Neighbours parking in our spaces problem

Ahhhhhh MiddleClassFirstWorldProblemWorld. Got to love it!

Bollards? Cones? Solicitors advice? Peppercorn rents? Rental arrangements? Fencing it off?

How do you think any of those things are all going to play to a wider audience? All of whom are your immediate neighbours, who you need to bump along with on a daily basis? And who’s goodwill you might be requiring at some indeterminate point in the future? Think its going to go well? Or do you think the new bloke is going to be referred to as ‘that awkward/arsey git from number 23’?

And for what? For a trivial inconvenience for some friends who occasionally pop round? I’d just accept it for the very minor inconvenience it is, and realise that you really can’t put a price on a decent relationship with your neighbours.

Get back to Russia, Commie!

It can be a delicate situation but pussy-footing around, worrying about hurting peoples feelings can equally backfire. At the end of the day its YOUR land. Just tell them, with a smile, sorry thats my land. ‘whats your problem’? You are parking on my property. If they see any hint of weakness they’ll ignore whatever you say. You can still be FIRM yet polite. If they take issue with firm/polite then thats their issue.

If you offer to rent it to them, they say err no. You’ll still perodically get their guests rocking up and parking there. You’ll be in a situation then where you think ‘do I have to knock (and how many times)’. They don’t bother answering the door- you look like a weak tit then. What do you do?

You offer to rent, they take you up on it but don’t pay for a couple of months. What do you do?

Cut to the chase, firm and polite. Sorry can you NOT park there fullstop. If they persist put some bloody large stones there.

I have a similar problem, been ongoing for years with various people. When I tried to point it out to one of the ‘users’ he came round at midnight and started beating and kicking on my front door and shouting obscenities through my letterbox and reported me to plod for damaging his pride and joy Daewoo Matiz with some extra sharp post it notes. Once I explained the issue the cops were fine with it but could do nothing about the parking as its private land.

Currently there is a decrepit Vectra rotting away in the space, untaxed, no doubt uninsured but DVLA, council, police and housing authority are totally uninterested as its not in anyones way except mine…

Currently there is a decrepit Vectra rotting away in the space, untaxed, no doubt uninsured but DVLA, council, police and housing authority are totally uninterested as its not in anyones way except mine…

You can smell fuel. You think theres a leak.

Your niece/son/friends child was playing on it- its a hazzard. Report it.

Or why not contact the DVLA about taking ownership of it. You can pick up forms in the postoffice I think?

At the very least it’ll prompt the real owner to step up..

Obviously you wouldn’t consider setting fire to the Vectra, nor rolling it into the street with some drunk mates.

I think your neighbours are being dicks. If I was one of the neighbours, I’d never automatically assume I could merrily carry on parking on somebody else’s property – the arrangement was with the previous owner. I’d be expecting the arrangement to stop as soon as the house was sold to a new owner.

The only reasons I can think of for their reluctance is a) they genuinely don’t know/believe that it’s your property, and think it’s communal, b) they’ve put on their insurance that’s where they regularly park, or my original theory, c) they’re just being overly entitled douche canoes.

You’re not being unreasonable in wanting your visiting friends and family to be able to park conveniently on the property you own. A possible compromise could be that you let them park as they are doing, but make sure you get cones out if you’re expecting guests. And if they’ve parked without asking and you have guests, block them in. 😛

Or get a Jaime Smirking Bollard(TM).

Last time I managed to get the council to stick a letter on the previous one saying it would be towed in 14 days, 13 days, 23hrs and 59 secs later it was moved, then immediately replaced with the above! Very annoying.

What do you mean about taking ownership, as in getting them to take responsibility? Have tried reporting the untaxed vehicle route with no joy.

Currently there is a decrepit Vectra rotting away in the space, untaxed, no doubt uninsured but DVLA, council, police and housing authority are totally uninterested as its not in anyones way except mine…

A note saying 5 days to move it or it will be moved. If it has been gifted to you then no problem just get it dragged onto the street.

A tow rope and drag it. Then report it. Good idea.

On the flipside, I’ve got a weird one. We live in a tiny close- the road is very narrow. All the houses in the turning circle at the end have no parking just their drives. when I moved in I was told by a neighbour that the space infront of my house was mine (inc my drive). I STILL feel slightly embarrased as I only have one car but NO ONE parks in that spot so (slightly embarrased) I use that space. Its like an unspoken rule. Any visitors jumble up but no one parks in mine or the space next to it.

Nothing queerer than folk.

Not sure setting fire to it would gain the result Im after! I considered the moving it into the street option but the spaces are about 30 degrees downward slope so its a tough ask for a car with its handbrake on!

Sorry for hi-jacking OP, if you have a single offender Id definitely go round and just mention to them that you use the spaces on a regular, ad-hoc basis and you would appreciate it if they could leave them available for your visitors otherwise you may have to take steps to prevent them parking there. It could easily spiral out of control and just become a headache for you in your new place.

Get someone to unlock it and roll it into the street, locksmith shouldn’t have any problems unlocking it as it is on your land.

Ask them if they’d like to rent the space.

I’d just put up bollards Tbh. It’s your land. If they get miffed at it that’s tough luck.

The curtain twitching, Daily Mail-esque passive aggression on this thread is amazing 😀

Could you not get someone impartial in to listen to both sides, then make constructive suggestions on how to resolve the situation

park on their gardens, badly, they’ll soon learn its not cool to park on other people’s land.

OP, why not convert the spaces into another use? If they aren’t parking spaces anymore nobody can park there.

Go the bollard route – the only way.

I’m with Phil, park on their land and see how they like. Be obvious too eg: Use their drive for your own vehicle

Best to set the tone immediately when moving house!!

Get someone to unlock it and roll it into the street, locksmith shouldn’t have any problems unlocking it as it is on your land.

Good point. Its on your land. Have you reported it as abandoned to your council?

Take ownership? Does this help? http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_4900041_claim-ownership-abandoned-vehicle.html

OP, why not convert the spaces into another use? If they aren’t parking spaces anymore nobody can park there.

TBH apart from your visitors I agree.

OP, why not convert the spaces into another use? If they aren’t parking spaces anymore nobody can park there.

Good thinking! And increase both your property value, and status with a desirable asset you can lord over the neighbours. They hate you by now anyway, so why not? 😀

Tear up the space an plant it with trees and shrubs.

How has this got to 2 pages without anyone suggesting the OP just backs off and lets them park there? It’s only a car parking space. If it’s only going to be used for visitors then it’s hardly a massive inconvenience for them to park somewhere else and walk a few extra yards. Seems like a stupid thing to fall out with the neighbours over, especially as he’s just moved in and needs to be making friends not enemies.

i kinda agree dazh, but this is the internet goddammit and if ever there’s a place to suggest the things you wish you had the guts to do in real life its here 😀

personally i’d go round each neighbours house, chose the most attractive female and get to nobbin’ right there and then… after all, it’s fine for them to use your property, so use there’s as you wish. whilst you’re there make some coffee and put a load of washing on… maybe run the tumble dryer empty for an hour. leave the hot taps running and have a nice kip in the master bedroom after 🙂

How do you think any of those things are all going to play to a wider audience? All of whom are your immediate neighbours, who you need to bump along with on a daily basis? And who’s goodwill you might be requiring at some indeterminate point in the future?

OP can only lose, it’s now a given, the norm, all the neighbours think that they have a right to park there. I seriously doubt they feel any goodwill toward OP for merely maintaining the status quo.

Last time I managed to get the council to stick a letter on the previous one saying it would be towed in 14 days, 13 days, 23hrs and 59 secs later it was moved, then immediately replaced with the above! Very annoying.

as a race we really are pretty ****** up aren’t we?

I’d be miffed. If they need extra parking, buy somewhere with enough parking 🙂 some people are inconsiderate gits, it’s your land tell them to bog off 😀

I have piss-taking neighbours. I wouldn’t give them an inch because they will take a yard. They obviously don’t care about your goodwill.

OP can only lose, it’s now a given, the norm, all the neighbours think that they have a right to park there. I seriously doubt they feel any goodwill toward OP for merely maintaining the status quo.

True. But they probably won’t key his car either

if they are parked on your drive …go park on their front lawn

alternately land mines are the only option here im afraid

I used to live in a street where there was a Moron with a New Mercedes SL. He was such a moron he took a photo of his new car and framed it and had it on his living room wall (yes he was single). Anyway, he used to get so angry if you parked outside his house as it was his parking space apparently (public road, no designated parking).

Parking seems to be such a big issue with some people, you need to be assertive and stop all parking there.

I would just try and have a calm word saying that you don’t mind them parking there occasionally but not all the time. Crazy eh?

Is there no nearby street parking? Are some of your visitors not very mobile? Otherwise it’s really not a big deal IMO.

couple of fold-down bollards/security posts from Ebay/Toolstation/Screwfix is what I’d be doing….

Best to nip it in the bud before it gets out of hand, and you end up with them dumping some SORN’d wreck on your property, or parking their new caravan on it for 49 weeks a year.

I’m not proud of this but where I used to live people used to regularly put out cones. I’m not talking one or two infront of their drive, I’m talking enough to cover the space behind them too- almost out of spite (on Man U match days nearby) anyway I got tired of driving home to find these so one day I just parked (Subaru Forester) ontop of two. Mrshora told me off 😐

Anyway, he used to get so angry if you parked outside his house as it was his parking space apparently (public road, no designated parking).

I had in an old house this with the prat next door and his over-washed and over-waxed Jaguar X-type Ford Mondeo. I took great delight after he’d tried (and failed) to tell me how the bit of the A675 outside was his in either parking in his space for the sake of it, or leaving him less than an inch to manoeuvre out of the space.

Neither big nor clever I accept, but it definitely ruined his life considerably more than mine

I got tired of driving home to find these so one day I just parked (Subaru Forester) ontop of two.

In my last student house, there were a couple of houses that did the cone thing on our street. Clearly they’d never been aware of drunk students’ affinity for traffic cones. We had quite a collection after three years, and parking was considerably easier too 😀

Dear God! Some people on here have really missed their true calling of a career in international diplomacy. Let me come and sort out your neighbourly dispute 😆

signage is what is needed:
1) Free parking – open
2) Free parking – closed
3) Free parking – almost full
4) Free parking – £1 an hour
5) GERROFF MOI LAAAAAAND!

my parents had this with someone at the house they rent out – using the space saying it was “theirs” when it clearly wasnt.

The guy was a nut job too – started sending round threats to break my mothers legs – in the form of signing us up for loads of mobility scooter/stair lift postal junk mail.

Can’t remember exactly what happened in the end but my mother didn’t budge and inch and regularly spoke to him (and his even nuttier girlfrien) face to face. Think the heavies were sent round in the end.

All is good now.

They’ve already been unreasonable by not respecting your ownership and your right to say who parks on YOUR land.

Problem is, numpties like this hear about things like adverse possession, assumed rights, easements etc and think they’ll find a law to suit their needs. Rubbish.

Even adverse possession is very difficult, and that’s a very black and white concept – they have to ‘deprive’ the rightful owner of access for 12 years (IIRC), so they’d have to fence it off in a way that meant that only they had access to it.

In this situation, there is no possible law, or rights, legal or moral to allow them to use the land. The land was conveyed to you and your ownership is now enshrined in law.

Be firm, but polite. They’re not bothered about your friendship, otherwise they wouldn’t have been arsey about it. All they’re bothered about is where they park their cars.

As a way of appeasing them, I’d offer (in writing) the use of the furthest and least useful parking space, on say weekday evenings, never weekends, and they must be available to move the car if you need the space. I’d say that’s more than neighbourly under the circumstances.

treaclesponge – Member

Last time I managed to get the council to stick a letter on the previous one saying it would be towed in 14 days, 13 days, 23hrs and 59 secs later it was moved, then immediately replaced with the above! Very annoying.

What do you mean about taking ownership, as in getting them to take responsibility? Have tried reporting the untaxed vehicle route with no joy.

Find someone with a tow rope…This cheeky barsteward abandoned this heap on somebody’s driveway.

Thread

As a way of appeasing them, I’d offer (in writing) the use of the furthest and least useful parking space, on say weekday evenings, never weekends, and they must be available to move the car if you need the space. I’d say that’s more than neighbourly under the circumstances.

Not being funny, but if someone moved into my street and started sending official letters asserting their property rights going against a decade of previously amicable and orderly cooperation between neighbours then I’d tell them where they could go. Yes, in law they may be right, but it takes more than property deeds and official correspondence to live in peaceful coexistence with your neighbours.

Not being funny, but if someone moved into my street and started sending official letters asserting their property rights going against a decade of previously amicable and orderly cooperation between neighbours then I’d tell them where they could go.

Feel free, but:

Yes, in law they may be right

would be your problem