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 live in a terrace with on road parking for one car for each (tiny) house. Which would be fine if all the houses only had a small car but some have these ENORMOUS Barbarian Jeep type things the size of a small minibus, with towing hooks on the back, which take up their parking space plus half of the house next door. So technically only one car, but still...

And planners should insist on proper parking provision per house, and possibly even a separate car park as overflow. Whatever, their current calculations on new build estates are dreadful given they don't provide wide enough roads for kerbside parking.

Resource can be people, money, time, of which the police have almost none.

If this becomes a perennial problem and the OP has to stump up the cash for that, you're looking at hundreds of pounds each time, plus it takes it right into Neighbourhood Dispute territory and they will be bound to have to declare that if they sell the property,

Some councils insist planners allow no more than 1.5 car parking spaces per house with new builds, in an effort to discourage car use.

I would hope no lawyer would send such a letter since it’s a criminal offence to privately tow (or clamp) cars on private land (except in very limited circumstances where it can be proved the vehicle is abandoned).

The police / council or DVLA can tow vehicles but they will usually say it’s a civil matter and refuse to get involved.

Thank you @SuperTroopers thats exactly my point and the original cause of the parking issue. Where there was nobody objecting, they were happily parking there without a care in the world, and now need to be pulled back in line.

You need a gate at the end of your shared driveway, with a lock that only you and your neighbour have the combination to. You might need to wait until your new neighbour moves in but you could speak to their estate agent or solicitor, explain what's gone on and your proposed solution, they might offer to go halves or just be glad to avoid a shouting match!
In the meantime, get to B&Q and get some plants that you can put across and down the sides. Or leave one of your cars at the end blocking it.

The police use private towing companies. They get them to do it.

They would already have to declare this as a side note.

That sounds like they were parked on a public road - the law is different for blocked public and private roads.

Also, the police / council can tow vehicles (I assume parking enforcement means council?), private individuals cannot.

It always amazes me in UK how these people in their ivory towers go "let's make life as difficult as we possibly can for people, so it reduces car usage" and yet never think to themselves how will people get to work, do their shopping, get from A to B when there is poor or nonexistent integrated public transport provision. It just creates misery, plus they have nowhere to park their vehicles, it's adding insult to injury.

There is a new build estate near to me that I often walk through and this little private road to a couple of houses seems to be a common set up. And there are absolutely loads of these signs up at the end of them (not all the same, clearly installed by the homeowner not the developer) so it sounds like a common problem. Most of the houses are big four beds too, with barely space for two cars as PPs have said.

Could you point me in the direction of that thread?

I agree with the bollard advice above (annoying you have to do that though). And perhaps also get a ring door bell to start logging the incidents ( check legalities of this but if it’s private land and it’s not recording activity not on your lane I think that’s okay - but I’m not a solicitor!). I have a dispute with my neighbour driving luton Lorrie’s accross my drive (no shared access- they can get a normal car on their drive without trespass but obviously not a big lorry as the drives weren’t designed with that in mind) and I’ve been advised to create a log of evidence to show it’s not just a one off. Good luck!

I would go round there and say ‘Can we start again? Look let me show you the deeds I have here, which makes things a bit clearer. I appreciate you have been parking there since Feb but the main reason we bought this house was for the parking. Look at the access on the deeds. Look - if we’re ever away we’ll let you know and you can use it but day to day we can’t be shouting in the street can we? It’s completely taken the shine off our new house. We’ve just moved in and the last thing we want to do is contact the police and solicitors, but we can’t go on like this. Similarly the new family will be here in a few weeks and looking at these deeds they will have the same complaint as us, if you carry on.

See if that helps. If not, confusing nuclear with Police / Solictors / Council whatever.

@BreezyBertha ⭐for including the deeds diagram!
Does your private part of the road have an obvious demarcation of where it becomes yours? Like a white line on the road? It might be helpful to paint one as then they can see they are "crossing the line". (Although they know don't they, just don't care)
Other than that I think the painted white stones is a great idea - stops them physically being able to park there.
The bollard / locked gate ideas sound expensive and an utter pain in the arse to have to open and close every single time you use your car.

People like this don't respond to polite requests or logic. I think I'd get a solicitor's letter to them pronto, and then start blocking them in and refusing to move.

I mean, you can just not legally
I’m sure you can clamp them though and charge a fee to release them

It would (might) stop if buyers didn’t buy 4 bed houses with limited parking if they need 2/3/4 spaces. Developers would have to think again if they were left with many unsaleable houses. ( in reality I know it won’t happen)

I have parking for 2 cars. My DC’s just can’t have a car, or if they do they need to park at the bottom of the avenue where there is communal parking and no houses. They can walk. I will not inflict 4 cars on my neighbours.

Notice saying its a private road?

I remember someone getting arsey at me and I had to point out that there was nothing to say its private

At least put a couple of signs up, Private Access, No Parking.

yup. when a local new hospital was built a few years ago, the planners required a maximum amount of parking area to discourage people from driving to it. Results, appointments missed because patients or their relis can't park, visiting specialist staff unable to do sessions because they can't park, delivery vehicles blocking others in because they can't park, non A and E ambulance transport either unable to park or adding to the blocking in problem....oh and apart from the fact that busses are not always appropriate or available, there is a long walk to the hospital from the nearest bus stop.

From your diagram I can see why they would park there if both your and your future neighbors houses were empty, your private road starts in front of their house. Obviously now you have moved in they can’t so will have to find another solution. I think you just have to be consistent - keep asking them to move and escalate to letters, solicitors etc if needed. Keep a log of every time they do it. Painful way to start neighborly relations but they are the ones in the wrong.

It isn’t really a good house to live in if you need 3 cars. I wonder if they were aware of the boundary when they bought their house?

Sitting beeping your horn and getting shouty is silly behaviour. Just ask them to move and if they refuse call the police.

consider getting a bollard

I had this when I moved into my last house only stayed for a year. In the end parking became the last of my worries. Handle it through correct channels get a door bell camera as evidence. I am a single parent so they thought they could bully me but I stood up for myself. The man next door came to my door he knew he was on my camera he threatened to hit me, reverse into my car and rip my door bell off. He must have panicked after and called the police on me so I sent them my footage and they did nothing.

A man about 4 times my size is threatening me and they think that is ok. Do not let it escalate as you will have no peace they think because they lived there first you have to put up with it. I was lucky I was renting after split if I had bought that house I would have been devastated to be stuck next to such entitled awful people. They seemed to get a kick out of it. His mother would block my drive then laugh at me from thier window. People can be horrid.