Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Shared Driveway best avoided?

49 replies

Marblepie · 10/02/2023 09:26

Found a house that ticks all the boxes except it's got a shared driveway. It's long but the width doesn't appear big enough for two cars side by side. We don't drive so I'm more concerned that we'll be paying more for something we won't use but would have to pay half to maintain if the neighbour decides it needs resurfacing or something. It looks quite old and cracked at the moment. The house is expensive for the street, it's at the top end of our budget, but it appears to be one of the only houses with any sort of off road parking. Is it best avoided or unlikely to be an issue?

OP posts:
DogInATent · 10/02/2023 09:35

Ask the seller what the arrangement/understanding is for using and maintaining the drive. If in doubt, talk to the neighbour too. It's not automatically a problem.

watchfulwishes · 10/02/2023 09:37

Many properties have them and many are happy to purchase them but a shared drive was a 100%deal breaker for me.

RudsyFarmer · 10/02/2023 09:39

It’s a deal breaker for us as my partner lived it and it was a huge stressor in his life at the time.

DogInATent · 10/02/2023 09:41

"Shared drive" covers multiple situations.

  • a single strip of land owned jointly by both properties with shared responsibilities.
  • adjacent drives owned independently by each property but without a marked dividing line.
Know which situation you're dealing with. The first is potentially complicated. The second isn't. We have the second, but someone might incorrectly regard it as a shared drive because the brickweave is continuous across the two.
Aquamarine1029 · 10/02/2023 09:41

I wouldn't touch a house with a shared drive.

FiveShelties · 10/02/2023 09:58

One shared drive was enough to put me off, would never buy another one. Even one where you both have a side just not fenced can be really difficult, especially if the drives are not wide and your neighbour parks right over to your side.

thinykinny87 · 10/02/2023 10:00

There are quite a few shared drives on my street. From what I can see no one uses them and parks on the street causing other issues. It would really put me off

Floralnomad · 10/02/2023 10:02

It would be a deal breaker for us .

Alexandernevermind · 10/02/2023 10:04

Where is the house you are interested in? Is it the first as you pull in or the second?
I wouldn't. My friend has a shared drive and the fall outs with the neighbour have been horrendous - blocking in, parking our wrong bit etc etc.

Galadriel90 · 10/02/2023 10:04

I have one and I've never had a problem. I've lived here over 10 years and share the drive with 4 other houses. I make an effort to be friendly with my neighbours and so it's worked out fine.

HelebethH · 10/02/2023 10:05

I wouldn't touch one with a barge poll! Lived with two over the years. Nothing but hassle and stress. Also the neighbour you share the drive with may be lovely and it works well until they move. You never know who will be moving next door. I talk from experience !!

nxa · 10/02/2023 10:21

I also wouldn't touch one, the potential hassle is too much. You might end up with a really cheeky neighbour who takes up the whole space, knowing you don't drive, and that's unfair. It will also be a more difficult sell when you come to move if this thread is anything to go by, with most people ruling it out.

StillWantingADog · 10/02/2023 10:24

I don't think is an automatic no, especially as you don't drive yourself (surely there is a possibility you might in the future though?)

Find out what the current arrangement is with the neighbours and how it works out. Bear in mind neighbours could move though and who knows who might replace them.

Ilikewinter · 10/02/2023 10:24

It would be a no for me....it was bad enough sharing a full width drive side by side, I certainly wouldnt want the set up you are describing!

drpet49 · 10/02/2023 10:28

Aquamarine1029 · 10/02/2023 09:41

I wouldn't touch a house with a shared drive.

I wouldn’t either.

StClare101 · 10/02/2023 10:29

We considered one, the boundary line was in the middle, along the length before it beaches out to either garage (double garage’s. What put me off was at the viewing the other neighbour had their cars parked outside their garage, in a way that would have made it difficult for the cars at our potential house to get out.

RedBonnet · 10/02/2023 10:43

Unfortunately too many awkward neighbours exist so I wouldn't buy a house with a shared anything.

C4tastrophe · 10/02/2023 10:53

Absolute no.
Also if you did buy, when you come to sell, you’ll have the same issues.

HurryShadow · 10/02/2023 10:59

Maintenance issues aside, you will likely have visitors and guests, even if you don't use the driveway yourself. You've also got the same problem if/when you sell the property in the future.

It also depends on the shared drive status. I've got a shared driveway. We're three houses, set back from the main road and each have our own driveway parking out the front of the house. There is then a separate stretch of driveway to reach each of the houses from the main highway and we each own the part in front of our own house, but all three houses have access rights over it to reach their property IYSWIM. This is has been fine for us.

The other type of shared driveway I'm familiar with is when there's a driveway that's not wide enough for two cars side by side, and the garages or parking are around the back of the house. These ones I wouldn't touch with a bargepole.

There's nothing to say that if you aren't using your driveway your new neighbour wouldn't just assume this means they've got free reign over the entire driveway, but then expect you to pay half to fix any maintenance issues.

Even if the neighbours are good now, there's nothing to stop them selling up and moving on.

Beebumble2 · 10/02/2023 11:06

It does depend on the situation, we have an old village house that shares a drive with our neighbours. Once it would have been a track to the rear of the properties. When we bought the property the previous owner and neighbour had a legal document outlying the ownership of each part of the drive and how it is to be used. This document was passed into our ownership.
To block the drive would not benefit either of us, thus there’s never been an issue.
Sometimes maintenance issues have to be negotiated, but as we each own our side of the drive there’s never been a problem.

familyissues12345 · 10/02/2023 11:32

We've recently bought and it was a deal breaker for us. There's dealing with issues when they come up, plus having to hope you have a reasonable neighbour who isn't going to have regular visitors who block the driveway etc

MarieG10 · 10/02/2023 13:22

Generally I and friends have avoided them since a mutual friend had grief. Issues were visitors parking on the drive and insufficient space for them to then drive up the driveway. Maintenance an issue. The drive was crumbling and pot holed but the neighbour didn't want to have it repaired or replaced due to cost. Said if my friend wanted it doing then it was up to them.

I would just steer clear. Same with rights of way

Original poster
Marblepie · 10/02/2023 13:22

Thanks everyone, it does sound like something to avoid then like I thought. There's no other off road parking or garages, just this shared drive that isn't wide enough for two side by side cars so it couldn't be divided. It looks awkward so I think it would end up being a problem. We'll give this one a miss.

OP posts:
SaltnPeppaPig · 10/02/2023 13:25

I have one, it's really not a problem at all.

Iceysuperslide · 10/02/2023 13:32

I have one and have had three lots of neighbours over 25 years. It has been fine but only because we have always had nice neighbours. It is a T shape so we each have one parking space it does mean no one one can park on the shared bit as it’s for access which means the tandem parking for two can’t be used at all which seems a waste every neighbour has kept their bins along the side of their houses here.