Landlord changing parking (with diagram)

[Rhayader]

We live in a block of flats with 6 flats all owned by the same landlord. There are 4 large flats and 2 small flats. We moved in around a year ago and just renewed our lease for another year.

When we moved in, the parking situation was that there were 2 bigger spaces on one side for our flat and another large flat (which is permanently occupied by their camper van) and then on the other side 3 very small spaces for flats 3-5 and then flat 6 doesn't have a parking space.

Flat 6 recently went on the market and im assuming he's had trouble letting it without parking because when i went outside this morning the green space which was shrubbery is being converted into driveway and the workmen told me that it is because its going to be space for 3 cars to give flat 6 some parking.

The issue is, part of the reason for renting this flat was the large parking space. We have a large car as we have 4 kids, including a newborn, so that's going to be a lot of getting kids in and out of car seats in tight spaces! It's not possible to do that if there were three cars, especially if two of them are our 7 seater and a camper van. I've done a quick measurement and it's pretty much exactly 7m across for the three spaces. With mirrors, our car is 2.14m wide and the camper is just over 2.3m.

It's already pretty difficult to reverse through the small gap and round into the space, its going to be more or less impossible going forward... Is there anything we can do about it? AIBU to expect my parking situation to remain the same throughout my tenancy? We weren't informed about this, let alone consulted..

Is the landlord also the freeholder?

You can't just go switching stuff around on a leasehold property without permission from the freeholder and a Deed of Variation drawn up between both parties.

Are the spots numbered and designated?

Does your lease demise flat + garden + spot #2?

Practically, you'll have to pull into the parking area, let all the children get out including taking car seat out and putting to one side with eldest child, then park the car. You could even take all the children upstairs and come back down to park the car, as I imagine the odds of one of the other 5 cars needing to move within those 5 minutes would be low?

Would there be access to the bins with 3 cars there and losing the green bit in your diagram? Just wondered if this is another point to raise with the landlord?

I don't understand the "making it fair" argument.

It looks like two bigger apartments are rented with bigger parking spaces. It makes sense, if a flat is ready to home family with four children, they will probably have a bigger car.

I agree @IfYouPutASausageInItItsNotAViennetta - this is most unfair Op & I’d be kicking up a massive fuss. (I’ve no idea where you stand legally but morally you’re right & I’d not let this go).

@DinoLil yes he owns the whole building, and next door! The bins area of our building also has next doors bins as their building is gated.

@HiRen no, I’ve checked and there’s nothing official. We were just told “this is your spot” 😕

@Flower0503 there’s a pedestrian sized opening out to the road at the top of the bund area so people could walk out to the road and back in through that gap. Not ideal but doable…

If spaces 1 and 2 were re-drawn so that they are in line with spaces 3 and 4 opposite would that solve the problem? It looks like the existing spaces opposites yours are fine, so maybe you could ask him to even them up once 6 has been added? Using the guidance quoted above about 2.4m being the appropriate width.