To ask the neighbour’s guest to move their car

[PregnantAndKnackered1]

I live on a row of terraced houses where everyone parks in front of their house without issue usually. It’s very civil, we all just stick to our own bit of road, sometimes guests from other houses do occasionally park in front of our house for a day or so. This is fine and to be expected, we don’t own the road.

There is a small carpark at the end of the road at the opposite end to my house. Our guests always use this and walk or if someone is blocking ‘our space’ we park there.

We don’t know our neighbours on the next street over but their guests have parked in front of our house for 2 weeks now without moving. This is assuming they haven’t moved whilst I’ve been at work. I am due to give birth soon (32 weeks) and I am having some issues with the pregnancy where we are at heightened risk of still birth / pre-term labour and walking the 7 minute walk to the end of the road if I need to load/unload the car is becoming very difficult for me.

Again, I am aware I don’t own the road but AIBU to think if their car is going to be parked there for weeks they can use the carpark at the end of the road and it would be okay to politely request this? They’ve watched me struggle multiple times now when they are leaving the house with the homeowners/getting into the car with them and haven’t offered to move yet.

I suppose the back lane is probably the best option. I don’t care about any extra risk to my car being bumped etc. I am just aware that most residents have lived on this road for generations and I don’t want to upset the balance. Whilst I was born in the village and my parents and grandparents and great grandparents were born here, my husband was not so we are probably seen as outsiders. This is even though my dad is well known and lived in the house we now own for 8 years as a child.

It’s a small village @ilovesooty where the same families have lived for decades and nothing changes. He’s been driving that way for 40+ years

Blimey people live in the same road for generations? Sound very clicky and in bred.

Yes agree, please ask and explain the circumstances, but with no expectation, but surely most people will be kind, I would like to hope so.... If a story helps, parking spaces, just on the main road near where (no houses) I live are prized, because ours is a pedestrianised street, but it is OK because I have got a driveway which fits two cars on so I park mine on there. When I was in actual labour with DC4 in the house, the police parked their car (completely unexpectedly) about an inch behind mind on my driveway because they needed to deal with a low level incident in the pedestrianised street and could not find anywhere to park, normally this would be absolutely fine !. I flew out of the door to say "you really can't park there this time" only to have them shrug and say "what is your problem" as they were walking away. Thankfully they were only there an hour and by the time I had to move to the hospital, they were gone, but it comes into the realm of things that you really don't need to be stressing about when you are about to go into labour or are in it. Hopefully other people will understand and be kind. They just don't know.xx

I still don't understand why someone can persistently break the law like that.

I think it’s pretty typical for small northern villages in this area. Whilst I moved away for 5 years for uni, my parents have never been south of York. There are quite a lot of people in similar situations which is why it’s so unusual to have visitors for 2 weeks+ most have family just down the road

For the greater good!

OP, you sound like a pushover. That's most likely why they've left their car outside yours. If the done thing is to knock straight away, do it asap.

Our village is also like this, but give an inch and they will take a mile.

But anyway, I’ve taken the comments on board and will either ask them or trial parking in the back lane. Thanks everyone

If you ask them to move and park in 'your' space what happens next time you go out & someone else who isn't aware of the rules of the street 🙄 parks in your space. You're back to square one

I'd just be parking in the closest space possible. Honestly people get so precious about parking. And I'm saying this as someone who's street has first come first served parking spaces

No, not new neighbours but known to be quite inconsiderate with parking. On their road they have 4 cars and park them all on double yellows

They don't sound like a conversation would go too well!

But it's not them in your space...it's their guests who have stayed for a fortnight?

There isn’t anybody who wouldn’t be aware. It’s a village in the middle of nowhere, it’s a very rare occurrence that people have guests that need to drive to them. Next door parked in our space when their mam dropped off some furniture once for a couple of hours, once when they had a garden party for one of the kids’ birthdays and then when they had someone stay for the night once

I would go and ask them & explain as you have done here. 2 weeks is a long time & you are pregnant now but will soon have a baby to get in & out as well as shopping & baby stuff.

I am a pushover and my husband is very southern so that’s probably why it’s always our house that gets parked in front of. The neighbours at the other end would bang on the door even if it was past 10/11pm

How rude!

Report it as abandoned maybe?

You can certainly report any car or cars being constantly parked on double yellows!
Thst's surely a big no-no.
Your local council will have parking enforcement officers.
Mind you, if the offenders are prevented from parking on the yellow lines might it cause additional parking problems for you and your other neighbours in your street?

Why do people always suggest this on parking threads? Just because somebody is parked up legally and doesn't need to use/move their car for a couple of weeks, that doesn't make it abandoned and a reason to vexatiously waste police/council time.

Most people with camper vans and motorhomes who don't have drives will leave them unused on the street for months over winter - they aren't abandoned either.

Definitely ask. You’ve been patient and normally it would be fine but right now it’s making life very difficult for you. The worst that happens is they say no and you park in the other lane. And if the other chap asks, you explain why.

You can’t report it as abandoned if it’s still taxed. You can google the registration number to find out.

There's a big difference between 'we have an unspoken agreement that we'll leave the space outside each house free for the occupants to park there' and arrogantly banging on people's doors and demanding that they move.

Also, are there any houses adjacent to the double yellows who obviously can't (legally) park outside their homes? If so, are they 'allowed' anywhere else on the street, or is it just tough for them?

I may be wrong, OP, but from what you've written, it sounds like you like the default general agreement but are perfectly willing to give and take; whereas the others see it as a hard local law that they are entitled to strictly enforce themselves.

You can always ask, but that's the problem with having a house with no driveway/private parking. You don't own the road, and that's a reason I'd never, ever buy a house with only road parking.

I agree that it's absolutely fair game to report a vehicle as abandoned if it isn't taxed or MoT'd; but some people seem to assume that 'abandoned' means 'parked somewhere that I wish I'd got to first'.

It's the equivalent of finding an empty shelf in the supermarket and shouting "Stop, thief!" because you see another shopper walking off with the last one of the product that you had hoped to buy!

my parents have never been south of York

Ever?! Not even on holiday?! They’ve only stayed North of 53.96 latitude?!

There’s no harm in asking . “I ‘m wondering if you could do me a favour and ask your guests to use the car park? Being heavily pregnant …”

Just ask. No one could take offence at being asked.