AIBU to be irritated at new neighbour (parking)

[FrozenLimeMargarita]

Visualise a London road of the slightly wider villa-style Victorian terrace houses. The road is single track, one way. Parking is in this parallel to the road format:

/|-@-/|-@-/|\

They are little bays marked up for two cars lengthways, then the bay terminates in a traffic-calming outcrop with a big oak tree before dipping back in as the next bay starts then pops back out with another tree and so on. These bays are on either side of the road. There are 10 bays in total and 10 houses. So spaces for 20 cars. There is little to no other parking locally as it is more of the same style streets on either side.

However, these bays do not belong to each house they are just a version of on-road parking. Whilst we all have never agreed to just use the two nearest your house, the road has a consensus that there are 20 spaces for 10 houses so that's has been what has happened over the years. Each house has two spaces and it's the two spaces nearest your door. We knock and ask, or trade off places if there are visitors or a household has an extra car. For example Vera* down the end only has one car but Betty uses the other space on an agreement for when her granddaughter stays, which is most days and so on.

A new neighbour moved in 6 weeks ago and has......

One VW camper (takes up a two bay)
One works van (takes up a two bay)
A tonka toy type truck (takes up a two bay)
and a family of 5 each with a car

So while I understand none of us own the road but buying a house with the knowledge that you have enough vehicles to wipe out over half the whole roads parking is just straight-up CF behaviour.

AIBU

As petty as it sounds... id suggest each house parks its one car slightly into its paired bay and move when the other car returns.

That is infuriating and I understand why you’re cross. It is CF behaviour but their argument will be that it’s legal for them to park there.

One household is taking up 11 parking spaces 😲

Extremely infuriating. Unfortunately there is nothing you can do except using 1 of your cars to save both spaces and move it when 2nd arrives home, but obviously that's not always possible.
These kind of people who feel it's fine to do are never going to change their ways, and if you try and talk to them you're likely to get an earful.
Still, might be worthwhile checking if there are any covenants on the houses like no motorhomes or works vehicles allowed, wouldn't that be handy, though who'd enforce it I have no idea.

Perfectly legal but would give me the fucking rage (and I don't even drive)

That’s shocking

i would actually talk to your council about controlled parking
it might be the only answer to this.
my sibling and neighbours successfully did this on their road.

another crappy example of “this is why we can’t have nice things”

One of these things that is perfectly legal but rage inducing

It won't endear them to the rest of the street

Does that mean people can't get parked at all?

Talk to the council about getting a controlled parking zone. Ours allows 1 per person and a max of 4 per household so if yours is something similar then that would still be more cars than you had before but a massive improvement on the 11 (have I read that right?!) spaces they’re taking up right now.

Three options (I would do all of them):

Call a street meeting (wine and nibbles type thing) to discuss the parking situation and, if they come, ask what they think a solution might be.

At the same meeting table an idea to go to the council.

In the meantime, jointly orchestrate it to make it as hard for them as possible. they must move these vehicles at some point, so ensure there is always at least one neighbours car in each of the double bays so they can’t park the large vehicles. Make them share the problem, otherwise they won’t try to help resolve it.

Oh that is infuriating. As said upthread, I’d park over two bays to reserve a spot for the second car arriving later.

How many of their vehicles move daily given that there are 8 of them between 5 folk?

Op screw the nibbles, no way would I be feeding ignorant people like that. Just ask your local council for parking permits. It means every household is allowed one permit for one visitor. We are going to do this where we live, as there are ignorant aholes out there. We have the kind that leave empty driveways, go on long holidays while leaving cars in the bays. They also save their driveways as they can't be bothered to rejig cars, want to ensure have all of the spaces.

But yeah, definately address this with your local councillor.

Where do you think they should put their vehicles?

Totally agree with a pp that unless they have to share the problem then they won't be motivated to resolve it.

I actually genuinely thought this might be about our new neighbours! Parking for 3 on their driveway but still taking up all of the limited visitors' bays and/or parking on bends, over the pavement etc with at least 3 more cars at any time. I have absolutely no idea why you'd have half a dozen vehicles in the first place but the total lack of consideration for neighbours seems so common. They're currently having work done and have filled up their driveway with skips and materials so it's even worse than normal. I'm just hoping things will settle once they've finished work and settled in.

In a house driveway that has capacity for them, instead of being ignorant entitled t**ts. Or have less vehicles. Where will they park if other people are in the bays? Parking permits should sort the matter out anyhow.

I'm normally very much a "you don't own the road outside your house" kind of person but what you've described is shocking! Yes perfectly legal, but I would be annoyed.

A new neighbour moved in 6 weeks ago and has......

8 vehicles to 1 property?!?!?! 🤯

Permits are the way forward. Annoying because you will have to pay for them but if it’s limited to two per house it will sort this out.

But you could talk to them first. Explain how well it’s worked up until now and that you all have two cars except Vera. They can’t possibly expect to leave all those car parked there. And if they are dicks about it, permits.

In the meantime, jointly orchestrate it to make it as hard for them as possible. they must move these vehicles at some point, so ensure there is always at least one neighbours car in each of the double bays so they can’t park the large vehicles. Make them share the problem, otherwise they won’t try to help resolve it.

Definitely try and get as many as possible to park in individual double bays rather than near their houses.

ultimately I don’t know what you can really do other than permits because they’re not going to willing get rid of some cars.

That's shocking and would make me mad. But no one owns the street, so they can do it.

Yanbu we all had a kind of unspoken rule amongst neighbours with parking for years then a new neighbour moved in four cars it's been a nightmare ever since and now often can't park

If you get parking permits arranged would they be able to get permits for all their vehicles? Probably yes. If so then try to talk to them from a community point of view. They will most likely say it’s legal for them to park where they are parking. In that case organise yourselves to park in their spaces when they move. Ask friends to park in the street. Anyone who needs longterm parking can park in the street. You’re having to park else where at the moment so it’ll just be the same situation for you but a new and annoying experience for these cfs.

In hired parking somewhere. Work and recreational vans shouldn't be parked/stored on the public street, to the detriment of the rest of the community.

That would drive me nuts, we live in a dead-end road with terraces on both sides, no drives, and the people 2 doors down from us have 3 cars, that they shuffle so they always have a space for their stupid crappy sports car and that they take out for 3 hours on a Saturday morning at 6:45a which when they start wakes up half the street. The worst bit is I’ve never seen them the drive one of the cars it’s purely there for crappy sports car protection . So we very rarely get parked in front of our house if ever.

It depends on the London council, sometimes, you can only get one. Otherwise, prices for the second car onwards are really high, so it may put them off having 5 cars.

If the camper van is over 2.28m, they won't be able to get a permit for it and if the van has a permit elsewhere in london, they won't be able to get one.

If you get parking permits arranged would they be able to get permits for all their vehicles? Probably yes.
I doubt it actually. I know rules vary but I think only 1 permit per person is pretty standard across London. That would potentially limit them to 5 so it’s definitely worth exploring. Restrictions may be even tighter than that eg my current borough is max 4 per household. Also, even there aren’t any limits, which would surprise me, the cost of having to buy 8 permits might put them off and make them rethink parking all those vehicles there at the same time.