A furious driver has hit out at their neighbour, who repeatedly parks a number of vehicles in front of their house despite having a completely empty driveway.
The disgruntled homeowner says that their neighbour insists on parking five cars in front of their home, leading to the entrance of their driveway becoming constantly blocked. The selfish neighbour in question owns three cars, a truck and a van - which take up a lot of space on the street itself.
The Express reports that this means not only are the homeowner and their family unable to park outside of their own residence, but they can't even get close to it on most days. Taking to Reddit to express their fury, they said: "We have four cars and space enough for one car to park in our driveway.
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"At night our neighbours park all of their cars, including the work truck/van, on the street, and don’t park any cars in their driveway. Sometimes at night they'll park the box truck and half the nose of it is blocking the entrance to our driveway, so we have to hop up on the curb on one side just to get around and into our driveway."
As well as this, the resident added that the people next door 'space out' their vehicles during the day, allegedly to prevent anyone else parking there. They added: "They literally take up six parking spots with three cars during the day. I've gone over to their house to try to talk to them multiple times and nobody answers every time I knock.
"I'm not that neighbour that thinks they're entitled to the public street in front of their house, but I think it's absolute [SIC] to take up multiple parking spots with big vehicles and with [SIC] spacing so that you can claim the spots, especially when it's not even in front of your own house."
The Reddit user also asked others for advice, and many people were keen to help. One commented: "Know anyone with motorcycles? That can fit in between their vehicles. So annoying when people aren’t considerate.
"If your driveway is blocked have them towed. Find out how that works in your area."
Another, said: ""It’s illegal to park blocking a driveway, even partially. Since they don’t want to talk, next time they block your drive, call the cops and have it ticketed and towed," while a third, added: "Put dibs on your parking areas and put cones or patio chairs out."
What can I do if someone parks on my driveway?
If a vehicle is parked on your driveway without rightful permission, this counts as trespassing. As trespass is a civil offence, the police won't always get involved though. At most they may send an officer to determine the owner of said vehicle, and ask them to move it.
Can I block someone's car in if they're parked on my driveway?
If someone has parked on your drive and you retaliate by blocking them in, your vehicle may be causing obstruction to the public highway - which is a criminal offence. The owner then could call the police and take action against you.
What action can I take if I can’t park outside my house?
Unfortunately, a homeowner has no legal right to park directly outside their own property. As it is a public road, all users have the same right to park anywhere they choose, should this not contravene parking restrictions.
Can I reserve a parking space on the street?
If you attempt to keep a parking space available outside your home using obstacles such as cones, this could be viewed as an obstruction. This could leave you liable to criminal prosecution, unless your local authority has granted you the right to do so. These circumstances are only usually given in extreme cases, such as funerals.
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