Terraced house driveway laws.

themoneypit1

Anyone got info or know of parking laws on a terraced house that has a driveway up the back ?

We are constantly having our drive blocked by neighbours who insist on leaving their cars in the communal driveway that goes up the backs of the terraced houses leaving people blocked in or blocked out of their drive ways.

There are 2 entrances 1 at the bottom 1 at the top, their house is near the top but they also have a car thats parked at the top blocking the other entrance/exit and are constantly blocking peoples driveways.

thanks.

Aylesbury_Duck

Anything in the deeds of your house that obliges you to maintain access at all times? If so, there’s probably the same in your neighbours’ deeds. Enforcing it is another matter. The first step of course is to speak to the person concerned.

foxy-stoat

Laws on driveways - its illegal to block someone in but not to block someone out.

I would speak to the people concerned first, then if they block you in again call the police who will remove the car for you, hopefully they wont be in and they will tow it away (at their cost).

EdGasketTheSecond

foxy-stoat wrote: »

Laws on driveways - its illegal to block someone in but not to block someone out.

But does that apply where the offending vehicle is on private ground which I suspect the back lane is (like ours)? Also in a lot, if not most areas, the police have 'contracted' parking out to the council to deal with.

caprikid1

I think you need to start with what the deeds say in terms of right of way IE Motor Vehicle etc etc

PasturesNew

If the back lane exists, somebody owns it.
Somebody has a right to use it, for reasons specified in the deeds.
Usually people will have a right to use it as an access to get to their rear gate. It might only be pedestrian access, or vehicles might be included.

If it is a right of way for multiple people, nobody has the right to block that by parking.

You need to get your deeds (£3, instant/online) and look at the layout and read the exact wording. You might like to also get theirs to compare.

Then you need to work out if they've done anything wrong; then what they've done wrong - and the biggie..... persuading them they're in the wrong and stopping them from doing it.

Being legally right doesn't make offenders hold their hands up and go "You're right, sorry, won't ever do that again".

foxy-stoat

Wait until everyone is out then park over the entrance yourself.

Ant555

themoneypit1 wrote: »

There are 2 entrances 1 at the bottom 1 at the top, their house is near the top but they also have a car thats parked at the top blocking the other entrance/exit and are constantly blocking peoples driveways.

thanks.

Just out of interest, what do you and your neighbours do when this happens at the moment - do you knock on the door and ask them to move the vehicle?

Mistral001

Is this a traditional lane to give access to gardens/yards at the back of the houses where some house owners have drives in their garden/yard, or is it a communal area for cars where most people like to park at their own house?

Bigphil1474

OP, you need to find out whether it is a private or public road. We have similar at the back of our row of houses, that actually belongs to houses over the way that don't use it. Basically a free for all, but my back garden is fenced off so I don't park on it, so don't use the access lane. If it's private land, then your local council parking wouldn't be interested, and the police probably not either. If it's a public road, you could enquire about getting some parking restrictions on the road - to stop people parking on the road without stopping you accessing your drive.

droopsnoot

You also need to establish whether the driveway / access at the back of the house has the appropriate permission, or whether someone has just laid some flags and knocked down the back wall.