Neighbours parking

Crisp_£_note

We live in a bungalow in a small Close. We have our own driveway which is joined onto the neighbours. Parking side by side is tight as it is without installing a fence down the middle (hubby often has to fold wingmirrors into allow access around vehicle). Neighbours had a small decorative hard standing built on their front garden but wont use it to park on. Our small front patch has our small caravan on it. Neighbours also use their driveway for building motorbikes on which again cause nuisance as take up half their driveway anyway creating less room for them to park on. They used to do it behind the fence infront of their garage (which is more of a workshop) but they now seem to be strewn across the driveway and often onto ours when they are at work on the bikes. Which is ok as we often walk on their concrete drive to our font door before hopping across as we have gravel which is noisy at night and we cant afford to replace at the moment.

Anyway we have just 1 vehicle, a Renault Kangoo van. Neighbours have 4 cars and 1 van! Which they cannot park all at the same time on their driveway. We each have a garage at the end of the drive but as there is a small fence forming a partition we cant get our van up past it to use the garage as its too narrow, likewise with the neighbours. The fence apparantly belongs to us but we have suggested to the neighbours having it removed which one of them complained that it would create lack of privacy. So I suggested we came to a compromise and relocated the fence in line with our conservatry / back garden so we had privacy and could access our driveways. And neighbour could do the same, at our expense if necessary, as there are only a couple of fence panels. Which would open up the driveway for us both to get full access and use out of. However neighbour didnt want this so it stays put for now.

Anyway my annoyance is with the amount of cars they have there are 5 people in that bungalow and 5 vehicles. I can respect they are all independant, have jobs etc.

The biggest issue is the neighbours dont use their driveway to park on! Even when not all 5 vehicles are there. They park their cars outside our house and on the corner of the close. Which causes a dangerous bottleneck / swerve and difficulty for those opposite to turn around or park in their own drives.

There is a grass verge outside neighbours house so they and their visitors could safely park there (as they themselves often do) rather than outside our house causing any visitors of ours to park up the road.

I know we dont own the space outside our house but neither does the neighbour! I am just fed up of looking outside my front window at a car ( and guessing the color of it each morning before pulling the curtains back) and hubby is fed up of having trouble getting out of our drive as there are cars parked both sides (we are located just on the end curve of the entrance to the close so a hazardous bend) I admit its not often a really busy road but the cars do come flying round the bend and give us the evil stare if we are in their pathway.

Most recently the elderly mother neighbour complained to my hubby because he was not parked in our driveway (as we were out) which caused her to scrape her car on the wall of their house on the way in because my hubbys van was not there to 'guide her in' !!!! She definately should not be on the road as we have seen several near misses in the past week.

Even mother in law is getting fed up with them as she has no where to park when visiting us. Almost adjacent to us is a parking bay but that is used by neighbours oposite (quite rightly) who often double park.

Our close is a parking nightmare and an accident waiting to happen!

We are friendly with out neighbours and I want it to stay that way its just their cars cause such a nuisance and we wanted some advice as to what we can do as they wont cooperate, if anyone has any suggestions please?

Thanks in advance and sorry to ramble (but feel better now).

somethingcorporate

Sounds like a bit of a nightmare!

Unless they are doing anything illegal then there is nothing you can do, they are parking their cars on the "public" highway.

Invite them over for dinner, be nice, and have a chat about how you can resolve the situation for the best of all parties.

Good luck!

Crisp_£_note

Thanks

We have tried several times talking about it but its the Mother neighbour who is so against our suggestions. No idea why as she is a stubourn 'her way or no way' kind apparantly. As she owns the house next door the others dont get much of a say in the end result and apparantly wish she would go back to her own home and leave them all in peace.

The family consists of the elderly Mother (car) her partner (who visits each weekend adding another car) The man with the van, his wife (car), their daughter (car) and during holidays her boyfriend (which adds another car) total of 5 cars & 1 van plus half built motorbikes, thats all without the neighbours visiting them and needing parking!

Hammyman

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

The biggest issue is the neighbours dont use their driveway to park on! Even when not all 5 vehicles are there. They park their cars outside our house and on the corner of the close. Which causes a dangerous bottleneck / swerve and difficulty for those opposite to turn around or park in their own drives.
.

And? They're taxed so they have the right to park there. You have no automatic right to the space on the road in front of your house. If they choose not to park on their drive or the garden, thats up to them. None of it is your business and if I were your neighbour, I think I'd deliberately do what they're doing just to teach you to keep your nose out of other peoples business.

You can't do anything about it because they're doing nothing wrong but if you were to start doing things, they would be well within their right to sue you for harrassment.

septemberblues

Hammyman wrote: »

And? They're taxed so they have the right to park there. You have no automatic right to the space on the road in front of your house. If they choose not to park on their drive or the garden, thats up to them. None of it is your business and if I were your neighbour, I think I'd deliberately do what they're doing just to teach you to keep your nose out of other peoples business.

You can't do anything about it because they're doing nothing wrong but if you were to start doing things, they would be well within their right to sue you for harrassment.

Ooooh someone got out of bed the wrong way this morning :eek:.

My mother has this problem too, and can get so blocked in that she is scared to go out in her car in case she bashes a neighbours car/ or feels she can't get out (she is 78!) To overcome this problem she doesn't park on her own driveway, but parks outside her house on the road, so she can just drive off when she wants to go out, and obviously the neighbours don't park on her driveway.

Her street is a nightmare for parking, why don't you OP try something similar?

Crisp_£_note

Hammyman wrote: »

And? They're taxed so they have the right to park there. You have no automatic right to the space on the road in front of your house. If they choose not to park on their drive or the garden, thats up to them. None of it is your business and if I were your neighbour, I think I'd deliberately do what they're doing just to teach you to keep your nose out of other peoples business.

You can't do anything about it because they're doing nothing wrong but if you were to start doing things, they would be well within their right to sue you for harrassment.

Our vehicle is taxed as well sorry I did not state that clearer ! Re read my Original Post and you will see I wrote

"I know we dont own the space outside our house but neither does the neighbour! ..... "

I am lucky I dont have you as a neighbour, but thanks for your opinion it is still appreciated I will bear it in mind.

Crisp_£_note

septemberblues wrote: »

Ooooh someone got out of bed the wrong way this morning :eek:.

My mother has this problem too, and can get so blocked in that she is scared to go out in her car in case she bashes a neighbours car/ or feels she can't get out (she is 78!) To overcome this problem she doesn't park on her own driveway, but parks outside her house on the road, so she can just drive off when she wants to go out, and obviously the neighbours don't park on her driveway.

Her street is a nightmare for parking, why don't you OP try something similar?

Thanks for suggestion its a helpful one if we can get a space . We have in the past and often still do (weather permitting) park on my hubbys mothers driveway and walked the 10 minute walk to our house as its so much simpler. If we have been shopping he drops it and me off first of course.

The close isnt very big and with all the other cars for other houses there is limited space. Often double parking and chaos! Which is why we looked for a property with a driveway as had similar issues in our previous place for permit holders on street parking (no garage).

Its a dominoe effect though sadly down the close as our neighbours the other side both have concrete shared drives and garage access, but they dont have cars, but their guests still park outside our house not theirs when theres space, causing the neighbours with all the cars to think its our guests and get the hump with us for taking their parking!

Its good your Mum can come up with a solution.

joaniemerc

Hammyman wrote: »

And? They're taxed so they have the right to park there. You have no automatic right to the space on the road in front of your house. If they choose not to park on their drive or the garden, thats up to them. None of it is your business and if I were your neighbour, I think I'd deliberately do what they're doing just to teach you to keep your nose out of other peoples business.

You can't do anything about it because they're doing nothing wrong but if you were to start doing things, they would be well within their right to sue you for harrassment.

Blimey! Not the OP's neighbour are you?!:rotfl:

patchwork_cat

There is nothing you can do apart from get hard faced. I know what you mean about others parking outside your house. My brother did it once to our old neighbour and they glared at him ( he didn't visit often - lives 150 miles away- and was looking at numbers and stopped outside theirs as he realised we were next) so then on every time he visited he would park outside their house . I didn't like him doing it, but they were awful neighbours so it was a small revenge.

At my DD's primary, parking was a nightmare and some of the residents were so hard faced. There was one, incidentally SIL to my old neighbour!- who would park his great big van outside his house _ he had an empty drive - at school pick up time even when all teh other cars where parked opposite - the bottle necks caused! it was a nightmare - the head used to come out and tut at all the parents - goodness knows what we were supposed to do, he would cause the problem as the parents were already parked, but he didn't care he was parking outside his house!

DCFC79

What i dont understand is why have a driveway if your not going to use it, not sure what else you can do OP, our neighbours have a car each so 2 cars and a nice drive to park 2 cars on but for soem reason the guy wont have 2 cars on the drive and has decided his car is allowed on the drive and not his wifes

Crisp_£_note

DCFC79 wrote: »

What i dont understand is why have a driveway if your not going to use it, not sure what else you can do OP, our neighbours have a car each so 2 cars and a nice drive to park 2 cars on but for soem reason the guy wont have 2 cars on the drive and has decided his car is allowed on the drive and not his wifes

Thats exactly what we thought ! Thanks