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 wouldn't worry about them parking on neighbours drive. It's CF but it's not your problem as for the access road I'd get a sign saying private access, no parking under threat of tow.

And if they keep using the access road I'd call the tow people and follow through

Just send them a parking fine every time or call a clamping company? Or buy your own clamp. £150 each time in cash to remove it. Just put up a sign.

You can't really demand that because that would put many of a job if they lost transport - we live in an era where many adult kids still live at home.
That said I think on housing estates people should have to have a valid reason to have more cars than they can park on their property. I also live at the bottom of a cul de sac and there used to be a lot of selfishness issues of people being too lazy to park on their own drives a old guy on the opposite side of the cui dec sac had two huge hybrid 4x4 looking vehicles and a 3rd car and he used to park one on our side of the cul de sac - three cars and he and his wife barely go anywhere! My partner and have to park in single file on our drive and it's hell trying to get cars out and swap them about when there's cars all over the cul de sac and also nowhere to park one of our cars if we need to leave the other one free to come out.
I think people have seen us struggle a lot in the 14 months we've lived here and the selfishness has reduced somewhat and the old guy o er the road has got one of his hybrids and stopped parking over here.

That's not legally enforceable in residential areas, only car parks can do things like that.

putting a clamp on someone else’s car when there’s a clear sign saying No parking and the terms/conditions is.

Illegal.

It really, really isn’t. It’s specifically the sort of behaviour the legislation was brought in to prevent. In fact, it’s not legal in car parks either.

https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/ask-the-police/question/Q528

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/section/54

Solicitors letter?

Big sign - no parking 24 hours access needed due to disability access

You’re going to need a gate or bollards that raise up and down. You have committed a Mumsnet sin of buying a shared access drive and for this you shall suffer….

Yeah, l have one of those for an existing disability. Doesn’t make an ounce of difference.

No it isn’t. It’s private land, not a public highway, and it’s illegal.

Nope. Illegal and will get you into more trouble that the person parking illegally.

And then everytime OP or her DH wants to leave they then have the hassle of moving the cheap car to get theirs out, then putting it back and then same again in their return. What a stupid idea 🤦‍♀️

I also have a disabled badge on my car for this which neighbours have probably not noticed but I don’t think I need to share medical information with them when they shouldn’t even be parking in someone else’s private land!i

Could you explain the situation to the council and ask if they can put a H bar on your drive way or give you a Disabled bay?

The council don’t have any control over private land. Also, my understanding is that there is a private access road leading to two private drives.

The neighbours are pulling into the private access road and blocking access to the houses, not parking on the drives. This means a bay won’t work because even on a public road, you can’t have a bay if there is no room for any parking at all.

Whilst obviously they're completely in the wrong/it's mad that they didn't stop once they realised the property was occupied - could you just park in front of their car/drive if they ever block you it? Not as a long term solution but might get the message home.

Previously lived close to a hospital - we used to get people abandon their cars blocking driveways then disappear for the day - we actually resorted to getting some trolly jacks that allowed us to move any obstructing cars without causing any damage, frustrating that it was required but solved the issue. It could be occasionally satisfying when doing so to a few cars to help other residents out - we'd cram them all bumper to bumper just a tiny gap between - they couldn't leave unless they did so in the correct order.

It’s private land. So long as there’s a sign up advising that clamping is in progress and by parking there, you are accepting the terms and conditions.

in the UK, it’s illegal for a private landowner to clamp a vehicle parked on their property without lawful authority. And that lawful authority comes either from the police or the DVLA. The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 makes it a criminal offence to clamp, tow, block, or immobilize a vehicle on private land without specific lawful authority. Private landowners can issue parking fines, but they cannot legally clamp or tow away vehicles.

A disabled bay won’t solve the problem because it’s not solely for the use of the person living there. It can be used by anyone with a disabled badge.

I have linked the legislation that makes this a crime above (s.54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012).

A sign giving ‘terms and conditions’ is irrelevant. You.cannot.clamp.on.private.land.

Your completely incorrect advice could literally end up with the OP and her husband being arrested.

Yeap.

threaten it will get towed as it is a private road and they block access or take your parking spots.

I imagine the cheapest option is to install a spiky chain and padlock across the entrance to the private road. No-one’s going to want to risk their car getting scraped.

When the new neighbours arrive, you can explain the issue and give them keys to the padlock.

They’re parking on the private access road leading to the driveway. It’s not a parking spot. And you can’t tow a vehicle parked on private land. It’s illegal.

Wild how people can be so confident when they have literally no idea what they’re talking about