Neighbour blocking driveway

[TamTims]

I have some new neighbours who are moving into the house in stages. Where i live parking is limited - each house has space for 1 or 2 cars on the drive but that's it really - there's limited space on the road itself without blocking in other cars.

Twice now the new neighbours have parked their car or van that fully blocks my drive so I can't get my car out.

I've asked politely not to block my drive but each time they have responded angrily saying they have to park there for convenience. I explained they could have asked me first to park there out of courtesy, and I would have agreed, but just blocking my drive without asking was unacceptable. Even after me asking them the first time not to block my drive without asking, they did it again later. On both occasions when I spoke to them they responded in disprectful and hostile manner. They thought they had the right to block my drive since they were moving in..

I'd never dream of blocking anyone's driveway and just don't understand the mentality of these people.

A previous neighbour regularly had visitors who'd block my driveway and I had to go round and ask them to move their car which was usually met with annoyance.

AIBU to expect people not to block my driveway under any circumstance? Why do people think its ok to block someone's drive?

This has really upset me, I live alone with my young daughter and don't want to be having issues with the neighbours.

Thank you..

I initially thought you were not being unreasonable but now it sounds like they have only been doing it when moving in, so you are being unreasonable.
You do sound a bit petty by asking them to move unless you were actually going out (I can't tell from your post if you were or not).
Surely it's just a short term thing and maybe they didn't want to knock and disturb you to ask as it seems a little trivial, and anyone with any sense would see why they have done it.

And yes if actively unloading a van/truck, yes blocking is ok because it’s temporary, not left unattended and you can move it on request. It’s not parking it’s unloading simply not the same as parking.

in your circumstances I would have popped out, said hello, mentioned that you would need to get the car out in a few minutes for instance and ask them how it’s going. Open up a dialogue basically, they then can say to you yes we are mostly moved in, we do have carpets being delivered at x time but won’t take long, the fitter will park down the road etc etc.

It's unclear to me whether you asked them to move because you needed to go somewhere or just because you were grumpy because they didn't ask. If I'm moving in and I park up for a bit to unload a car I might block a drive without asking, but would be available to move it at any second if needed.

I would be more annoyed that they rang the bell, stopped me from what I am doing to ask if they can block my drive for a few minutes until they unload, when I might not even need to go out and might be having a nap or something. As long as they are available to move ASAP if needed please don't bother me

I agree the courteous thing to do would be to ask if they had no other option to park. I also don’t think I’d of gone out telling them not to park there if it wasn’t inconveniencing me because I would clearly see they are moving in and will be lifting things from the van to the house

Did you have to get in/out at the time?
If they are physically stopping to unload a car or van and then driving away then I would have ignored it (unless I needed to go somewhere). I understand that it's irritating, but in the bigger scheme of things, not a huge inconvenience. It's wise to try and establish a decent relationship with neighbours.
If they were parking there (as opposed to unloading) then I would tell them I had to go somewhere and ask them to move their car. Because I am basically a coward and hate confrontation I would keep doing it (and apologise each time) so that parking there became hugely inconvenient for them.

If they were moving stuff in then the car/van is not unattended and can be moved easily if you needed to get out. It is also only going to be there for a short time while they empty it. I assume you needed to use your car at that time and weren't just being petty about it?

You don't block a car in like this, it's rude. Obviously it is OP's driveway and she might need to use her car - they don't know what she does. And don't they have a driveway of their own?

Your new neighbours are assholes.
If they apologised, asked of there was a time they could park there that wouldn't inconvenience, different story.
The onus is on them to be good neighbours to you.

You came across petty, you didn’t even need to go out and they are moving in their stuff. I can see why they were annoyed with you.

How long were they parked there?

I think it’s rude and they should have asked as you’d have said yes that’s fine.

Their angry response when you asked them not to block you in tells me all I need to know. They are rude assholes. You never block someone’s drive. If there’s absolutely no alternative then you either ask them or apologise when challenged. You don’t act like a dick.

The first time there was a small van parked there about an hour..I spoke to them and explained i needed to move my car shortly. The response was quite hostile and it seemed like they weren't prepared to move it. I explained that it was a private driveway but I understood the convenience of parking there but I would have appreciated if they'd asked me first to park there. Eventually after about 20 mins, they did move it.

Later on i needed to go out again and there was a car blocking the drive. I asked politely if it could be moved so I could go out. One of the men, who was Eastern European I believe, so may have had difficulty understanding me, was acting in what seemed an aggressive manner, asking me what the problem was and standing close to me . I explained that I didn't want to get off to a bad start but out of common courtesy I would just like to be asked before they block me in.

I don't think I did anything wrong. I said they could park there if they just asked first. Yes, call me petty but I don't think you should ever block a driveway without asking first.

If it is only while they are unloading during the house move, I would let it go.

Yes I think its acceptable, to block a drive if you are unloading and in and out of the car/van, and could see if the drive owner needed to get out and would move if needed. I would have no problem with someone doing this to me.

I think you are creating problems with new neighbours unnecessarily.

If they are doing it when not moving in I would address it then.

I used to live in a city where parking was like gold dust.

If someone was moving stuff in, then it's no big deal. It's not like they're deliberately parking and blocking someone's drive just to go get a cup of tea...

Asking would have been polite, but it's not the end of the world. Tolerance goes a long way...

They sound awful, they should be apologetic not having a go at you

have you got any male friends or relatives who could be there with you if it happens again

They're clearly twats and should have knocked and told you first. Any reasonable person would do so. Sounds like you may be in for more of this though, so yes I'd get a camera.

Don’t allow anyone to park on your drive unless they pay you.

We live opposite a private school and the mums have parked on our driveway collecting their kids, it’s an extremely busy road, and they always get aggressive that it was only for a minute or what is your problem etc etc

when they say they had to park there I ask why?
just keep asking why to every reason they give you, don’t rise to it, just keep asking why to every response they give you. They will storm off.

Perhaps get some concrete planters for a lovely Christmas tree and Christmas roses on the bit where they want to park if you don’t have a car.

It’s your driveway - no one elses - if parking is difficult people pay alot of money sometimes thru driveway apps.

Who is responsible for the road/driveway where they are parked?

Is it public road/Estate management company/jointly owned etc?

I think using part of the driveway to park and move in once is fine, anymore times they should ask you if you are okay with it. I have neighbours that have just moved into a house next to me and their movers truck did block me in for a couple of hours without asking me, but I didn't say anything as I knew why they were doing it and I knew they would be moving on soon.

I think you are giving confusing messages.
It's not ok to block you in. Full stop. No "id say yes if you asked"

They should never block you in. Unless there us a delivery where you are inconvenienced for a few minutes with prior warning. (assuming your drive is legal and not a converted front garden without the relevant permissions)

We blocked the whole street almost when we moved in. There was room to get past but it was not great. Our new neighbour called the police.

The police came out, which was shocking in itself. They spoke to the removal people, they could see there was no alternative, they left.

So that was a great way to start off neighbourly relations. I did not help them get any shopping in Covid and I won't do anything else for them either. Moving is so stressful without someone calling the police.

I disagree. It's entirely different if someone asks and you can genuinely say yes or no depending on what you are likely to need to do during the time they will be blocking you

I can't see a problem with this situation at all. Surely you pop out and say "hi new neighbour, I need to go out, can you move the van please"?

I can't believe some of these replies.

Here's what I would have done. If I were moving in as a newbie, I would take round a bottle of prosecco, knock round and introduce myself to the neighbour AND ONLY THEN ask if they didn't mind if I popped my van there for a couple of HOURS as I'm moving in, but to please knock if they needed to go out. AND EVEN THEN I'd be very reluctant to ask anyone to give up their ability to leave their own driveway!

Was it absolutely unavoidable they blocked you in? Even then, they should have ASKED.

I have every sympathy. When we moved into our new build, we have a shared courtyard (I know, puke, it's horrible) where we have two spaces each (over 3 houses) and our neighbours on the left had arrived a few hours before us. They have two cars. When we arrived, they'd kept both their spaces free, and taken both of ours! No reason, they'd already fully moved in so it wasn't for any accessibility reason. My partner had to knock round and it was 11pm by the time we'd arrived. The neighbour's girlfriend still steals our spaces all the time while leaving theirs empty.