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......

If you've spent £1000 on legal advice, it would seem wise to follow it surely?

You made a promise to someone who doesn't live there any more. It's irrelevant now.

Did you say they have four purple children? That parking situation is only going to get worse in the future then isn't it.

Hmmm. You are continuing to grant a huge favour to the purples even though they blatantly take advantage of this and behave manipulatively towards you and try to shame you.

Also, it is costing you money due to maintenance costs for your yard and is bringing you into conflict with the oranges over this.

Also, if you want to sell your home or the freehold in the future you are potentially reducing its value and creating issues due to establishing a precedent for access that is not in the deeds.

What are you hoping to gain here by continuing to allow access OP?
If it is lack of conflict I suggest there is more conflict with this loose arrangement than with a clear there is no access policy.

If it's to honour an arrangement with an old friend then the current purples clearly don't appreciate it. Would this upset your friendship with Old Purple? Is that the key issue?

Do you fear being judged for enforcing your rights? Who by?

prior to taking the advice it was because I wasn't 100% sure where I stood legally.

I'm now adjusting to the advice. Weirdly, the things I thought had weakened my position (my kindness and friendship to previous purples) turn out to have strengthened it (so it's a bare licence that purples had).

I'm also adjusting to a slightly shocking event a few weeks ago when I needed to get to hospital urgently (as in 10/10 your worst nightmare urgent) and present purple did not react in a neighbourly way in contrast to everyone else that memorable day (literally dozens of people carried me through that day). That weirdness helped me to "let go" of the past a bit because of the contrast with previous purple who (despite being pushy also) would have dropped everything and given his car to his worst enemy in that particular situation. It's been a game-changer but it's a lot to get your head around.

... I think I'm grieving a bit for the old days when my kids were little and we were all convivial on the back road etc.

And unless I'm wrong, (from your other thread) the purples may be planning something else with their house that you may not have an issue with but your neighbours may not feel is entirely orthodox? Honestly, I think you need to future proof this situation on behalf on everyone in the round. Otherwise it could go to hell in a handcart quite rapidly. They are taking advantage of your evident good nature. But that can also be naivety when it comes to property maintenance and the law.

Purple will eventually establish a legal right to access which will devalue both your house and Orange house. The parking hassle will discourage future purchasers and make it difficult to sell. Have you considered that Orange could sue you for continuing to permit this inconvenience and thus devaluing their house? You need to put a stop to it.

Unfortunately with it being private land you will have to go legal. Go to a solicitor that deals with boundary disputes. Tell them they can't park there initially follow up with a legal letter.

@Sitdowncupoftea please read the OPs posts, legal advice already been obtained.

@seemsikeaniceday I live on a private road and have the same issues so I was giving advice thank you.

While that must have been horrible (and I hope all is now okay) at least they've now shown you their true colours (ha ahaha) which makes it much easier to tell them to sod off. Revoke the courtesy space you've given them in the yard. They've abused it and they're not good neighbours.

Courtesy goes both ways.

"I live on a private road and have the same issues" - solidarity - it's hard isn't it?

Clymene - well, we'll see what happens next.

I have skimmed read but also to ask if you have third party liability insurance just thinking they would probably be the type to claim if something happened whikst they were parked illegally. Could you also use the my insurance doesn't allow it line if they park where they shouldn't? It sounds very annoying.

If you are minded to continue to allow them to access space 1, i would suggest that you put it in writing to formally record the terms of the licence, and make it conditional on them contributing to upkeep of yard, and also state that it will be revoked if they take the piss (or legal words to that effect) or cause inconvenience in any way to orange or yellow,

Thanks WhyohWine. The deterioration of yards concrete surface is really bad and in past decade mostly caused by them turning. I have gravelled the half that only I use but can’t really gravel the other half (old lady couldn’t walk on it).

[thanks will get the other post deleted]

Update for all you wonderful backbone providers:

It’s now two weeks since we sent our polite, friendly but formal letter and there has only been one attempt to resist (purple dad, as reported on thread). I’m so grateful to you all and used lots of your phrases as well as getting solicitor to check it.. No reply. So position is that they have a defined written permission re space 1 in return for nothing.

orange1 (reasonable 2nd home owners so only here half the year) returned and I saw Mrs Purple complaining to them across the garden fence whilst Mrs orange did a positively mumsnettian smile and nod. Orange1 are pretty sensible (retired professionals) and have said nothing to us. Meanwhile we have worked hard to sort out an unrelated electrical problem as requested by Orange1. Orange1 also raised a second unrelated interior problem, rather apologetically saying they appreciate it only affects them. I replied “never hesitate to mention something that only affects you because we have learned the hard way that the smarter something looks the more people will show respect whereas once you let something go it becomes the “new normal” for abuses to be tolerated and everyone starts to disrespect the property”. As retired teachers they won’t have failed to read between the lines.
orange1 are great, quietly doing minor things to make the property smarter but always in consultation (though I wish they wouldn’t use weed killer but nobody’s perfect).

I have decided to get a quote for repairing the yard surface. I think that will bring home to everyone the sheer financial cost. I suspect we’re looking at £10/20k or less to gravel it all, but gravel far from ideal.

Re my other thread, www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/4574219-is-this-a-planning-thing, it has become increasingly clear that purplespouse1 does still use front door sometimes but purplespouse2 does not. Purplespouse2 clearly parks car outside house then walks all the way round to avoid front door. I am baffled. I’m also shocked to realise quite how weird this is and how much we have been tolerating/manipulated into. Suspect purplespouse1 is less committed to purplespouse2’s bonkers plan or has other priorities ( day to day quality of life).

We are going on holiday soon so it will be good to reflect.

I’m so grateful to you all.

@concernedrepurplehouse - Whatever about getting the yard resurfaced, I would look to have the parking situation well and truly sorted, done, dusted and never to raise it's ugly head again before you go on your holidays. You wouldn't want Orange to get caught in the middle during your absence and for that reason alone, I'd make it very very clear to Purple that you are no longer tolerating them accessing the area that is reserved for the sole use of Orange and Yellow.