Neighbour complained about DD’s parking

[soupofthedays]

We live in a cul de sac. Our driveway (red) can fit 2 cars, but since DD just got her driving licence, we now have 3 cars. Every house, except for the 2 at the end, has its own driveway. Our neighbour (green) parks her car on the pavement in front of her house. The neighbour across the street doesn’t own a car, so DD (pink) has started parking there. Our other neighbour (yellow) has asked if DD could park somewhere else, presumably on the road across from the cul de sac, because it’s causing her some trouble. She mentioned that she can still get in and out of her driveway, but she has to pull out, reverse, and then drive through. She can’t just swing around DD’s car as the neighbour (green) parks on the opposite side. She won’t ask the other neighbour to move as she’s always parked there. DD is reluctant to park on the other road because she wouldn’t be able to see her car from our house. I can see both sides really. Are we being unreasonable by saying no as she’s not actually blocking the driveway, or should we have DD park somewhere else?

Sorry about the terrible diagram!

It says the end two don’t have a driveway so I assumed it was the green and the pink that don’t have driveways.

Yeah I'm wondering how a bin lorry would manage on the road with cars parked either side.

I think 3 cars for a house means you don’t park one right there if it’s annoying. And it looks annoying.

[Assumes the road is adopted]

I don't know if you are aware of this, but in the UK there are no limits on how many cars someone owns. There is no obligation to prove you have driveway space before purchase, and if you want you can have a house with a driveway that can hold 10 cars and still park all of your 12 cars on public roads.

I suppose it is a bit annoying if she’s always been able to swing in and out easily. I don’t think it warrants speaking to someone about though, it’s not massively inconvenient is it? With children living at home longer there are going to be more and more 3/4 car households and we’ve all just got to get on with it. There’s very few properties with enough space for 3 cars so parking on the street is obviously going to get worse. It depends how much you want to keep the peace really. I think I would be tempted to block the family cars in and just swap them around as needed (leaving keys where you can all access them if you need to move one). I literally moved from a house with zero parking to a house with a two car drive last year (main reason for moving) and discovered my neighbour has 3 cars and likes to park his 3rd one just close enough to my drive to make getting my car in and out awkward. I won’t say anything though because he’s really nice and I can’t be arsed having disagreements with neighbours unless absolutely necessary. I just take the extra 20 seconds it takes to manoeuvre.

So if three adults live in a house, and all three need cars for work then one should give up their car and their job because the drive has space for only two cars? Are you insane?

Not unreasonable of your DD to park there. If a car being parked there makes it too difficult to leave her driveway then she’s welcome to write to the council to ask if they can assess if double yellows should be put there.

As for the “too many cars” comments. It’s one per driver. We currently have 4 adults living in the same house because property prices being as ludicrous as they are mean that there is no choice but for the two who should’ve left by now to still be here. We all have jobs that we need to get to so we all have a car.

What about the neighbour next to you? Does the green car not make it difficult for them to pull out?

Your DD shouldn't be parking there if it makes it difficult to get out.

Can she not park across your own drive to block you in? Or rent a parking space nearby?

You shouldn’t have more cars than you can park without causing issues for others🤷‍♂️

So the neighbour with no driveway shouldn't have a car either?

We have a similar issue where parking is very tight on our road. We have 1 drive and 3 cars! Not going to apologise for parking 2 of those legally taxed and insured on the road. As neighbours we try to accommodate each other but visitors and folk who park then visit elsewhere are not so thoughtful. Often have cars after we have parked sensibly , parking on the opposite side of the road essentially blocking it for refuse collectors and emergency services. Council are not interested in the slightest and are prepared to do nothing. For the people who say ‘ why does DD need to see her car / it’ll be a shitheap 1st car, my DD worked and saved hard for her first car , it’s not a shitheap and if she takes pride in something that cost her thousands of pounds and wants to keep an eye on it then I respect that. Sounds like the neighbour has been used to doing what she has been doing re her pulling out the drive but OH GOD FORBID ! Something has changed that puts her out by 20 seconds! Basically let the neighbour know it’s not done with malice but get used to it it’s parked legally! Take a bunch of flowers round and say sorry for your inconvenience but it’s where it’s going to stay . Poor DD , yet again some person pissing on a kids strawberry’s because they dared to upset their status quo! 😔

it drives me mad when people park on our road making it more challenging to get out. It also risks potential damage to both cars. Why on earth does she need to see her car from the house? She could put an air tag in it if she wanted to check it was still there.

it may not be illegal but I don’t think it’s worth upsetting or irritating neighbours over. As a PP says, could she not block your drive. Or, one of you block her in depending on who has to leave first in a morning?

If it’s a legal place for your DD or anyone else to park then yellow is being unreasonable. It’s a road, if anything the person parking on the pavement is the unreasonable one here !!
id keep it brief and friendly, but remind them that it’s a legal place to park so she’ll just have to do a manoeuvre to get out … or buy herself a huge property where it doesn’t matter who parks on the legal street

How big is the cul-de-sac? Is it just the houses you've marked or does it extend? If it extends, she should park further along the road so not parked across from another car. She doesn't sit watching her parked car out of the window surely.

Your daughter doesn't need to be able to see her car at all times, what does she do when she drives it elsewhere? For the sake of.keeping the peace can she not just park it a bit further away?

I think you DD is being inconsiderate parking directly opposite another car unless the road is very wide. Your yellow neighbour could reverse into their driveway though which should make things a bit easier (though it might still be a very tight turn). For neighbourly harmony your DD should block your driveway or park somewhere else.

I have no idea why she needs to be able to see her car all the time unless you live in a high crime area.

Dd parks in front of your own driveway entrance. When one of ur two cars needs out she has to go out and move. Or start agro with the neighbours as she can park where she legally wants. but not seeing her car is a pathetic excuse to not park elsewhere what will she do when she out? Only
park and walk, shop, visit if she can see her car? She is being ridiculous

Just because you've 3 cars in the house, doesn't give you automatic exclusive access to park outside a neighbours, and except them to accommodate your car. It would annoy me tbh. They might have visitors who need to park.
Make you drive bigger by paving your grass area.

If you’ve got the space for 2 cars and have 3 then yes unreasonable because it is inconveniencing everyone else.

Why would you risk the car getting hit. I’d just move it. Why can’t she park outside your house?

Is there no space for her to park between the first house with a driveway ( your neighbour ) and your driveway ? Maybe her car would be,a little overhanging yours but surely that is more acceptable than bothering your neighbours ?

Given that the OP explained that it was the end houses that didn’t have drives, I think it is very unlikely that her daughter, or the car she has parked opposite, are legally parked. Cars need to be 10meters (32 feet) from the corner or junction.

Are your DD and green parking on the pavement as that's not usually allowed?
It also looks too close to the junction.

TBH I think your family is being inconsiderate. You got the third car sort the parking without inconveniencing everyone else.

I speak as someone from a family of petrol heads - I've spent my adult life juggling cars on and off driveways (or using a car that wasn't mine, with permission, for expediency as mine was buried) as most family members had a car quota exceeding the number of adults by at least +1.

We had an empty house for a while - driveway accomodated five cars tightly parked and more workably three could be parked and moved independently. Typically these were mid sized hatchbacks (think Golf, Civic, Focus). Neighbours asked if their teen daughters could use the driveway to make the house look lived in with the dual purpose of making things easier for them as they were having building work done and had lost part of their driveway.

We eventually had to remove the permission as whenever we arrived at the house there was one tiny fucking Fiat 500 parked in such a way no one else could use the (generous) driveway. It drove my brother round the twist. I just found it mind boggling that you could park one small car SO badly.

Ok but if neighbour across the street had a car and parked it outside their house where OP’s daughter parked (the same as green neighbour) then why would it annoy yellow? Would you per few to park your car in site of your house or out of site round the corner so if it gets stolen you wouldn’t even know till next day?? You do realise that the people from the “poor area’s” typically go to the “richer areas” to steal the cars as they’re of more value don’t you? 😂

Whilst DD is technically ok, depending on the width of the street for emergency and refuse vehicles, I do lean towards her being a CF.

Do you really want this to be the hill your neighbour relationship dies on? As DD is “last man in” on the car front, she or you park elsewhere.