is you blocked the access bit, but they regularly use the back by the garages. If you/your DW had parked by the garages and gone out, probably it wouldn’t have been a problem?

But agree amicably some rules about visitor parking if you can (i.e. the access is only parked on if someone is in the houses and can move the vehicle if required). That seems to solve it?

SausageAndCash · 10/06/2022 15:52

“Hi neighbours, I have noticed that between us parking in shared drive is causing a bit if to-ing and fro-ing. Can we all agree to keep it clear for access, in the deeds?”. And if they object say there seems to be some misunderstanding because the brother seemed to think he had rights to it?”

Gettingthingsdone777 · 10/06/2022 15:53

With respect I think you need to stop acquiescing to this and give them a stern talking to especially about the brother being rude. Even if you were in the wrong that is totally inappropriate. Tell them you won’t tolerate these demands and that you now believe no one should use this given they can’t be civil about it. You are within your rights, but you need to put your foot down.

godmum56 · 10/06/2022 15:57

shared access with garages behind?

  1. have you looked into how blocking the access by anybody affects your insurance? eg if there was a fire in one of the garages and the brigade couldn't get access.
2.there is the issue of emergency vehicle access generally.

yes I know that neither is a daily occurence but it might be worth pointing out to neighbour that is not additional parking and no one should be using it as such.

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 16:11

vivainsomnia · 10/06/2022 15:40

Well what has changed is them being block for hours because you left the house. That was very bad behaviour and apologising probably didn't cut it.

Again, you either meet and agree common parking rules or you agree for it not to be used at all.

They don’t use it for access though, they use it to park their visitors cars on all day and apparently as somewhere her brother parks his car when he repairs it, there was no car further down the drive as we checked, he was just annoyed he couldn’t block it himself with his car. We can’t park further down the drive by our garage as that would also block the access to their garage (which is what her brother does sometimes as it’s closer to their garage), basically anywhere you park on the drive other than inside the garage you block the access.

I would be happy for us both not to use it at all, because since neither of us use our garages for parking I assumed it was first come first serve and we both just use it as and when we have an extra car that won’t fit on our drives, but it seems they think they take precedent over us.

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Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 16:14

SausageAndCash · 10/06/2022 15:52

“Hi neighbours, I have noticed that between us parking in shared drive is causing a bit if to-ing and fro-ing. Can we all agree to keep it clear for access, in the deeds?”. And if they object say there seems to be some misunderstanding because the brother seemed to think he had rights to it?”

Yes I think this is best idea, I doubt they will want to agree though since they use it a lot more than we do. It would be a minor inconvenience to us, but they use it almost every day for hours and hours. Would it be rude to suggest their buy it off us if they’re unwilling to stop parking on it?

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SocksForceFive · 10/06/2022 16:36

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 16:14

Yes I think this is best idea, I doubt they will want to agree though since they use it a lot more than we do. It would be a minor inconvenience to us, but they use it almost every day for hours and hours. Would it be rude to suggest their buy it off us if they’re unwilling to stop parking on it?

No don't do that because then you won't be able to access your garage!

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 16:41

SocksForceFive · 10/06/2022 16:36

No don't do that because then you won't be able to access your garage!

We can access it through our garden, I just wouldn’t be able to park a car in it which is fine because we never will as we use it for storage and just use our driveway.

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NoSquirrels · 10/06/2022 16:53

Do not suggest they buy it off you! You’ll devalue your house.

Can you post a diagram? I’m really struggling to understand where the brother parks that you were blocking etc.

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 17:14

Sorry this is an awful diagram, best I could do on my phone

To ask neighbour to stop parking on shared access driveway?
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girlmom21 · 10/06/2022 17:15

Would it be rude to suggest their buy it off us if they’re unwilling to stop parking on it?

So they can stop you accessing your garage?

Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 17:16

So when her brother parks his car it’s never in the garage as the space behind the garages is over grown and too narrow as we back onto woods, he just parks it next to the garage as you can hopefully see in the diagram. So we park occasionally on the shared access between the two drives and he kicked off cause we were blocking him from parking further down near to garage as I guess it’s more convenient for him to work on his car there, but is also not where he should park and blocks the shared access.

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Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 17:17

Our garage has a door in our garden we can use to access it, we physically cannot get our car into it (neither can the NDN) as the space behind is overgrown and far too narrow for a modern car.

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Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 17:22

They have also knocked down or not built a wall the full way along their drive way so they can use the shared access to get their car off the drive without moving their other cover parked on the street in front of the drive, so that’s another issue where by they demand we move any car parked in between the two houses so they don’t have to move their car on the street. We also can’t park further down the shared access like her brother does as NDN has a motorbike and because it gets very narrow down there he can’t push it from his back garden where he keeps it past the car.

So in a nutshell they can and do park wherever they want along the shared access, but lately any time we have used it they complain for various reasons.

To ask neighbour to stop parking on shared access driveway?
OP posts:
Elsiebear90 · 10/06/2022 17:23

*other car

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