WWYD Neighbour’s Parents blocking street parking

[OneCyanHiker]

Street parking has become an issue because two houses recently became 3 car households. We only have one car and next door have 2.

Next door’s parents have started getting involved. We have some bad blood with them already because they were really inconsiderate during their renovation and we were expected to suck it up because their daughter wanted the house done quickly. They knocked on our door a couple of months ago to ask us tell us not to park on the road in front of her house. We ignored them. Twice since, her dad has stood in the road and told us we can’t park there because he’s saving the space. And this week they put cones out and her mum was watching from the front room. I tried moving them and she moved them back. Neighbour is not visibly disabled. We’ve seen her walking dogs and running.

The neighbour is OK when we’ve spoken to her. We’re not friends by any stretch. Only brief ‘how’s it going’s’. I think it’s pointless talking to her directly because she must know they’re doing it (how else would they know when to come to ‘reserve’ the space?).

Her parents have also knocked to ‘give us advice’ on tidying up our garden bushes (because it affects the light in her garden).

I think if they knock on the door again we should just close the door on them. DH can’t do it because he’s too polite.

I think I’m just a bit sad that it’s like this. We lived in the city centre before and were probably too naive and had idyllic ideals about suburban communities. But mostly people keep to themselves, which is fine. But it does make disturbing us by knocking on the door only to tell us to look out of the little princess next door and bit more annoying.

You should come and park outside my house, OP, my neighbours (who own two MASSIVE cars) always leave me a space - that I can't get into because I'm rubbish at parallel parking! So I park my car down the road (I live in the world's smallest house in a tiny hamlet, so 'down the road' is about ten metres from my front door). I'm very lucky I know.

But to your problem - the neighbour's parents are DEFINITELY in the wrong, they can't 'reserve a space' not even with cones. But if you put the cones in your car they sound the sort to report you for stealing. So if you move the cones, put them back in the neighbour's garden, because they absolutely WILL chase you down the road and threaten to report you to the police if you attempt to keep the cones. Only put them in your car for the duration of parking.

I think trying to get a letter from someone official sent that states that anyone can park anywhere on the road might work. Especially if you keep a copy in your car and brandish it any time they try the 'you can't park here'. There must be a parking department at the local council who would oblige?

I said we should do this. DH is too nice and said we should install a Ring so that we don’t answer when they knock but we never wanted a Ring and it shouldn’t be our expense because they behave that way. So if they knock we should just say ‘we don’t like being caught off guard and we’re very busy. Please leave you “neighbourly advice” in a note, and we’ll get back to you if we want to’

Ring 101 for advice and say that the neighbour's father is harassing you and intimidating you and blocking the road. Keep a log of every incident. The police might pop round and advise him that they can't stop you parking there and advise him to stay away from you.

It is annoying when you can't park outside your house and when I lived in a terrace, we had an unspoken agreement that if we couldn't park outside our own house we wouldn't park outside the neighbours and we would park further down the road.

But legally, you do not own the road so there is nothing anyone can do about it to stop others parking there. You are affording the 3 car family that knowledge and your neighbours father needs to do the same to you.

we’ve always known they are like this because before we even met the neighbour the parents said ‘she’s our princess and she gets whatever she wants’ but I had a lot of stress and was looking after my own mental health and tried to leave be.

The first time we encountered dad stood in the road was when my elderly parents came to visit, we had parked elsewhere to minimise the car numbers, and he refused to move to let them park. That’s how entitled they are. It was unbelievable

Tell them expecting to park both cars in front of their house in a confined area isn't realistic.

And that you're not making room for them when you're only trying to park 1 car instead of 2. And if they're totally unreasonable, tell them you'll report them for illegally using traffic cones and take a photograph to scare them!

Very likely not if it's terraced housing. DD lives in an area like this and people park where they can. If there is a space outside own house you are very lucky. When I visit I arrive early so I can park reasonably near the house. I feel for OP if neighbours are being awkward about this. The neighbours's parents need it explaining to them: there are no reserved parking places, there are no restrictions on where you park, you suck it up if you don't like it. Report the cones.

I'm baffled by the number of people who seem to think that they have a 'right' to park outside their own houses in terraced streets like this. All of my kids have houses in roads where you park where you can, if you want to get a space outside your own house then you get home early!

It's a matter of record that nobody owns the road or the space outside their house - so what is going through the minds of people like OPs neighbour's parents? Is it just 'we can MAKE people do what we want?' or do they genuinely believe that rules of life don't apply to them?

100% this!! Great advice!
I had similar....the neighbour's cones were relocated into my bin

Report the cones to the council. I used to have a very odd neighbour in a street where there was loads of parking and driveways but he used a cone to reserve the space outside his house anyway.

I reported it, he got told and he moved very soon after this, actually felt a bit bad! Definitely report the cones. Does no-one else ever park outside her house and get the crazy parents treatment?

If they continue to knock on your door I'd threaten to report them for harassment, no-one needs that shit. Shame you don't live with my DP he'd politely tell them to fuck right off (while I was hiding behind the door cheering him on).

Report to council every time. Then send a letter to them from “the street” making it clear that their daughter is an adult, can act like an adult by parking where there is space, and that any cones will be removed, reports made to the council, any attempts at contact will be reported tl the police as harassment.
Part of being a grown up with a car is just parking wherever this is space, and you suggest that they buy her a house with a drive way.

It's starting to sound like harassment and intimidation and I'd report them.

But tbh those tactics don't work on me because I've got great clutch control and I'd just keep inching forwards😂

Put the cones in your car while you park. Good luck to her putting them back then. Cheek of people who don’t even live there!

Collect the cones, repurpose them and display and sell your creations from the pavement outside your house.

Get your own cones 😀

DEFINITELY! Make sure they're bigger and brighter too. Start a Go Fund Me for the cost of them. I'll donate.

Why? There is a space for Op to park in near her house but it’s her neighbours parents stopping that

Talk to 3-cars neighbour opposite. Ask them to park outside next door whenever possible in preference to outside yours, because of batshit parents of next door.

Just popped on to say do think about getting a ring doorbell or similar. In our last house we got one for deliveries but it turned out to be surprisingly effective at reducing the volume of visits from our batshit neighbours. Turns out people do modify their behaviour if they know more than the people they are trying to bully might be watching.

We live next door to our road’s most miserable challenging resident. Our road is like OP’s but this neighbour must park directly outside their house or they’ll knock on to whoever’s parked there and shout the odds.

Everyone else is lovely so they warned us about this when we moved in and told us that a few years ago they kept blocking the spot with their wheelie bins. The council came out and told them to stop but they didn’t. It came to a head one evening when our neighbour who has a van for work came home and that was the only spot left. He drove into all their bins knocking them over like skittles then claimed he didn’t see them in the dark.

I cannot tell you how much I wish I’d been there to witness that 😂😂

I had this with an elderly neighbour putting cones out, she just didn’t like having cars parked outside her house! I reported it to the highways team at the council (it was an A road) he gave her polite advice that she was obstructing the highway and to stop. Less than 24 hours after he spoke to her the cones were back. He visited again and advised her that obstructing the highway is an offence and he would have her arrested if she did it again! Cones were never seen again!

I'd just drive over the cones. And if he is stood in a parking space, go right up close and beep your horn repeatedly. They do not own the street.

Urgh - this would drive me mad. I'd stick the cones in the boot of your car and then park I think.

Drive over the cones

Get your own cones, it could go to cone war lol - anyone else old enough to remember the boswells, they had cones. (clip below 😂)

Seriously i'd report them, or at least have a quiet word and let them know that that is where this is heading as they have absolutely no rights