To not want their car on my driveway?

[Parkingmoan1]

I live in a city in a ground floor flat, no garden but I have a driveway that comes with my flat.

I don't have a car so this Is why I don't know if I'm being unreasonable..

My doorway / driveway gets alot of direct sun so I like to dry my washing out there on racks when the weather is nice. I also like to sit out there on a chair with a cold drink and a book sometimes.

A few months ago a family moved into the flat above me and have taken to parking their big people carrier on my drive. They didn't ask my permission, just assumed they were entitled to because I don't have a car.

My frustration is when their car is there I can't put my washing out, it also blocks alot of the sun. They park it diagonally aswell which is a PITA for me getting my pram in and out.

They are out there at the minute cleaning and hoovering the car about 3ft away from my doorstep so I can't sit out and enjoy the sun / a bit of peace and quiet.

AIBU to be unhappy about them using my drive in this way? The poll results will determine what, if anything, I say to them.

Your landlord might want to look into installing a bollard to avoid getting lumbered with a stranger parking their car on the drove and then disappearing. It's a lengthy process to get to the point where you can get a vehicle towed off private land. That's if the head lease allows.

I actually tried this a few weeks ago, smiled said hello and asked how old their little toddler was. They just looked straight through me.

I have children around the same age so it wasn't a strange topic or anything.

The woman doesn't speak any English but the man does.

Drive, not drove.

I would move my planter and get my garden chairs and washing out while they're gone.

www.homebase.co.uk/chiswick-egg-planter-dark-green/12813288.html

get something like this

fill with cement and top with soil and pop in bedding plants

ultimately it can be moved - but not easily

you haven't got a garden but you can make it your patio

Yes, put planters on it. It's not petty - it's important to keep clear boundaries here - the parking space goes with your flat and it might cause difficulties later if you just let this problem persist.

I had an old neighbour who didn’t own a car and a woman used to park on her driveway to pick her dc up from the school up the road.
Old neighbour got very upset because sometimes friends drove past assuming she already had a visitor.
A policeman who lived in our road went and had a word one day. Stopped it immediately.
Some people are cheeky fuckers and they know exactly what they’re doing.

Your driveway should be your first point of access to your home. Anyone parking on it without your authorization amounts to a trespasser. You have the option of blocking access to your driveway or using the law to your advantage.

I think your landlord will be amenable to putting a chain across your space. Surely there are insurance implications to the vehicle parked on his/her property? If the unpleasant neighbour confronts you, you can then direct him to your landlord.

YABVU to moan to strangers on the Net, when you've done absolutely nothing to put them right.

The longer you leave it, the harder it will get, so get out there right now & say...

Excuse me, I'm not sure if you realise, but this carport space comes with my flat & I do like to use it regularly. I'd be grateful if you'd make this the last time you use my space please"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-57569344

some other ideas here for parking spaces

Do you own the flat or rent it that would make a big difference to me as to how confrontational and how far I would push this.

I'm willing to bet they've been led to believe they are entitled to use it.

We had a similar situation. Letting agent told us the parking was communal and that the downstairs flat didn't drive so it was essentially ours..... they lied! It was 3 weeks before our neighbour said anything, we were mortified when they showed us the paperwork. Turned out our neighbour needed it left clear for daily carers visiting!!

Rent

Do you read threads before posting a question that was answered over an hour ago or not? That would make a big difference to how confrontational I would get.

If they've gone out now then get your clothes dryer out into the middle of the drive, stick some boxes out, just stuff. Put stuff all over your drive.

When they come back just repeat "It is my drive, it is not yours. You cannot use it."

They dont sound polite to you so you dont need to be polite to them.

OP it’s YOUR land and even if you never use your driveway at all nobody else is entitled to park on it. Unless it’s an emergency. Then maybe.

end of.

Always an error to let these things go in early stages. Quite likely they don’t realise….and saying after they’ve parked there for weeks is rather awkward…but you need to do it.

These things arise becaue people won’t communicate. You can still refuse and put a sign up etc, but that probably won’t solve it. The best thing would be to go and knock on their door and explain to them. You can apologise for not having done it sooner, but be clear that now you need use of the space which is yours again.

Just go round and do it. Everything else is avoiding the issue and less likely to solve it and lead to misunderstandings and resentments. Neighbour disputes are often partly due to miscommunication. You can choose to continue to refuse to communicate and to be honest, then can’t really complain, or you can seize the bull by the hours and go and have a friendly and polite chat. Write a note with a diagram too if you need to give them something if you think language might be a barrier to communication.

Good luck. Come back and tell us how it goes.

No it doesn't... you can only SORN on private land and cars requires no insurance/tax/MOT/license etc... on private lance.

My insurance fully refunded me when they auto-renewed my now SORN car because there was no purpose to the insurance on a SORN car and they had not read my DVLA updated SORN certificate email.

You can get SORN insurance for a SORN car that only protects for damage done to the car like fire regular insurance is not a failure of terms as it covers driving which a SORN car can NOT do in public.

Check if the tenancy says the drive way comes with your flat.
If it does then put planters down to stop the parking.

Make the planters very heavy. I have 3 massive ones which when full of soil cannot even be pushed.

@Parkingmoan1 what a PITA. I assume you’re in Birmingham?

That's definitely a travel West Midlands bus in the picture

Actually, a cheap and cheerful fix would be to put a large paddling pool in the space and pop the kids in it

If it comes with your flat not there's they don't have permission to park there. Do you have the same landlord? Maybe have a word and say you and your child are not able to use your garden and they are blocking access for you getting your child's pram in and out. If there's on street parking there's no excuse.

I think this is something you should have addressed immediately