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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Parking outside someone else's house for a week

56 replies

Aliceinunderland · 20/08/2023 19:59

Most of our street have driveways and there is only a small section of public road that has parking for three cars at our end of the street. Recently a random car was parked directly outside our house for a week. I have no idea whose car it was and I've never seen it before. We are not nosey neighbours at all but we've all lived here for a while and know each others cars. I assume they went on holiday because I saw a young couple with suitcases return to the car and drive off.

I know it's a public road. I know as long as the car is taxed they can park there for as long as they want and I would never be a CF and say anything but surely people try to be considerate when parking? I don't even park my own car outside my house when I'm going away and will park on the side road where I'm not outside anyone's property so that my neighbours still have use of the actual parking spaces on our street whilst I am away.

My partner thinks I'm overthinking but it genuinely wouldn't occur to me to park outside someone's house and leave my car there for a week. I would have no idea if the occupants of the house had health needs or young children or any kind of additional need where they would benefit from parking outside their home. It just annoyed me because like I said, we only have 3 spaces on the public road on our end of the street so parking is difficult enough as it is sometimes.

So my AIBU is not from a legal perspective but more of a moral one. Am I being too considerate?

OP posts:

Deathbyfluffy · 20/08/2023 20:33

I've done this before - recently to go on a long train journey and have the car waiting for my return.
I pay VED and insurance to be able to use my car as I need to, and if it's not private land it's fair game.
Your thoughtfulness is admirable and I'm always mindful where I park - but on-street parking unless permit controlled is a place I'd not feel bad about leaving my car.

FarEast · 20/08/2023 20:40

I live on a long street, with very few private drives, and no restricted resident's parking. I wouldn't even notice what cars are parked outside my house day by day. Surely people have more important things to be thinking about????

Efacsen · 20/08/2023 20:42

OP you and your friends/neighbours need to canvas your council to introduce residents parking in your street

It stopped the random parking here

But of course you have to pay for having your 'own space' on the public highway

DappledThings · 20/08/2023 20:42

They've done nothing wrong either morally or legally. They aren't blocking in anyone in. You're being way OTT in the rules you make up for yourself and applying them to others.

amicissimma · 20/08/2023 20:43

I don't understand this. If I park outside my house (we don't have off-road parking) and don't use my car for a week then I'm stopping someone who might feel they need to park outside my house for some reason parking there. Someone might "have health needs or young children or any kind of additional need where they would benefit from parking" outside my house.

Anywhere you park prevents someone else parking there. How do you know someone doesn't have a pressing need for the space you are using at any time?

Zanatdy · 20/08/2023 20:46

if no airports or stations nearby probably a friend or relative of a neighbour. As you say it’s not illegal and I don’t think I’d consider it cheeky really, as no-one owns that space, it’s fair game to park there. Life is too short to be wound up by someone parking somewhere that hasn’t even impacted you

Original poster

Aliceinunderland · 20/08/2023 20:48

Fair enough, I'll get over it since most people think I'm being unreasonable 😁 it wasn't something that massively impacted on me but it did make me wonder if I'm too considerate. I don't think I'll change my own parking habits but will give my head a wobble if it happens again!

OP posts:

DappledThings · 20/08/2023 20:54

I wouldn't call it "too considerate". I'd call it overly concerned with hypothetical situations and other people's business.

Sparklehead · 20/08/2023 21:32

I get where you are coming from, OP. The road that I live on has a mixture of driveways and on-street parking. It’s also a really long road. There’s a woman who parks her car on the road rightoutside our house and leaves it there for days at a time and sometimes more than a week. What’s strange is she lives in a completely different section of our road, at least a few hundred metres away, where there is similar parking available. I realise that I don’t ‘own’ the parking spot by my house, and I’m generally not bothered where I park, as long as it’s close-ish but for some reason this really riles me. Why does she do it??

lanthanum · 20/08/2023 21:38

I believe it has been something of a problem in some places in the vicinity of Stansted airport - it's cheaper to find on-street parking and then get a taxi to the airport than to park at the airport. The solution was to introduce parking restrictions for non-residents for one hour in the middle of the day.

LemonLymanDotCom · 20/08/2023 21:39

YABU, though maybe I only say that because I do it regularly. There isn’t enough parking spots by our block of flats to facilitate all the cars. So I have to park somewhere else, often in front of someone else’s house. And I only use the car I de a week so needs must.

I have only been approached by it once, by someone who had a drive but wanted the spot outside his house for his wife’s car. I suggested he move his car to accommodate it on his drive but he didn’t want to. Said his wife was frustrated by not being able to park outside her house, a sentiment that I totally concurred with as I’m in the same situation. Such is city life!

Utereusbegone · 20/08/2023 21:41

We had someone park in the car park of our flats (enough for one car per flat) for two weeks. They were going on holiday with the upstairs neighbours, so parked in our car park and they all got a taxi to the airport together.

The landlord (one for the whole block) moved to allocated spaces shortly after so I assume had a lot of complaints!

MWB29 · 20/08/2023 21:45

It’s a public road and they were not blocking a drive or a garage. Calm down. YABU.

Efacsen · 20/08/2023 21:50

Sparklehead · 20/08/2023 21:32

IDK maybe for some personal protection purposes? doesn't want to someone to know that she's at home? weird though isn't it?

Youdontsay87 · 20/08/2023 21:54

I would say it's on street public parking and not allocated to anyone then they're being quite savvy and not breaking any laws.
However our house has no driveway and we rely on our on street parking outside our house so I get the frustration. Our daughters in a wheelchair though, and sometimes when there's a school event (school is over the road) I get quite annoyed not being able to park and get my daughter to the house.
It's a tricky one.

rhino12345 · 20/08/2023 22:08

I can see both sides. It used to really annoy me in my old house when people parked outside our house (the neighbour had turned his driveway into a garden and then of course had nowhere to park except for outside our house!!) so we moved to a road further out with ample parking 🤣
That said, my partner used to park on his parent's road and leave his car there in a "spare" car park space (so not outside anyone's house) and he got a really nasty note on his windscreen!

Wenfy · 20/08/2023 22:11

If you want a house with a private parking space pay the premium. Otherwise accept that anyone can park where they want provided it’s legal.

Daffodilwoman · 20/08/2023 22:18

It would annoy me too.

Original poster

Aliceinunderland · 20/08/2023 22:35

I'm glad some people understand. I know they can park there and it's not my space. But even the neighbour opposite asked whose car it was and they have a drive! I suppose we've all just got used to having our own kind of system that generally works ok which was thrown out when a random car turned up.

OP posts:

Velvian · 20/08/2023 22:39

I would guess that the couple went away with someone that lives on your road, so get a lift together. Nothing wrong with that.

Wrongsideofpennines · 20/08/2023 22:41

I would assume it was someone staying with others in a house nearby.

Where exactly would you expect them to park instead? Should they have moved the car to a different street every day? If parking is a bit of a nightmare round your way and they don't know the local area they could have had real problems and ended up leaving their car miles away each day just on the off chance people without a drive might be inconvenienced for a few days.

HennyPenny1234 · 20/08/2023 22:46

People from another street park on my street

People also park on my street to avoid paying for parking at the hospital which is fifteen minutes walk away

As long as the car is legal and they aren't blocking anybody then it is what it is

My Mum gets weird about people parking outside her house. She doesn't even drive and she hasn't got a driveway. I don't get it

felisha54 · 20/08/2023 23:06

Maybe they travelled with family/ friends who live in the local area. I've done this before when going away with my dsis. Drove to her house, parked in street and we got a taxi together. I doubt her neighbours would know my car.

LakieLady · 20/08/2023 23:32

When friends from far afield have holidays with flights from Gatwick, they drive to my house, I drive them to the airport, and their car stays in my road, often outside someone else's house, for a couple of weeks while they're away.

If anyone minds, I've never heard about it (and I think I would have done, because my NDN likes to let everyone in the street know who's moaning about what).

At least 2-3 days a week, the boyfriend of the woman over the road parks in our road, often outside my house. The only time it bothers me is if I have to carry lots of shopping along the road because I can't park near it.

Unless you live in a private road or a gated development, you have to suck this up imo.

ReliantRobyn · 20/08/2023 23:38

You need to stop curtain twitching and focus on something else in for life.

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