neighbours parking over my driveway

Our next door neighbours just parked in our drive, presumably to avoid parking fees. We live in central London. As soon as my husband drove to work, I would see various cars parked up for hours. One day I put a notice on the windscreen explaining that it’s a private drive and they cannot use it. My husband works for a chauffeur driven company and comes home at odd times of day with various limousines and they knew this. They haven’t done it since. Their guests still park across the driveway though, blocking our exit.

I could come up with 1001 'creative' ways to make sure they didn't do it again!

It is illegal to block a driveway so people cannot exit a property. Think of a fire. The police should be able to sort that out.

travelsafar

The spaces are there at this moment as everyone at work. Later on and weekends its a different story. Family one side has 5 cars and they use up nearly all the road. So my space in front of the drive is always being used by them and their visitors so no space for mine or when i want to get off drive.

They have no right to block your access to your own drive.You must tell your neighbours that this issue is causing you and guests who are visiting you problems, and would they make sure they tell their own visitors to leave your drive clear.

Lathyrus

Just keep knocking when you need them to move.

Sorry could you just move your car so I can get out.
Sorry could you just move so I can get in.
Sorry I have to go out again.
Sorry I’m back and need you to move so I can get out in.
I’ll be going out again later.

Sorry can you move so my visitor can park on my drive.
They’ll need to get out again in half an hour.
Sorry can you move so my visitor can get out.
My son will be coming later so I’ll have to bother you again.

Dear, oh dear, it is a bit of a job isn’t it😀😀

That should do the trick.

😂

If all else fails, park across your own drive, and if they ask why then tell them.

Try living opposite a primary school! I park on the road as it is unsafe to reverse out of my drive and it is difficult to reverse in as it is quite narrow. My daughter parks in the drive as her car is smaller and she doesn't use it every day as she commutes by train. I often avoid coming home when I really want to as it is school pick up time and I know the whole road will be in chaos. Inconsiderate parents ignore yellow lines and block drives regularly. Occasionally the police send members of the neighbourhood team round causing quite a panic. I ended up speaking to them to explain that I was blocking my own drive so they didn't ticket me!

Unfortunately the only time there was a visit from a parking warden it was in the school holidays and the only person who got a ticket was a resident who had popped home for something and parked outside his own house briefly during the prohibited hours knowing it was school holidays so wouldn't be a problem! If they sent a parking warden down every day for a week it would soon stop! There is even a big school car park but some parents park on the road to make a quick getaway rather than queue to get out! Entitled eh!

I once walked along pretending to take pictures of offending cars. A woman asked why I was photographing her car - parked half on the pavement over the yellow line - and when I said it was illegal to park there she said she had broken down! When I continued to pretend to photograph her car she got in and drove off! She was right opposite the school gates! Clearly couldn't walk a few feet further to pick up her child! At the time my camera phone was such poor quality I wouldn't have been able to read the number plate anyway but she didn't know that. I have a iPhone now so perhaps I should go out and cause panic again!

I can see people pull up in front of my front drive. I open the window and start shouting at them. Where some friends lived in Exeter, if anyone parked in front of a certain matronly dragon's house, she would stride out and in a very military cut glass voice shout 'B.. orrff! waving her diamond beringed hand in a dismissive action - they would flee in terror never to return. Sadly, she is long passed but it did the trick.

Nation of car owners!
Unfortunately OP your neighbours are probably so thick skinned they wouldn't understand if you asked them politely.
An older lady 75 and disabled, has plenty of space outside her own house but her next door neighbour has several cars and visitors who park across her garage drive.
When she hobbles round to ask them to move, someone comes out, moves their vehicle, waits for her to move her own car and then drives straight back!

I think the loud voiced DS is the way to go, I'm sorry to say.

My DS shouted out my window recently when he saw some new neighbours (of mine) walking their cat on a lead yes really into our garden to acclimatise it to it's new area!

They scuttled off and later came round to apologise.

I like Lathyrus solution too. for me it would be a first port of call before involving the council etc.

Thankfully, as it can be a problem in my road, my bit has quite a few people with no or only 1 car and all houses have driveways. But there is someone who parks opposite my drive and I'm not very good at getting out, it's a narrow road, I had a word and she was nice. The being older and white hair helps a bit.....

Is the kerb dropped where they are parking? Is your drive straight or at an angle? Do your visitors ever park in that space outside their home? Sorry for all the questions but this information is limited. If your drive is at an angle it could be part of the problem. Is your drive wide enough to park further over? Or could you perhaps reverse on to make getting off the drive easier!

travelsafar, snap - I have neighbours with five vehicles as well. They never park on their own drive. Another set of neighbours have several vans. I don't even drive - yet I've had visitors who've been unable to park anywhere and so couldn't stay!

Here (London) it's an ever increasing problem, especially since the next road became 'permit only'. I've got two spaces on my drive - if it can be accessed - and regularly knock on doors asking them to move the vehicle blocking it!

Frogs, - in a similar way, my son-in-law just leant on the horn until a neighbour's visitor came out to move his car. SIL yelled at him 'You're taking the (effing pee) mate, move that pile of (poo) before I do it for you!' The poor little chap went red in the face and quickly moved (to block another drive) then fled inside.

I have a similar issue, the one side of my drive entrance is usually blocked by another car - I now realise why - I have a double car driveway but only 1 dropped kerb, but there is a dropped kerb a few yards up, where there is no driveway, so in fact they're doing it correctly by not covering the dropped kerb there! Not that anyone with a scooter or pram couldn't cross the road as there are dropped kerbs everywhere! Only way to sort that is to have a dropped kerb put in on my other half, but no money to do it with, but it's very irritating as in order to park on that bit and not go over the bit of grass as well really is a knack! So I always do that as others just drive over my grass and churn it up!

They are cheeky so and sos. This is one of my big bares!
Knock ask them to move as they are blocking your drive - they are relying on you not knocking - bloody cheek 😡

We have this problem not with the neighbours but with people coming to the village to walk dogs or funerals!!! No car park at the church there is a car park at the other end of the village. We put stones on either side of our drive to stop people parking or large farm vehicles from turning. We were told by the parish council it was illegal and I think painting strips would be too.
I think making a nuisance of yourself as others have suggested might work or park your own car in the space for quite a few days. They will have to look elsewhere for a park.
Do you know any of the family on friendly terms to ask? We could not see when driving out and for next doors trees and they refused to prune. I waited until their son-in-law was around and approached him and he kindly pruned all their hedge and overhanging branches.

MrsKen33

It is illegal to block a driveway so people cannot exit a property. Think of a fire. The police should be able to sort that out.

It is not illegal unless there is a dropped kerb.

It is not actually illegal to park on somebodies drive, it is private land and therefor a civil matter.

People were constantly parking across an uncle's driveway, which needed to be kept clear in case he had to rush his wife to hospital.

He rang the police, who came and gave the offending car a parking ticket. After that had been done about a dozen times, people stopped blocking his drive.

I was fined in 2019 for parking next to a dropped kerb (I didn't see it!) by a traffic warden. Is it worth finding out if that's the case now where you live?