Neighbour using my drive, landlord won’t help. What can I do?

[9champions]

I’ve lived in my house for almost 4 years now, and I had a new drive put in last year, which cost a fair bit. Parking on my street isn’t great anyway, but I’ve recently noticed that my neighbour is using my drive to get to hers. I’m not sure if she’s always done this as I’ve only just noticed. Last week, I caught her in the act while I was outside sorting the bins, and I think she was surprised to see me. I talked to her on Sunday and politely asked if she could stop, but she said it’s difficult for her because her neighbours car sticks out into the space in front of her house, which makes her partners van hang over their drive, so she can’t get in and out without driving over mine.

They can’t park the van on the drive and the car on the street because there’s a fence between our driveways, and the van is too big to fit with the fence there. It’s their fence, on their boundary line btw. I suggested they take it down, but they’re tenants and don’t want to pay for it, which is understandable. Apparently, they asked the landlord a few months back if he would remove it, and he said he was fine with it being taken down, but he wouldn’t cover the cost.

I was thinking about putting up my own fence to stop them, but my drive is already pretty narrow, and then there's the cost involved. I know I could just pay to have theirs taken down, but should I really have to fork out money just to make them stop using my drive? I know it’s a hassle for them, but they should either talk to their neighbours to see if they can leave them more space on the road or have another chat with the landlord about the fence. They’re making this my problem, and I don’t think it’s fair for them to just assume they can use my drive forever. It’s not a shared drive btw. They’re just next to each other, similar to new build estates.

Am I being unreasonable / petty, or are they taking the piss? I’ve attached a diagram. The black squiggles are cars, and the red one is my neighbours car crossing over my drive to get to hers.

Thank you

Don't you think it would be neighbourly to ask first instead of just assuming it's okay though? My response might have been different tbh. I mean, good manners don't cost anything.

Just leave your car further down your driveway so they don't have enough space to get to theirs.

Edges are what fail first due to repeat traffic on it, regardless of surface type.

Constant use of that edge, which has little support will cause degradation - and it will be the OP who has to foot the bill at the expense of the NDN.

If I was your neighbour and you were making a fuss about this, I'd think you were loopy. I'd roll my eyes, and ignore you. If you were otherwise nice, I might make minor effort to avoid driving over your drive, while turning your fussiness into an slightly amusing anecdote about "aren't people weird".

Life is just too short to get hung up about something like this.

Definitely you are being unreasonable

I've seen large boulders on the edge of people's drives to stop others from driving over it, can see how it would be annoying if they could easily get a dropped kerb

Can you put some potted plants out?

Or stick your bin there (not as pretty).

Could you fence it off using rope? I imagine this would be cheaper than a wooden fence.

Has anyone suggested penguin bollards yet?

Just wanted to say, great diagram @9champions , for once I can understand what is going on, nice labelling too.
I think, it's your drive, so do what works for you. The other neighbour who is obstructing their parking is the one at fault and the one they need to speak to.

Potentially yes. It could be seen as granting your neighbour right of way over your land. Your NDN should pay for their own dropped kerb.

Aside from the fact that they are using your drive, which doesn't belong to them, what problem or issues does it create for you that they are using your drive?

Yes it would have been polite to ask. But then most people wouldn’t think this was an issue.

spending money, creating obstacles, getting wound up - all just seems an overreaction to nothing.

I mean, who could really care about something this minor? The wear and tear she is causing must be absolutely minimal.
I doubt I'd even notice she was doing it TBH.

I'm surprised more people aren't even considering this.

Why does it matter, are they doing damage to your car/drive? Just leave your bin on the corner of your drive if you need to make the point, but I'd let that go

@9champions what about some massive heavy weighted planters spaced out down the drive on your side?

Or ring door bell and park your car at entrance of drive.

If she clips you it’s on camera.

If you have a car camera any bumps should trigger the recording device as well.

if they have a problem with their neighbours parking - they need to resolve it with them.

Could you maybe put a big heavy planter in the way?
I dont understand why various people on the thread have said yabu to be annoyed - Im fairly sure they would feel as you do if it was their own drive.

Mean of the landlord not to pay for the drive seeing as its his house you've improved by paying for it yourself.

Thank goodness you're not my neighbour! It's absolutely not ok to drive over someone else's land without asking.

If another neighbour is blocking their drive then they need to deal with that.

What they are doing is potentially creating a right of access across YOUR land.

No wonder their Landlord isn't bothered!

Get a solicitor to write a letter to the ND and cc the LL, telling them to stop.

Get some planters or park further up so she can’t come as close. It would piss me off.
cheaper for them to have a conversation with their neighbour firstly, or they can remove the fence OR contribute towards your driveway repairs!
CF at their finest. I hate the entitlement of people.

If I got on super well with my neighbours then I’d be ok with it but I wouldn’t be happy if I barely knew them. It’s honestly a bit weird- I’d never dream of doing it, certainly at the very least I’d ask first and respect if they said no.

i would invest in come heavy planters myself if there is enough room.

Well presumably she kept parking there because she was too wet to ask the other neighbour to stop parking over her own drive, or did ask them and they ignored her. Either way it doesn’t sound like she likes confrontation so if you really don’t like it just ask her to stop and then take it from there?

I wouldn’t tell her she’s being a fucking cunt though, that PP sounds completely unhinged.

So she’s driving over the bottom corner of your driveway to access her own driveway? I just couldn’t get worked up about that. Be realistic, what possible damage is it going to do apart from the potential for some minor wear and tear in the much longer term. This just would not be a big deal at all to me and I would not consider it worth making a fuss about 🤷‍♀️

Not a drive. A paved front garden.

If you moved he'd have no access by car. It would be unusable for parking.

No idea how gaining permanent right of way works legally after a length of use, but I'm not sure giving access like this is a good idea.

Good for you but it bothers OP and it is her land.

OP they are totally cheeky, I would never dream of doing this. Deffo go with the planters to stop them. You are right damage can be done over time.

This would only be after 20 years of uninterrupted use so it’s not a meaningful risk and absolutely does not justify the expense of getting lawyers involved now!!