A new homeowner has just moved in - but has already been left fuming by a neighbour who’s parking in front his house - and even partially blocking the drive frequently. In a bid to get legal advice to see if anything can be done the person decided to ask for help in Reddit.
They said: “My neighbours are parking in front of my house without my permission, what can I do? I’ve recently moved into my first home and my front drive consists of two parts, a front garden which has a fence infront of it and the actual driveway I can park my car on, my neighbours have taken it upon themselves to park infront of the fence despite having room on their own driveway for both their cars.
"I know this seems petty but more often than not they park a little too far back and partially block my drive by a foot and since I have to share an extended driveway with my other neighbours this makes it somewhat awkward to get out at times."
Responses suggested he might struggle to legally get them to change. One said: “Are they parking over your dropped kerb? You need to speak with them about it. Otherwise unless you own the road outside your house (unlikely) then they can park there as much as they like.”
One added a question: “You cannot control who parks on the public road in front of your house. If they are blocking your access, have you spoken to them about this?”
Another said: “Can you clarify if they’re parking over your access from your drive to the road or just parking on the road?” The homowner replied: “It’s a bit of both, more often than not they are encroaching on my dropped curb access , gonna try speaking to them sometime this week to try and come to an arrangement, I don’t mind them parking infront of the fence *IF* they parked more towards their side of the fencing
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“But if they turn out to be douches about it what can I do?”
On this a person replied: “There’s nothing you can stop anyone from being a douche if they aren’t engaged in unlawful behaviour. If your access from your driveway to the highway isn’t impeded it’s likely no one will do anything. Have a word with them and ask them politely to stop.”
On BBC Morning Live, solicitor Gary Rycroft has explained just where people stand when attempting to prevent others from parking outside their own home.
“If you own your house, if you rent your house, that’s great. But you don’t own or rent the road in front of your house.
“That is the public highway, and the clue is in the name. It’s for the public. It’s for all of us to use and to park there. Now. Sometimes there are restrictions on parking double yellow lines - of course, you can’t block people’s driveways.
“Sometimes councils introduce residents' parking, so that means that only the residents can park there. But that’s just reducing the cohort of people who can park there. They can park wherever they want within the residents' zone, usually. So, no, you don’t own the space in front of your house. “
Helen Skelton asked if people could take direct action to stop cars from parking there. She said: “But following on from that, can you put a cone or a wheelie bin, for instance, outside your house? I don’t do it. But you can keep a space free?” Gary was adamant: “No, you can’t put a wheelie bin or a cone. That is an offence under the Highways Act 1980 Section 137, you are blocking the public highway.
“You might be liable to a fine or a penalty charge notice or even imprisonment for blocking the public highway. I’d also like to know where the cone comes from? Because, actually, cones are distributed by the highway agency. So you shouldn’t have a cone in the first place. So no, please. Seriously, you shouldn’t be doing that. You’re obstructing the highway.”
The RAC says it is perfectly legal to park outside someone’s house, unless the vehicle is blocking a driveway or a wheel is over a dropped kerb. Where no parking controls exist, drivers do not have an ‘automatic spot’ for parking outside their homes.
If your vehicle is on your driveway and another car is parked on a public highway and blocking your access out of your driveway, the council has the power to act. But if that other car is on a drive, it’s technically on private property – and the council has no authority to remove it.
Other situations in which parking isn’t permitted include streets governed by residents’ parking permits or any of the restrictions outlined above, i.e. double yellow lines.
