Purple house has two parking spaces but uses our yard instead of second one - so intrusive! Help!

[concernedrepurplehouse]

here is a diagram. The white Lanes are a private back roads leading to the highways. There is a set of gates then a yard for orange and yellow house.
I’m yellow house and also own the freehold of orange house subject to long leases. As some you know that brings in no money and is a heck of a lot of responsibility and hassle. You really have to keep on it. Orange leaseholders have allocated parking spaces on the yard which come with a right of access to orange house.

purple house has one car parking space which it can only access by driving through yellow/orange’s yard. I’ve labelled it 1 in red pen. Nothing in writing/nothing on the deeds. This is ok.

purple house has a second space at the back and fully documented legal rights to pass through light blue house’s yard to other private lane to highway. But it’s a garage that opens out to light blue’s yard from where it can exit.

purple’s newish owners moved in at the start of the pandemic with four little children and - no surprise - 2 medium size cars. We bent over backwards to accommodate them.

the trouble is that purple accommodates its second car in our yard too whilst using its garage for storage/hobbies :(. If an orange leaseholder is away (think second homes), purple breezily parks there. The degree of brazenness varies. Sometimes purple puts second car elsewhere at front on highway. Then it starts to come to yard and unload/drop off kids turn round and return to highway. Then that turns into parking for hours or overnight with purple people going to and fro with their hobby stuff/children stuff. Then purple’s elderly dad starts using it too. Then purple’s tradesmen ( I don’t mean deliveries).

I want to relax in my small private small orange house garden. Unfortunately it’s right next to a preferred purple-invaded space so I have to squeeze past purple family. Purple are responsible for a good 3/4 of the deterioration of the yard’s ageing surface. As freeholder I’ll have to resurface it. I’ll have to claim contributions from orange leaseholders. In the past one stroppy orange leaseholder has resisted paying on the grounds that freeholder was allowing predecessor purple people too much access/parking and causing him problems. He got really angry. He is still a leaseholder but doesn’t live here.

help! I chose yellow for my house before I remembered it’s the colour of cowardice......

Legal advice. May be able to do it through your insurance.

Are you not concerned that Purple is establishing a legal right of access that they don't currently have? And the impact that will have on the value of your property?

It’s all a concern!
and no doubt I will be painted as the bad guy by everyone....

Well that's where you can respond in kind

Remind orange house if they allow purple to use yard they can complain when costs for repairs are sought.

Remind blue of their legal duty to allow access through their yard and state you could rescind the informal access agreement you have with purple meaning they can only use their yard.

Right now your getting all the grief, inconvenience and costs. Of course they'll fight you - they're the ones with something to lose. But you shouldn't lose your rights for their gain.

Thanks weird.
i think I’ve found a decent solicitor.
i like your strategy with blue....

Good luck.

I always find in these situations to remember my goal and stick to it!

That’s a great point. As freeholder we need to be clear on aim.

I’d be stopping all access for anyone who did have a legally documented right of access And/or parking space. That includes purples first parking spot.

im super curious about the posh hobby…….polo? Hunting? Shooting?

Lol. Classy posh or show-off posh.

Sorry meant it’s the sort of posh that used to be working class.....so our grandads wouldn’t have thought it posh.

I'd be putting a complete stop to it because if it keeps up (may already be too late!) they will aquire a right of access just by using it for a certain length of time.

Alternatively offer them the opportunity to purchase a right of way to space 1 or even a right to park a second vehicle if there's room - you could then make sure the space is in a more convenient place for you and orange. Obviously then they'll be obligated to pay a share of maintenance costs.

It’s going in the wrong direction and they aren’t listening to us

Then get legal advice and the first objective is to stop the access to Purple using space 1 via your lane. Your lane is for 2 properties to use and a 3rd is using it and adding unnecessary wear and tear on the lane. They, Purple, will have to start using the lane provided to Blue's Yard and that's the end of it.

In my basic understanding, you've been very hospitable over the years but they shouldn't have been using your laneway for access, it was just convenient for them to do that. Now you're implementing restrictions for access to Yellow and orange only and that is the beginning and end of your interest. You don't care what Blue and Purple decide - that is up to them to discuss.

Best of luck with it.

If they're not listening to your requests to stop using your private property then can you get a fold down bollard with a key at the entrance and give a key to orange?

Thank you.
calling for an appointment at 9am.

So are they keeping their polo ponies in their second parking space?

What? A posh hobby that our grandads wouldn’t have thought of as posh? So not hunting, shooting, polo?

(Why is the hobby a secret?)

This! And do the letter. Make it fierce.

I’m guessing sailing now?

You need to match them in this kind of word usage - tell them "good boundaries make good neighbours" and all the rest of it. (I think this would have pushed me over the edge.)

Why oh why do purple even have a space and access to a space via your lane if they have no right to it?

Orange had zero authority to say whether or not it was ok.

Was this something you set up because it was a friend of yours previously? You'll have to check they've no established right now and put a stop to it. It could cause chaos if you ever want to sell.

They haven't been good neighbours so you have no compulsion, if anything you can point of that you've been more than accommodating but have been left with no choice.

And of course you can get some sort of bollard or gate which still allows orange to have access.

Get legal advice on writing a personal factual letter first? Giving a short time frame for change in activity? Then second attempt would be solicitors letter?
My brother had this - freeholder of a driveway that led to his house, plus a few others, and new neighbours started parking and their visitors etc and blocking access so he had to be very firm - a number of times. Very stressful for him but all got sorted.

You have every right to assert expectations and rights over this land. New family should have been aware of the situation when they bought the house. People will try and take advantage quite readily. They are being bad neighbors and you need to draw the line and act
Best of luck.

“So are they keeping their polo ponies in their second parking space?”

:) it’s full of complex paraphernalia, yes. Not polo.
half my town is on mumsnet...... think foraging/wild swimming-posh not showy clothes posh.

“You need to match them in this kind of word usage - tell them "good boundaries make good neighbours" and all the rest of it. (I think this would have pushed me over the edge.)”

yes, they are very manipulative in a posh entitled way.
thank you Annie

Double - say hi to your brother from me. Honestly we need a survivor’s club....