PARKING WAR - from Day 1 of moving into new house!

[BreezyBertha]

Diagram attached!

So, moved into new house on Thursday. Our house is one of two houses at the bottom of a cul de sac. We own half the access road to our drive, house next to us owns the other half. Turning into our drive is tight as we have to go round a bend and need to pull out onto neighbours side and also reverse onto it as there are concrete bollards bordering it.

Neighbouring house has been empty for a while I believe and and sold last month so will be empty for a few more probably. Our house was empty for a while before we moved in.

Neighbours who live in the house at the end of the road just before our private road starts. have obviously taken to parking on our access road as both houses have been empty. They have two cars but one car drive. There is very little parking on the public road in front of their house and they have concrete bollards cordoning off their front garden so can’t pull into there. There is parking further up a few minutes walk away.

Anyhow, DH drove the removal van up on Thursday to find their car parked on our private road, blocking him from getting onto it. He asked them to move and politely asked them not to park there. They moved the car after a bit of ‘um we’ve been parking here for a while now, houses were empty so it’s ok’.

Well they’re not empty now! I mean WTF??

The wife then came out while we were unpacking and seemed friendly so we introduced ourselves etc. She then said she parks in our bit of road from 9pm when she finishes work so it’s ok! Also that she has family nearby who come to visit and they need to park. We said they can’t block our road so please don’t park there

Later in the same evening, they parked there again and I couldn’t get out, so DH knocked and said you need to move your car. Husband was not happy but moved it off our bit of road further back opposite his house where the public road starts. It is very tight but we can just about squeeze through.

Today they had the family they mentioned over. One car parked in empty neighbouring house’s drive, another on the private access road. DH couldn’t get into the drive so sat beeping his horn.

About 5 or 6 men came out, one the neighbours father and the others his brothers/BILs, telling us we have room and they don’t need to move! They were also saying they don’t live here so it’s fine to park on our road if visiting! Things got a bit shouty as we said they had no right to park there and should not be on the private access road at all. In the end they conceded that they needed to move from the access road but left the car in the empty neighbours drive! I did say what are you going to do when buyers move in!

They seem to think that as they’ve been parking there for a while, it is now their parking area!

They only moved in in February so have not been here long themselves and just took advantage of the fact ours and neighbouring house were empty.

I just can’t get over the entitlement. They have no business even coming off the public road and over the dropped kerb into our access road. It’s trespass!

Obviously I don’t want an expensive legal battle. Can’t put bollards up as new neighbours would need to agree and they have not moved in yet.

I can tell this is going to carry on though so what can we do? We actually bought this house for the big 3 car drive and had no idea we’d have issues with neighbours who shouldn’t even be entering our bit of road. Getting really stressed about it as just want to live in peace!

Title deed attached with my diagram added. . Our house is bordered in red, empty neighbouring house in blue and CFs house in green.

I think you're going to have to put something up, even if it temporary. Could you get a collapsing bollard or put a chain up?

Otherwise you could try putting a vehicle blocking the access road for a month or two to 'train' them into parking elsewhere.

There have been changes in occupancy and vacancies which has meant it has been difficult to establish any rules around parking. People have just made it up as they go along.

Your DH could have been less shouty, how was that going to sort things out.

i would put everything in writing, in a very friendly polite letter (making it clear you hope they can be cooperative. specify what you own, where the boundaries are and how you will be using your parking facilities in future, including indicating where you need some manoeuvre space and drop it through the 'offending ' NDN door.

keep a copy of the correspondence.

give it a reasonable amount of time for them to be clear on your requirements and ownership, if after month from the date of your letter they continue to ignore it, seek advice from a local solicitor who may be able to resend your letter with a reminder of your ownership. Get the solicitor to write it in such a way as to ensure it doesn't constitute a neighbour dispute.

Obviously they can't park on your drive or block it. If they're parking where the occupants of the empty house would park then I think that's CF but fair game as someone would be parking there anyway. Continue to get them moved if they're blocking and threaten to tow if it happens again. Don't stress too much about the neighbours bit as they can sort it when they move in soon

This

Your DH could have been less shouty, how was that going to sort things out.

Honestly with some people you have to get 'shouty' we have a long drive which we 100% own the deeds to. However you have to drive across it to access next door's drive. We and our guests could technically park on it and block the neighbours in whenever we want but never do out of respect. Next door and their guests including professional delivery drivers however were frequently blocking this part of our drive. There was one night my baby dd became ill and we decided we needed to get her to hospital and sure enough CF neighbours had completely blocked us in. Needless to say I also got a bit 'shouty'. The neighbours are much better since then but still get idiot delivery drivers etc who don't understand the drive.

Obviously there's no need for physical or verbal violence but stand your ground OP and do what you need to to make them stay the fuck off your drive. Not especially harmful of them to be using it when nobody was there but the second you made it explicit to them that they didn't have your permission to use the drive that should have been the end of the matter. Stand your ground.

They've had their warning now. If they do it again, legal letter explaining you'll get them/their guests towed.

Start researching a gate/ bollards and gets prices etc

When new neighbours move in talk to them asap before CF get to them give them the heads up and prices and let them get back to you once they are settled in.

Obviously the CFs are in the wrong and should bot be parking there, but presumably the new neighbours will be parking there when they move in, so won't you have the same problem?

I live on a private road, it’s a never ending battle with these entitled fuckwits. I doubt we’d get an ambulance or fire engine up our road, that’s how these wankers park. Sorry, no advice, just wishing you luck.

Velmy · Today 04:48

They've had their warning now. If they do it again, legal letter explaining you'll get them/their guests towed.

I mainly agree, but as on every single parking thread ever on MN:

You can't have people's cars towed in the UK!

Emphasising the safety aspect is what worked in solving the parking dispute in my street after a late night ambulance call out

This. With people like that, a physical bollard is the only thing that will work.

You can via the police. We had someone who parked over our drive all day once and I called the local station and they said they'd send a tow truck out. Unfortunately the car moved before it came, but it can happen .

However I suspect they can't on a private road. Don't know what the situation would be there.

But the cheapest car you can, tax it and leave it where they park thus leaving them unable to.

I would get a collapsible bollard installed and make sure your new neighbours have a key when they move in. You can always take it down if they are not fans - but I suspect they'll agree with the reasoning.

I just moved out of a house like this two years ago after 8 years of stress. Start as you mean to go on and put something up now - do not try to ‘be nice’ next door will thank you for sorting it so just do what needs to be done be that gates or anything else

Not only a diagram but DEEDS!!!

You win.

Aounds like shouting was required as they had not responded to the previous non shouty communication.
Physical barrier is going to be needed here.
Gate with passcode maybe

our last house was similar to yours but the access was shared and this happened to us regularly. It’s like our neighbours didn’t realise our access had to be clear 100% of the time .

their friends would say I’ll just be a minute etc , nope move your car now . I want to go home or get to school etc . Drove me mad . In your position I’d get one of those remote control bollards which block the space so they can’t park there .

I would be tempted to block them in with my vehicle if I returned and they were on my property……… and then take a very long time to answer their requests to move it. They’ll soon get the message.

Get the car towed every time! They’re taking the piss.

This....!

A house I know of has large white (painted) stones spaced out along the outside edge of their driveway to demarcate the driveway from all it's neighbours. As these stones clearly block the entrance, I assume that when they want to park they just move one or two to pull on and off their drive. They are big enough to send a clear message and small enough to move. I think I would be getting to a builders merchant for something similar for now. Or planting up pots all along the bit they are currently parking on to make it very clear the house is owned.

Also get a ring doorbell set up with a good view of the driveway for now.

Is it a new build site? Are the developers still there? I’d go back to the developers and speak to them… also if the house in question isn’t owned and is for example affordable housing you can raise it with whichever housing association is in charge of it?

Knowing what I know now I would buy massive lockable gates