Neighbour parking in our driveway

[sanfair]

We live in a square in which parking is a big problem and have one of the few houses with offroad parking.

We don't have a car so the driveway is usually clear although we do use it occasionally for renting a CityCarClub car or when friends come over.

For the second time now, we have had the same car parked in our driveway (which pretty much looks straight into our kitchen window)
She parked there again last night and only came and removed it at 7pm today. This time my husband put a note under the windshield asking her not to park here.

She rang the bell and apologised and said it was only because she arrived home very late and there was no parking.

I'd thought before that we might have neighbours wanting to use our driveway considering the parking problem in the road but I thought they'd ask first.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking this is incredibly rude? What should I say if she does ask nicely to use it? I'd like to keep on good terms with the neighbours but am frankly quite annoyed.

We had a v similar problem. However she was consistently parking on our drive when we were at work when the parking restrictions were in place (nr station so residents only parking for a few hrs in the morning, she was too tight to pay for a permit). After many conversations asking them not to park and falling on deaf ears we blocked her in for a few days. She soon stopped!! A more adult approach is that you can get adjustable posts so you can drop it down when you do want to park there but lock it up when you want to keep it free. Good luck!!

renting it out a good idea but check with citizens advice first as I think there is something in law which says that if someone has the use of a drive/garden whatever over a certain period of time it becomes a right and might cause problems when you or they come to sell.
(and no Yanbu)

Get a big gate...that'll stop the morons.

yanbu - you wouldn't have a picnic in the larger garden, use the space on their washing line, or send guests to their spare room so why should they use your property?
i came home early from work to find my neighbours parked on my drive. they hadnt driven right onto the drive so that i could park, they had effectively blocked me from getting onto the drive. so i sat there with my hand on the horn til they came running out they haven't done it since, they just use their own driveway now.
another neighbour parked on my drive overnight without asking, so i parked on the edge to prevent anyone else from using the drive for a few weeks.
i would not have minded if people had asked but i am damned if i will run around knocking on doors when i want to have a guest come around.
rant over !