Parking war question
Posted: Mon Aug 25, 2025 12:47 pm
This has so far not directly involved me but it's got to the point where I feel I should say something but just looking for views/advice from the forum. I'll try and be as clear as possible.
Our house is terraced and round the back is a short access road with a row of garages opposite. The first 4 houses in the row own the land between their fence posts to the garages opposite, although at an offset, so mine for example covers half my garage and half my neighbours garage. This only applies for the first 4 houses. The next 4 houses have their garages in the row but they don't own the land, however their gardens extend to the back of the garages. So you essentially have 4 houses owning the access road and 4 having bigger gardens. The deeds say that although we own the land we need to allow access to properties further down the way for garage access/back fence. Our house and our neighbours is in the first 4 houses with the land listed in the deeds.
As with many places our road is busy for parking so the the first 4 houses park their cars over their back fences. There is ample space to drive passed for cars to access further down. Recently a guy in the last 4 houses has started parking over our next door neighbours back fence, he's lived in the row for 5 odd years but only started doing it last few months. First time our next door neighbour asked him if he could move it and matey down the way escalated to essentially 'I'll do what I want, you don't own it, it belongs to us all'. Nothing happened then for a while but now he seems to be on a deliberate wind up, parking there when the road is empty and in my view just starting rows. He believes we don't own that land.
This morning I get a knock early doors when I was in bed, turns out matey parked there last night and our next door neighbour has blocked him in, can I let him out. Now over the last few weeks matey is starting to wind me up, he's not parked out the back of mine (hard as me and Mrs work from home so space is rarely free) or the neighbour 1 over, always over next doors and he's said some pretty shitty things to next door neighbours Mrs, telling her to suck his dick etc which is totally out of order imo. I've always got on with both sets of these neighbours so avoided getting involved but it's not right imo. Anyway I move my car and matey drives out but then backs up when my neighbour comes out and starts clapping and then the argument starts again.
For then I've come in as any comments are just going to escalate. But I've rechecked my deeds and we own that land, so I'm guessing matey shouldn't park there regardless of anything else, he can drive through it but thats it. And now I am getting involved as he's asking me to move. My next door neighbour has apologised to me for us getting involved.
I'm feeling like I should speak to matey and ask what the point of this is as I don't want to get involved but bottom line next door own the land he's parking in so what's the point in the needless hassle. We've always got on, but he might tell me to fuck off, so be it, however I don't think he believes we own that land so maybe that'll change his opinion. Next door said this morning we own it and matey was saying 'yeah, yeah, no you don't it's public', so he could be thinking he can park there and we are just laying claim to something that isn't ours.
From a legal standpoint from what I've read, he shouldn't park there but stopping it is not particularly easy, with putting in bollards being the best solution but don't think anyone wants that.
As to getting involved, I'd rather not but starting to happen anyway and I'd rather do it with hopefully a reasonable conversion instead of when it's all kicking off. If it goes south...well I'm coming to the opinion it might go that way anyway and better getting in early. Who knows, maybe when we show we own the land he might see things different.
Any thoughts?
Our house is terraced and round the back is a short access road with a row of garages opposite. The first 4 houses in the row own the land between their fence posts to the garages opposite, although at an offset, so mine for example covers half my garage and half my neighbours garage. This only applies for the first 4 houses. The next 4 houses have their garages in the row but they don't own the land, however their gardens extend to the back of the garages. So you essentially have 4 houses owning the access road and 4 having bigger gardens. The deeds say that although we own the land we need to allow access to properties further down the way for garage access/back fence. Our house and our neighbours is in the first 4 houses with the land listed in the deeds.
As with many places our road is busy for parking so the the first 4 houses park their cars over their back fences. There is ample space to drive passed for cars to access further down. Recently a guy in the last 4 houses has started parking over our next door neighbours back fence, he's lived in the row for 5 odd years but only started doing it last few months. First time our next door neighbour asked him if he could move it and matey down the way escalated to essentially 'I'll do what I want, you don't own it, it belongs to us all'. Nothing happened then for a while but now he seems to be on a deliberate wind up, parking there when the road is empty and in my view just starting rows. He believes we don't own that land.
This morning I get a knock early doors when I was in bed, turns out matey parked there last night and our next door neighbour has blocked him in, can I let him out. Now over the last few weeks matey is starting to wind me up, he's not parked out the back of mine (hard as me and Mrs work from home so space is rarely free) or the neighbour 1 over, always over next doors and he's said some pretty shitty things to next door neighbours Mrs, telling her to suck his dick etc which is totally out of order imo. I've always got on with both sets of these neighbours so avoided getting involved but it's not right imo. Anyway I move my car and matey drives out but then backs up when my neighbour comes out and starts clapping and then the argument starts again.
For then I've come in as any comments are just going to escalate. But I've rechecked my deeds and we own that land, so I'm guessing matey shouldn't park there regardless of anything else, he can drive through it but thats it. And now I am getting involved as he's asking me to move. My next door neighbour has apologised to me for us getting involved.
I'm feeling like I should speak to matey and ask what the point of this is as I don't want to get involved but bottom line next door own the land he's parking in so what's the point in the needless hassle. We've always got on, but he might tell me to fuck off, so be it, however I don't think he believes we own that land so maybe that'll change his opinion. Next door said this morning we own it and matey was saying 'yeah, yeah, no you don't it's public', so he could be thinking he can park there and we are just laying claim to something that isn't ours.
From a legal standpoint from what I've read, he shouldn't park there but stopping it is not particularly easy, with putting in bollards being the best solution but don't think anyone wants that.
As to getting involved, I'd rather not but starting to happen anyway and I'd rather do it with hopefully a reasonable conversion instead of when it's all kicking off. If it goes south...well I'm coming to the opinion it might go that way anyway and better getting in early. Who knows, maybe when we show we own the land he might see things different.
Any thoughts?
