Shared driveway - workaround or avoid?

KPyro

babyblade41 said:

KPyro said:

hazyjo said:

Search the forum for 'shared driveway' 'shared drive' etc and give it some serious thought.

Another one here who wouldn't touch shared driveways with a bargepole.

Yeah I had a look and totally agree if I was relying on the shared driveway then it'd be a total no-go, the eager FTB in me was just hoping if I could figure out a workaround it might change things, but  actually even if you used the front garden for a driveway an obnoxious neighbour could still park in the shared space and block you in if they chose to.
There's also nothing in the way of street parking (it's a main road) so visiting friends/family could face quite a walk.

I think you have answered your own question... I'd leave this one alone 

I think you're right  

There's not many houses for sale in the area we like at the moment, they have come up in our price range but the good ones go within a week, which is making me a little impatient. Need to just sit tight and be ready to move fast..

davidmcn

KPyro said:

davidmcn said:

OP, how long has the vendor been parking there? (or to put it another way, when was the last time the neighbour exercised their right to drive up the driveway?)

Don't know, is this worth finding out?

Sorry, I had thought you had already viewed it but see you haven't yet.
If the neighbours haven't exercised their rights for long enough there may be an argument that they have fallen into disuse and are no longer enforceable. You need to ask the question anyway.

babyblade41

Patience is a virtue and will be rewarded, for the sake of impatience sit tight for a little while and you will find the right place when you least expect it 

KPyro

davidmcn said:

KPyro said:

davidmcn said:

OP, how long has the vendor been parking there? (or to put it another way, when was the last time the neighbour exercised their right to drive up the driveway?)

Don't know, is this worth finding out?

If for long enough there may be an argument that the neighbours' rights have fallen into disuse and are no longer enforceable. If you are wanting to proceed then it would be useful information - have you had no discussions with the vendors about the shared aspect of the driveway?

Not yet, we've arranged a viewing but nothing else. I only really spotted this issue this morning looking back over the listing and going on streetview.

unforeseen

davidmcn said:

KPyro said:

davidmcn said:

OP, how long has the vendor been parking there? (or to put it another way, when was the last time the neighbour exercised their right to drive up the driveway?)

Don't know, is this worth finding out?

Sorry, I had thought you had already viewed it but see you haven't yet.
If the neighbours haven't exercised their rights for long enough there may be an argument that they have fallen into disuse and are no longer enforceable. You need to ask the question anyway.

That will never happen. They have rights over it and may well actually own it

Like any ROW the rights to use it never expire through disuse.

hazyjo

We have off road parking for two cars and even that is a poxy nightmare. Nearly had a row with next door's dad who kept parking on our dropped kerb as he couldn't find a space (didn't mind now and again, but it became extremely regular and he blocked the drive once when we were out and I had to drive round the block until they moved it), and then yesterday next door to the right parked there several times as there were builders at the house next to them who kept blocking their exit a bit from their drive. He left it there for 2 hours. No knock, no apology, nothing.

No, it's not a shared drive. I dread to think what a nightmare that would be. All it takes is one selfish neighbour to think they can use it to park on and say 'just knock if you need me to move the car'. They never see that as wrong so therein starts the niggles and the battles.

warby68

Avoid................like the plague, sorry.

trex227

Have you looked at the title documents to the house on the Land Registry? It might be there is nothing in the legal documents giving any rights so you could put a fence in (especially if neighbours had not been using it). 

My house (semi detached) is like this. There is no fence between us and our non adjoining neighbours. We both have front drives and only a tiny car would be able to park between the houses so it’s only ever been used for the bins. All other houses the same as ours on the street have fences. We’re good friends with our neighbours and it makes sorting out bins and getting stuff into our gardens less of a squeeze. But if either moved we’d probably put up a fence. 

SneaksyWhippet

Pretty much all of the houses on my street, and nearby streets, are just like this. It's a fairly standard 1940's semi layout, certainly where I live. Most of the houses have turned the area in front of their property into a parking area (the garden in your pic) and use the existing dropped kerb, some have fences inbetween them and the non-adjoining property, I do see a few who park like your pic above if there is space (it's generally either very tight or too tight), but otherwise they park on the road. There is ample on-street parking though...maybe that's the difference.

princeofpounds

KPyro said:
Thanks for the input, sorry it seems like i wasnt clear-the house pictured is the house we're looking at, ie the car parked is (presumably) the current owners of the house, and I would assume the the wall and railing are part of the front garden space rather than a party wall, though I will check that during the viewing.

Do you not think there'd be enough room to turn into the garden space (if it were converted to driveway) using the existing drop kerb?

IF we were to create a private parking space do you think it would be enough to remove this problem for future buyers or would you still be put off by the shared side access to the garage at the back?

That's the problem. You can't presume this. It could be next door's car - my bet is that it is. There seems to be no wall between the neighbour and the driveway, so maybe they use it as an extension of their own property day-to-day? Fancy trying to kick them off? You'd win legally, but it would be a total pain.

You presumption on the wall and railing may be right. But it may not. The railing is an odd feature in particular, and visually almost looks like it's being used to further increase the sense of separation between the driveway and the property you are looking at.

Is there enough room to turn in from the dropped kerb (and the first part of the driveway)? Yes, possibly, although you'll be in the best place to judge that. It also assumes that a) you get planning permission for the new parking spot - some types require it - and b) you actually have access to the first part of the driveway. 

If successful, would it remove the problem for onward sales? Not totally - as you can see some people will never consider it -  but it would help a lot. I do agree that your proposed set-up is better, in theory, than the current set up. But I think you need to be thinking about possible disputes and hassle even before you get to resale stage (and if you have a dispute, you'll have to declare it).

Unlike some of the others on here, I'm not a fundamentalist against shared driveways. But I would still be super-wary, and only consider them when the design doesn't invite problems, as the current set-up seems to do.