It’s a Parking One…

[ifherbumwereabungalow]

Apologies in an advance, long term lurker, very infrequent poster. I am also peri-menopausal as all hell and seem to be permanently simmering with rage.

Image shows deeds to our house. The red line encompasses our property line which extends the same width as our drive around the back of the fence at the rear of our property. Our neighbour has started parking within the area, overnight yesterday and tonight. We’ve fallen out with another neighbour whose son started parking there regularly, even though we sent a very polite note saying that we didn’t mind occasionally but could he please ask first.

Neighbour who has now started parking there is in a slight huff with me because she had parked a hire van in such a way as it blocked me entering the parking area and I had to ask her to move it, hence the sudden choosing to park within the space. We only have one car nowadays due to us both working from home so the area only really gets used when we have visitors.

I would like to ask her politely not to use the space without checking with us first but, as stated, we have been burned by doing this before. We are very polite, quiet and considerate neighbours but I feel like this means people think they can walk all over us.

Can anyone suggest a way of wording a note that is polite but firm? I am aware that this is a non-event is the wider scheme of things but it’s really winding me up!

Sometimes the nicely nicely approach doesn't work and you have to get tough.

I appreciate you don't want to fall out with anymore neighbours but don't let them take the piss. Also if you let this go on and don't sort it quickly the more complacent they will become when parking there.

I would say it does matter as neighbour could gain an easement right. They wouldn’t get adverse procession as you would be contacted and not allow it which would end the application.

Its important to keep it under your ownership as there’s not much parking and whose to say you try to sell and potential buyers have 2/ 3 cars. Loss of parking can lower property value.

So you need to put up signs saying no parking and possibly indicating your address as the owner. Therefore with the sign no one could try to get use by default and anyone whose confused about ownership would have no excuses. Eg. Parking for 10 Downing Street only

Can you extend fencing?
Mark out your land on the ground?……talk to a boundary surveyor
Install removable bollards?

Excellent diagram and yes, the rage is real. Slightly worried I'll lose my job fairly soon ...

I think I am going to get in touch with the management company who maintain the shared areas and find out whether I can put some lines down. The rage has settled a little today but it's bubbling so I need to try and keep a lid on it!

Please also put a sign up saying it’s your private parking. This will protect you in the future if someone tries to claim it as their own. A sign is a must legally.
So many cases have been thrown out of court when owners have put signs up.

Just let them know you’re renting out the parking spaces and would she like to rent the space from you?

pop some concrete balls down to denote your land, large rocks concreted to the surface - that’ll stop the storage of cars on your land

You mentioned the management company maintain the shared areas.
I don’t understand why you are asking them about making out your boundary
You own your land, not them.
The neighbour is parking on your land.
You can mark out your boundary, use a boundary surveyor.

If it annoys you and you want to stop it I would park her in for a day or an evening, whichever is the most inconvenient. Have a friend over, park their car behind hers and go out. When she complains tell her you didn’t have a choice as she was parked in your visitor space. Bet she wouldn’t do it again.

@ifherbumwereabungalow

I feel your pain as I have the same mild mannered approach as you.

Sadly I have experienced over the years and in different houses different versions of entitled neighbours taking advantage and unfortunately letting it go just makes the problem worse. We had one neighbour asked to use our boundary fence post to hang his gate etc and he put such a heavy contraption on it pulled our fence down and claimed it was our fault. He was then outraged when we paid at our own cost to replace the fence and didn't put back his gate, advising him we were no longer allowing him to use our property to support his gate. Complete fuckwit claimed that having used it for 6 months he was entitled to.

Similar thing to you with another neighbour using an access to park. The minute we let it go, then his son started parking every night there without asking. Raised it and neighbour asked what the problem was as we didn't use it. Ours was clearly marked out and obvious our property. What he didn't get was that it is used for visitors.

So now (we sounds like awful neighbours) we allow nothing, and if anyone every tries stunts like you have had, we challenge straight away. The neighbour who parked on our land has now shot himself through the foot as we have now fenced and gated it which has totally removed his freedom to use it as a turning space (he didn't have any right to use it but we didn't mind) and he has to reverse his car in very difficult circumstances.

Unfortunately so,e people seem to get more and more entitled

Before you contact the management company you need to read through the contract/part transfer of title deeds. It maybe you land but there might be an entitlement to use it.

I have had a similar issue. Two neighbours insisted that the two bays are on their land, they are. They are correct but in the deeds they are visiting spaces and in all the deeds we have a right to use those spaces.

I’d go and speak to her. Explain that although it isn’t clear, it is your land and you don’t want anyone to park on it. Be brave !

We have a similar set up in that we have an area outside our back fences/gates. People who lived here before me didn’t own a car, and I always park out the front. Sony neighbour told guests to park on our back area. Didn’t ask. Which caused issues with deliveries into the back garden, and then when DP moved in issues with parking as he wanted to use our space there. We were passive aggressive a few times I admit, but then just made it clear that it was our area and we would now be using it regularly so it needed to be kept clear. And we haven’t had an issue since. Tbf it’s not amazingly clear unless you get deeds for the houses, so if they’re longer standing owners they might not realise (my neighbour had no clue about one of our boundary lines as she’d been there so long!)