Neighbour Doesn't Want Us Parking out The Front of Their House

chiefbodge on 15/02/2017 - 21:30
Last edited 15/02/2017 - 21:31

Considering how popular these moral dilemma threads are on OzBargain I thought I'd start one of my own to get the opinion of you good folks.

We have two cars but only one spot in our driveway right now. Unfortunately we have a bike lane out the front of our house so can't park there. Instead we park the extra car on the side street. We don't really park in a specific spot, just wherever is convenient at the time.

We recently got a letter attached to our windscreen that said:

To the driver / owner of the vehicle just to let you know that the continued parking of this vehicle outside of residence of HOUSE NUMBER STREET NAME is causing some safety concerns for residents of ANOTHER HOUSE NUMBER and HOUSE NUMBER entering and exiting our driveway.

Perhaps the vehicle could be parked further south along STREET NAME or in other local side streets. Regards resident of HOUSE NUMBER.

Our vehicle has always been parked legally and we don't make an effort of parking out the front of their house. We did get a letter from them years ago when we had a different car that asked us not to do U turns in their driveway (we never entered their property but would sometimes use the council part of their driveway, we complied with this request as it seemed pedantic but reasonable enough).

There's plenty of parking in the street, and generally no one is parked in front of their place, especially not them as they have plenty of parking for their own vehicles.

Here is a diagram of the roads: http://i.imgur.com/MQZx3rV.png

Do you think this is a reasonable request? What would you do?

Poll Options

  • 5
    Write them a note telling them how ridiculous they are being
  • 26
    Make an effort to park in front of their house as much as possible
  • 422
    Continue to park there if convenient
  • 161
    Park somewhere else to keep the peace
  • 37
    You are in the wrong, don't park there
  • 24
    Bikies
Automotive

Comments

  • Chall5 on 16/02/2017 - 17:31

    "We have two cars but only one spot in our driveway right now"

    What's the story with the 'right now' ? Have you got a double driveway but a trailer or something permanently parked on your drive taking up a spot ?

    • chiefbodge on 16/02/2017 - 21:40
      +2

      We just recently got two cars because it unfortunately became necessary. We have a lot of stuff in the carport at the moment, once we complete some renovations we will be able to fit both cars in our driveway.

  • edgar28 on 16/02/2017 - 17:50

    Get a free council parking permit with the road name on the permit (due to cycle lane)

    problem solved.

  • Tpyin on 16/02/2017 - 17:57

    My neighbour's worse. They leave a cone out so it appears legal. At a different place I had a neighbour asking us not to park at a certain spot because her daughter comes and visits. And another neighbour across the road who did the same thing as your neighbours but without any reason. I say talk to your neighbour and let them know they have no legal right but tell them you will park somewhere else just to be nice (only if you want). Like someone else said maybe it's about the view & why not show kindness.. just cause you can :)

    • [Deactivated] on 16/02/2017 - 18:13
      -1

      If someone misused traffic/safety equipment (even if they bought it) I would have no hesitation calling the council or police. It's quite illegal.

      • crazyj on 16/02/2017 - 19:22
        +1

        it's not legal. doesn't mean it is illegal. sheesh

  • syousef on 16/02/2017 - 18:13
    +2

    I'm not particularly thrilled when people park at the front of our house because sometimes we use our front lawn for guest parking, and sometimes I park on the front lawn not the driveway if I'm unloading stuff. That said I'd never write notes or get aggressive. Roads are public communal property. Buy a large property with a private road if you can afford to, then you can play lord high chancellor of the road to your heart's content. In your shoes I'd park elsewhere only because it would be less of a headache than dealing with these people.

    • dufflover on 16/02/2017 - 18:43
      +1

      I kinda agree with a couple of points (just replied to this one as closest match to my thoughts) that I'd get pretty peeved about someone always parking in front of my place and similarly they (say) had another car to park there out of their garage or they or their guests always had to park quite a bit down the way.
      Not sure why they gave those public letter reasons that they gave though, maybe they tried the indirect approach first … a bit like telling the wife to lose weight "for health reasons" instead of the obvious one :P

  • Hirolol on 16/02/2017 - 18:21

    wasn't there another thread where people kept blocking someones driveway and there was basically nothing he could do about it?
    Even after contacting the police or the council i don't think they cared.
    Which brings me to my point of just parking out the front of their house just for the lulz.

    nah don't do that.

    Seriously though maybe write a letter in the same way and say that you can park where you want.

    if you want double revenge don't even bother with using your own driveway, just park both out the front of their house :)

    • tomsco on 16/02/2017 - 22:46
      +1

      There was Cedric.

  • pork chop on 16/02/2017 - 19:07
    +5

    I am in a similar boat. My neighbour's driveway and mine are side by side. Every one of their dicky friends like to park their car directly opposite my driveway and not theirs so it can be difficult when my family reverse out of our driveway when there's a car park directly opposite our driveway. I have contacted my local council and there's nothing they can do. Seriously, what is wrong with these people??

  • kay dee on 16/02/2017 - 19:29
    +17

    I was in a very similar situation to you a few years back at a previous home, and sometimes would park in front of the neighbors house (only when there was NO SPACES in front of my own), of course I always try to leave at least enough space for another vehicle (for garbage collections or in case their guests needs a spot), and after about 2 weeks, the husband approached me and asked I not park there anymore because it was blocking the view when him or his family reverse out. Instead of explaining to him that I had every right to park there, I just apologized and parked else where, even if it meant I sometimes had to walk a bit further, I figured it was better to on good terms with the neighbors.

    Glad I did, because a few months later, after a family night out, we came back home to see police cars in front of our home. Turned out a couple of teenagers were attempting to break into our house. It was our neighbor who first noticed them snooping around and immediately contacted the police, and him and his son intervened when they saw the teens trying to pry open the door. Thanks to them, the teens only mildly damaged the security door before the police arrived.

    While I understand your temptation to stand your ground and not give in, I mean why would you? when you've done nothing wrong. I can also understand their frustration (regardless if the safety concerns are legitimate or not).

    If it was me, I would just accept their request and park somewhere else just to keep the peace, and I know others, including yourself have said, if you don't park there, someone else will, at least it won't be you.

    I've had my fair shares of good and bad neighbors, and good neighbors (even if you rarely talk to each other and it's just a simple nod/wave/smile when you see each other) is FAR better than having bad ones.

  • Christy Bambi on 16/02/2017 - 19:29
    +1

    Well funny thing is we have the same problem but infact the neighbour has so many vehicles that he parks it all over the street. He has four cars, a boat and a caravan. And the worse thing he is constantly is parking one of these objects in front of our house. Once he did block our driveway in and we told him not to block the driveway physically in as it against the law. Now you can say whatever you want to him and tell him to park his car elsewhere. But legally its a public road and he can park wherever he wants. We had to build double lane parking bay in our front yard so we had space to park our cars close to our property as the neighbour took all the space outside the front of our house. Normally we have three spaces outside the front of our house that we would normally park our cars. Apart from that most of the people replying seem like great neighbours to have but you can't pick your neighbours. Also didn't even bother reporting him for having his boat parked for 6 months on the street.

  • speedyjonzalas on 16/02/2017 - 20:59
    +3

    Going through something similar right now.

    Our whole street everyone has driveways and if they dont have enough space they park outside their own house.

    Our neighbour asked if they could park one car out our front which we of course said no problem too.

    Now they have gone from having two cars to six… and always have three parked outside ours.

    Its now difficult to reverse out our own drive and they often park in front of the bins.

    Really annoys me as techincally they are doing nothing wrong. Morally they are being incredibly selfish.

    For record all other spaces nearby are taken so if we want to park on the street or have visitors we have to park a while away and walk…. frustrating as hell.

    • troyww on 16/02/2017 - 23:47
      +3

      Yes it never a problem until it happens to you .
      It makes exiting your own drive a right royal pain and not getting your bins picked up is just a bonus .

  • Mike88 on 16/02/2017 - 21:12

    Ignore your arrogant neighbours, the road is not theirs. You are completely in the right. Would advise against contacting them directly as they are probably just as unreasonable in person and could escalate the situation.
    This is a council issue permitting builds without adequate parking facilities. If you had an unreasonably large amount of cars being parked in the street that would be different but 2 cars for a property is normal.
    I would invest in the largest vehicle possible, maybe worthwhile getting a truck license and making sure to adequately warm up the engine before you leave in the morning.

  • Mosha on 16/02/2017 - 22:03

    Just ignore the letter, unfortunately elderly people or generally people who don't have anything to do with there lives become territorial and think they can demand neighbors to comply with things they have no right over. You're entitled to park anywhere in the street as long as it is legal, that being following street signs, not in front of driveways or fire hydrants etc. We have an incredibly narrow street and most people in our street park on one side of the road, we have four vehicles with space for 1.5 cars in our drive way. We always at least try and fit two, but given the amount of trunks that run down our street it's just not worth staggering creating twisty turny and dealing with broken mirrors. It's worked for decade, but we have had letters with the same issue. I also garuntee you that if you're not going to park there someone else will!

  • fujay on 16/02/2017 - 22:05

    Is it common to leave one meter to driveway when parking?
    One end of my street is left turn only, a lot of cars like to fit in the side heading to the other end. Some kerb maybe long enough for 2 cars, but just long enough. If park one meter from others drive way, would take up the whole kerb, and force another car do u turn to park, then u turn again in the morning.
    I started early and finish early, so no issue take up what I need at night, but would like to understand and follow the rule of etiquette.

    • chiefbodge on 16/02/2017 - 22:34
      +1

      Not sure. We don't have to but there's no way two cars would fit in front of their house unless they were tiny cars so leaving a decent gap on either side is what we do.

  • MetalPhreak on 16/02/2017 - 22:32

    We had a car parked in front of our house and a neighbour passive aggressively left a rangers card in our mailbox with a note saying not to park there. Ranger had no clue when we called and said it was fine. Our new neighbours park there now and we don't give a toss.

  • Shwayne on 16/02/2017 - 22:59
    +1

    Judging based on people who have done this to people I've known in the past, they did not know what harm they were causing.

    So unless you're going to ask them to explain what the problem is, you have to assume they're being reasonable.

    Park elsewhere.

    • chiefbodge on 16/02/2017 - 23:10

      Whilst I would usually give people the benefit of the doubt, the history here is that they put a note on our car for doing a handful of 3 point turns on the footpath part of their driveway - there's absolutely no safety issues with that, and it was never late at night or anything. If they had valid safety concerns I would've thought they'd have described them. It's a completely normal suburban street and we park there like anyone else would. If anything they have an advantage over other properties because their driveway is double width.

      I don't really like the idea of a society where those that complain the loudest get their way at the expense of everyone else. We all have to live with each other and that involves compromise, not just simply thinking about yourself. If they had've explained clearly why our car was creating a safety issue in front of their place vs another place on the same street I'd happily oblige without question. In fact they always seem to be home so if they wanted to they could've explained it to me when I pulled up.

      • Shwayne on 16/02/2017 - 23:56
        +2

        That's fair, I know they are likely being unreasonable, but you really only have one side of the story until you knock on the door and ask them what the issue is.

        Personally I'd find another place to park because I don't want a crazy neighbour touching my car.

  • chiefbodge on 16/02/2017 - 23:00
    +4

    Really interesting reading the diversity of views about the situation. Good to hear views of people from the other side. We wont stop parking in front of their place completely but we'll try to minimise the amount of time we park in front of their place. If I see them outside of their house I'll have a chat to them about it and see what the specific problem is.

  • mafim on 16/02/2017 - 23:42
    -3

    Just park there after making sure it's legal to do that, and buy a crash camera which can work after the engine stopped and recording both front and rear.

  • [Deactivated] on 16/02/2017 - 23:51
    +5

    Threads like this brings me to realise, rural living is so much better than dealing with peoples BS in the city

  • fruxo on 17/02/2017 - 00:43

    My wife sometimes finds it hard to drive our car out of our driveway when there is a car parked on street in opposite side. Especially since there is often cars on same side next to our driveway.

    If it's no big deal, their ask seems reasonable enough, although something they should have asked face to face probably to avoid sounding passive aggressive.

    It's obviously not illegal for you to park there or anything, but if it's a hassle for your neighbors then just park a car length up the street.

  • afoveht on 17/02/2017 - 06:36
    +5

    So much appeal to legality in this thread. Who cares whether it's legal or not? The law is no indicator of what's right or wrong - wars and slavery and dreadful minimum wages and environmental destruction and jailing refugee children on islands and all sorts of terrible things are/were sanctioned by law. And to use the law as an excuse/means to be stubborn and avoid personal responsibility - this is the work of crooked lawyers, not decent people.

    Rather, why not talk to the people. If you tell them your predicament (that you're renovating for a few months and will stop parking there then) they'll probably feel relieved and be over it. You may even win their favour and have another friend in the neighbourhood. Else if they're actual aholes and it turns to crap at least you'll feel better knowing you gave the situation a fair hearing and you can then continue parking there with no moral dilemma whatsoever.

  • theguru1 on 17/02/2017 - 07:27
    +4

    My neighbour, located on a corner allotment, so two street frontages, had 3 driveways, a double garage and carport and 180m frontage to my street, still managed to park his car in front of my place.

    It did piss me off as I then had my whole frontage taken by him whilst his was clear.

    I parked out my front for several days after which he got the message and didn't park there again.

  • fozzie on 17/02/2017 - 07:47
    +1

    You should not park there! I will need to work out who is parking in front of my street (it's a small street just with houses). We only have the space to get out as there is a car park outside next door and one straight after my driveway. It is so annoying that we need to do manoeuvres in order to get out car out….We have a covered carport so we always park our only car in there. Many other neighbours have 3/4 cars per household! If they don't have the space to park they should expect to park further away. I told my husband to put a note, but he is too nice and said no…..

    • Geekomatic on 19/02/2017 - 21:47

      Maybe take photos & go to your council about it? If it's really that difficult, they might erect, "no parking" signs wherever makes most sense?

      Good luck

      :)

  • Jules_d1 on 17/02/2017 - 08:37
    +2

    Where's the option of "Be a grown up and have an amicable conversation with them about the situation?". Clearly both you and them now have a bit of chatter going on in your head about it.

    If you listen to their side of the story and you explain yours, I'm sure you can come to some sort of agreement where you are both happy and everything remains amicable.

    Regardless of who is right or wrong, actually talking to them in a civil way is going to end up better regardless.

  • PleasureMe on 17/02/2017 - 08:44
    -4

    Why can't you park in the bike lane in front of your house??? A bike would have no trouble going around your car.

    • chiefbodge on 17/02/2017 - 10:10

      Not sure if serious?

      Literally on the first day we moved in we were parked there for all of 10mins while we moved some stuff inside - $250 fine from council (completely fair as we were illegally parked). It sure taught us a good lesson.

  • zealmax on 17/02/2017 - 11:11
    +3

    I understand the frustration of not being able to park in front of your own house. I have a neighbour who has about 5m frontage including drive way(culdesac). The have 2 cars that they park in their driveway. They also have 3 adult children and their partners living with them(understandably due to Sydney house prices being ridiculously high). There are 4 cars that belong to their children and their partners. Needless to say, with 4 cars parked in front of your house there isn't much room left to park your own car. What ticks me off, is they park their car right in front of my house when there is a spot free in front of theirs. Even worse, the daughter doesn't know how to park. Sometimes she is almost a metre off from the curve, or she parks 1.5 away from my driveway so that no one can park behind her. Frustrating as it is, I keep it to myself to keep the peace. I am hoping the children will win the lotto and move out of their parents home.

  • Mrgreenz on 17/02/2017 - 11:24

    Lol they must not have much to do If theyre spotting you doing a u turn once a week. The complaining about it

  • grr1701 on 17/02/2017 - 12:42

    I'd make an effort to park elsewhere. If he gets even more annoyed, he might start mowing when you car is there (after throwing a handful of stones on the grass next to your car 😂.) Might place his wheeliebin right near your car on collection day. Or might put some prawn shells down your front vents at 2.00am. Why risk it if there are viable alternatives.

  • Chall5 on 17/02/2017 - 12:49

    pertinent issue to us

    Where we are almost no one parks in their garage - that seems to be storage (fair enough). However, people with free driveways still park on the side of the road. At our old house we had cars either side of the driveway and on the opposite side of the road. Made reversing out very difficult and obvs nowhere for our visitors to park

  • Biance on 17/02/2017 - 13:50
    +3

    I clicked "continue to park there if convenient", because you have a legal right to park there.

    However, in retrospect now I am thinking of my old house, where there was a particular spot that if the across the road neighbours parked at, it made reversing out of our driveway a 7-point turn, instead of a one point turn. Irritating, but I would never have gone to the effort of complaining.

    It actually sounds like this elderly couple is a chatty friendly neighbourhood couple who has found out that a car parked in that location causes a similar issue to the people at the other address and they are just trying to be helpful to those other people.

    If you can see a way that their claim is true (that it may be difficult for the other house to get off their driveway), it could be worth making the effort to not park there - negligible inconvenience for you, saves a fairly big inconvenience for those people.
    But, if it is just those people not wanting your car parked their for aesthetics then they can just get over it.

  • Mcbargains on 17/02/2017 - 14:46
    -1

    This happened to me in my last house. The note advised me that council regulations required us to park outside our own houses only. When I emailed the nice man at the council for clarification he advised that I might like to call the police if the neighbours continued to interfere with my motor vehicle through the continual placing of notes containing incorrect information. Park there, roads are public property. People like this need to learn that they have no such entitlements. Obviously it is preferable to park outside your own house but you have every right to park wherever you like within the law.

    • OzzyOzbourne on 17/02/2017 - 18:17
      +1

      Yes there are lots of thing people can do to annoy and make life difficult for other people. As long as they are not illegal, we should continue being inconsiderate and think only of ourselves. It's not a legal requirement to have common decency and people should learn that.

  • Schezwon on 17/02/2017 - 15:57

    I don't see the point of parking anywhere else, first in first serve, if you don't park there somebody else will, it's a public road.

  • Oz80085 on 17/02/2017 - 17:40

    They don't own the road, so long as it's legal to, you can park where ever you like. I had the same issue with a mental neighbor once. I just threw the angry letters in the bin and kept parking there. She was nuts.

  • chingy1788 on 17/02/2017 - 18:00

    I'd like to say park further down the road.
    There's a spot in front of our neighbours house, and there are two driveways on the opposite side.
    Who ever parks in that spot will have some ones front end smashed into their side eventually. Then they run, no note left or anything.
    I always tell my friends who visit to not park there.

  • Dr Prepper on 17/02/2017 - 18:12
    +1

    Just park somewhere else there is no need to upset them.

  • oaks101 on 17/02/2017 - 19:23
    +3

    I had some car parked out the front of our house for 3 months, was so filthy, then one day it left, only to park even closer to the middle of our house. Very annoying when we have up to 6 cars parking at our house, using the street was very necessary for us. Just move your car down it is very annoying. I would not have cared about a someone doing this until it actually happened to me, until you experience it, you cant comment on it.

  • GLO on 17/02/2017 - 20:53
    +1

    Hi Op,

    Just accept the letter and keep a collection of them. Find the most expensive car in the street and place the note on their car until you run out.

    This will allow the new recipient to address the frivolous concerns of the nosey neighbour.

    I live to a similar neighbour and when I wish my 3 young daughters went up to say hello whilst the old girl was trimming her edges with scissors, she tried to hide behind a bush. But we stayed to say hello and she threatened to call the cops and started swearing at all of us. Poor form since we simply went to say hello as good neighbours do.

    I would have lost my cool but she did have scissors in her hand and I had my young girls with me. My other neighbour said I should have given her my phone to call the cops!!!

  • tassieeagle on 17/02/2017 - 20:59

    Buy a trailer and leave it there all the time. Never use it. Ever.

  • simonjb on 18/02/2017 - 07:08

    Geez how hard is it not to park in front of someone else's house. In all my years living in the burbs it's an unspoken rule. Leave the closest space outside for the owner of the house. If you have a problem with that I think you are considering yourself and your own needs at the cost of someone elses.

    • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 12:08

      They don't even use though. Not once have I seen their car parked there. If it's an unspoken rule I think it kind of stinks. The reality is some people are not going to have parking outside their house at all. It seems right to me that as someone in this situation that I should be able to use the common parking available to everyone?

      • simonjb on 18/02/2017 - 15:34
        -1

        Okay maybe they are just being unreasonable. But you said there is plenty of parking in the street. So why not just park somewhere else? Maybe their elderly mother or grandmother visits on the day that you parked in front of their house. You seem a bit hard and fast on the law but just because there are no laws against something doesn't mean you should do it anyway. Be a nice person and knock on their door and ask them about the note. Personally I would never leave a note on someone's windshield so maybe they are just rude. But give the benefit of the doubt and go and ask. If it is just 'because' and they are ride to you then do what ever makes you feel better. But personally if I parked my car in front of any house other than my own more than a few times I'd expect a knock on my door just to get it settled.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/02/2017 - 07:41
    -1

    you should complain to the council why they built bikies lane in front of your house:)

  • djmm on 18/02/2017 - 07:59
    -7

    I personally think what you did is actually annoying - parking in front of someone's house all the time and using their driveway for u turn. That's quite rude to be honest as you can just put some effort and do a proper u turn without going into someone's driveway, that's rude. Had you park in front of some bogan's house they'd probably would've keyed your car/slashed your tires.

    I don't understand why some people can't have the common courtesy and respect for simple things such as not to use someone's driveway for u turn, that's just plain rude. You may think it's harmful but it is actually annoying as they can hear your car going in and out their driveway.

    I'm surprised you're still planning to park in front of their house despite the warning. From the looks of it you can't see your car from your house 24/7 and if your car "accidentally" got scraped, you can't do jackshit about it or prove who did it.

    If I were a pensioner with nothing to do and a (profanity) did that despite the nice warning, I'd probably start hosing the car and inside engine with salt water every day.

    • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 12:06
      +5

      If you actually read my original post you'd see that I stopped doing u-turns in their drive way 5 years ago after they asked me not to. I only did it about 10 times in total.

      It sounds like you are justifying someone engaging in a criminal act as retaliation for something that is completely legal and you are the one telling me that I'm in the wrong? Jesus.

      • simonjb on 18/02/2017 - 15:42
        -2

        I'm completely against the u turn thing in their driveway as well. They probably consider you riff raff because of that and just want you to stay away from their home.
        Again, there is no law against doing it, but that driveway/crossover paid for by the owner when layed, is for use to access the property it's not really there for your convenience. Personally you should be happy that they want a clear level of privacy and aren't parking in front of your house and driving up and down your driveway.

      • djmm on 18/02/2017 - 17:21
        -8

        Man you're a special one aren't you? You also cut in the queue at train station because there is no law on that?

        I just find it hard to believe that you could decide to ignore your neighbour's polite request altogether, not even a visit to clear the air especially when they're literally your next door neighbour. Worst part is I can't sense any guilt in you for being such a self-centered person.

        To answer your question, do I PERSONALLY justify retaliation? In this case, shit yeah, you had it coming my friend. I am waiting for your next thread "my car got keyed how do I prove it's my next door neighbour" lol.

        • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 19:23
          +5

          Woahh, chill out dude. I wouldn't consider this a polite request. A polite request would at very least use "if possible" and "please" to indicate that they are aware that I don't have to change my behaviour. You also are missing the context of the U-turn letter 5 years ago - that particular letter made all kinds of legal threats but I complied anyway. I get along great with my neighbours. And I certainly don't hide behind the law as an excuse to act like a dick. I just dont like it when people make rude and unreasonable demands - it makes everyone have a bad day and it's just so unecessary, if they had just come up to me and asked me nicely not to park there and cited a reason other than they don't like looking at my car there'd be no issue.

          If you think that a criminal act is justified for any reason, no less someone parking their car on the street then you are the person who isn't nice.

          For the record I have never jumped a queue or stolen someone's carpark in a shopping centre in my life and when zip merging I never accelerate to get ahead, so maybe you should stop making assumptions of what kind of person I am.

          I think the issue here is that we disagree on what the etiquette is which is fine. You think that people have a right to the spot outside their house and I think the road belongs to everyone. To me their actions are selfish not mine, but I can see why others might have a different view

        • tryagain on 18/02/2017 - 20:59
          +5

          Actually look at what the OP said before you jump to conclusions. You don't happen to be elderly with a well kept house and a pesky person parking out the front do you?

  • FatBlanket on 18/02/2017 - 09:44
    +2

    Park in their living room instead

  • kangaroo on 18/02/2017 - 10:25
    +1

    I used to live in North America, in most cities parking on the street side constantly occupying the same spot (overnight) is deemed illegal. In Australia this is legal, but can be annoying for the home owner. Over there driving into someone's driveway to take a U turn is a offence too. When I moved to Aus, I was surprised that these conditions are not enforced.

    Here in Aus, my neighbour parks in front of the house opposite my house, as he doesn't have enough car space in is own house. While he is parking legally, there are many issues here.

    1. My wife finds it very hard to reverse our vehicle because there is no room in the road.
    2. The owners of the house in front of my house, have issues reversing their car unable to check blind spots.
    3. The vehicle parked is a small construction truck, so its a eye sore

    In my view using the same spot all year along, is not courteous,

    question for OP, will you be happy if someone does the same in front of your place?

    Why is a bike lane preventing you from parking on your side of the street? Is the side of the street only for bikes and no vehicle allowed there ?

    • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 12:03
      +3

      There is a bike lane on both sides of the street. I don't always park in front of their house, I park in lots of different spots.

    • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 13:54
      +2

      To answer your other question yes, if people were able to park out the front of my place I'd have no issue with it. I don't consider the road my property so it's first in first served really. I actually had this at my last house - the spot outside my house was regularly taken by someone else and I just parked elsewhere. It didn't even cross my mind that it was my space and that I should be annoyed that someone else was parked there.

  • JimmyF on 18/02/2017 - 10:39
    +1

    So OP…. when you say "We have two cars but only one spot in our driveway right now."

    Right now? Hmmm let me guess, you have a garage full of crap and can't park your car in it?

    People who park in front of others houses all the time as they have a crap load of cars or a garage full of crap, really annoy people!

    • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 12:01

      They don't use the park and I pay my council rates just like they do… I don't see how they have a right to the park, especially when they don't use it what so ever. It's not a busy street at all, there's plenty of parking. Surely it's better that I park in a park that is never used vs someone who actually uses the park in front of their house?

      • JimmyF on 18/02/2017 - 13:55
        +3

        You failed to answer why you have more than one car space that you can't use.

        They also pay council rates, they also look after the area in front of their house. They shouldn't have to look at your car all the time.

        What about when their friends visit? where do they park?

        I'm sure if someone could park in front of your house and they did, you would complain.

        They said its causing issues for other houses to get in and out of the driveway. Just move a house up or down. Problem solved!

        • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 14:03
          +1

          They shouldn't have to look at my car all the time? What kind of reason is that? Did you miss the bit where I said the majority of the time I don't park there, I only park there sometimes.

          I think if they had friends around maybe they could park in one of the many other parks available and walk the extra 20m?

          As I said in another reply at my last house the spot out the front of our house was frequently taken by someone else before I got back from work, it never crossed my mind to get annoyed that someone was parked on a road that doesn't belong to me. I parked my car 20m down the road and got on with my life.

          I'm not purposely trying to annoy them, I sometimes park there, most of the time I don't. I don't really see what the issue is which is why I started this thread. The common complaint from people in the same situation here is todo with their park not being available for them. That isn't the case here as they don't use it, if that were the case it would be a valid concern and I would respect their request, even though legally I wouldn't have to.

        • JimmyF on 18/02/2017 - 17:32
          -1

          @chiefbodge: yawn… again you failed to answer why you have more than one car space that you can't use.

          Park someone else then if you don't park there often, as you said, its only a extra 20m. Everyone is happy then.

        • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 19:16
          +3

          @Level380:

          I'm not ignoring you it's just it has been answered elsewhere already and it really is beside the point anyway.

        • JimmyF on 18/02/2017 - 21:30

          @chiefbodge: haha beside the point, I fail to see how. You have valid spaces you don't want to use.

  • Cfoo123 on 18/02/2017 - 11:13

    Old people aren't going to change their unreasonable requests even if you comply with this one. I reckon just move your car and let the old people stress over something else, no biggie..

    While the request is annoying, this might be a situation where you could be the bigger person.

  • Dobe on 18/02/2017 - 12:05
    +2

    It is amazing that you need opinions of what to do in a situation like this.

    Clearly your actions are impacting a neighbour and who are we or you to judge their reasons, so do the right thing and move it elsewhere. That is a no brainer or are we responding to a gen Y ?

    BTW interesting point that your "house" only has one parking spot in the driveway, what happened to the garage? Or is the garage filled with a glut of stuff that could/should be elsewhere, as after all garages are for cars :)

    • Dobe on 18/02/2017 - 12:11
      +2

      Oh, by the way, you also need to consider, leaving your car there from now on could expose it to damage, some could say that note was a nice warning, so take your own calculated risks.

      • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 12:21
        +4

        So just because I park legally outside someones house my car deserves to be vandalised?

        For people without driveways councils are usually happy to erect permit only signs to prevent others parking there. If you have off street parking then this is generally not done because the road doesn't belong to you - it belongs to the community.

        I came here for advice so it's fair for you to offer it but I'm respectfully going to go with the consensus here. That said I have taken their note on board and will make an effort to park elsewhere most of the time. But I'm not going to completely stop parking there just because it annoys them. I don't expect to always get my own way in life and neither should they. If they ever actually used their park it would be a different story - I would be more than happy to comply. I just don't like the attitude that people think they have the right to never be annoyed by anything and expect everyone else to do as they say. Fact is I have a car, it's going to be parked somewhere and if it's not parked in front of their place it's going to be parked somewhere else. Cars get parked on streets, it's a reality.

        If they want to discuss their gripes further with me then they can do it to my face like a real person instead of writing demanding notes.

        • Dobe on 18/02/2017 - 13:30
          -1

          Guessed it one, needed "advice" on what to do!
          Needed validation to do the "greedy" thing and obscure someone else's property!
          Of course it will could be damaged if you continually leave it outside someone else's home and they have asked you nicely not to leave it there, seems like you don't get it.
          A gen Y response, me, myself and I.

        • chiefbodge on 18/02/2017 - 13:47

          @Dobe:

          Not sure why you are bringing age into this at all, you have no idea how old I am and it's not really relevant.

          You could just as easily say the elderly couple are only thinking of themselves if they seek to control the public road and keep it all to themselves even though they don't actually use it.

          I came here for advice yes, and the majority of it says to keep on parking there if convenient. There have been useful opinions from those who don't reckon that I should park there but your view was certainly not one of them, you just seem set out to attack me.

          I have taken this useful views on board and will avoid parking there most of the time.

  • mrraccoon78 on 18/02/2017 - 12:46
    +1

    This one time this bird was banging on at me to move my pushie.

    I got my mate Stevie the snail to crap in their letterbox.

    Problem solved

  • try2bhelpful on 18/02/2017 - 14:15

    Maybe you should just have a quiet chat to the people involved and ask them exactly what the issue is, they might have a point or you may be able to explain why it isn't a point. The thing to remember is that if someone does try to break into your car at any time these people are not going to lift a finger to assist you. We live in a laneway that leads to a relatively busy street with bikelanes, car traffic and trams. When people park their dark tinted SUVs or the delivery Vans right next to where we pull out we have very little visibility of the street so we just have to inch out - which really pisses the bike riders off if we can't proceed any further than the bike lane. (Must write to the council and see if we can get one of those big mirror things installed.)

    Then again some friends of ours live in a reasonably posh suburb and we used to have great delight baiting the tosser across the road who objected to anyone but his family parking outside their house; the fact he was a completely arrogant member of parliament just made it even more delightful.

  • Hahuh on 18/02/2017 - 18:14

    Depends. You the one leaving your car outside my property for 3 months straigt? Or the neighbour with a balcony and walkway tying their bikes constantly under the tree or the same neighbour despite sharing a nature strip refuses to mow the lawn?

  • nizzkid on 18/02/2017 - 19:12
    -1

    What type of bike lane? It is totally legal to park in some bike lanes.

  • Geekomatic on 18/02/2017 - 20:12
    +1

    There are so many nightmare street/driveway/garage issues. Mine is right up there with the rest, I think.

    I don't have a footpath to my front door nor any driveway & also have my two neighbor's driveway/garages just past mine & facing each other. The neighbor to the one side has to put his bins across the street on the other guy's verge, otherwise the trash truck would have to try to reverse in to pick them up! My bins have to be put out on a completely different street on the other side of my house.

    To keep the peace, I have to reverse out of my garage, past the way out, in order to drive out. Easier than trying to back in.

    http://imgur.com/a/rlMFF

    A gps will bring you to the garage door- which is fenced off from the house, so we just tell people the corner intersection & park on the verge there, rather than having to walk them through the garage.

    Ugh.

  • [Deactivated] on 18/02/2017 - 22:20
    +1

    Is there any chance the people on the opposite side of the street would have any issues backing out if you are parked there?

  • w02m08w on 19/02/2017 - 08:46

    Is it illegal to park across that bike lane?

  • Yuri Lowell on 19/02/2017 - 15:04
    +2

    You should respect their wishes and park somewhere else and contact the council about the bike lane.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/02/2017 - 15:07

    It's public property, and you're a member of the public.
    Park at will, use driveway at will.
    End of story.

    I've dealt with these prats with their entrenched sense of entitlement and delusions of extra-territorial rights.
    They can get on their knees and blow me kisses.

    • JimmyF on 19/02/2017 - 15:59
      +1

      OP also has car park spaces that they could park in, but sounds like that have a garage full of crap instead!

      • [Deactivated] on 22/02/2017 - 22:36

        I thought all garages were full of crap.

        • JimmyF on 23/02/2017 - 13:39

          maybe, maybe not…. The OP has somewhere to park it if they really wanted. but instead they block up someone else's view…. wonder if its a junker car? Cause we all love some junker parked out the front thats not ours months on end!

        • treeman on 25/02/2017 - 10:01

          Garden sheds are meant to be, garages are not.

  • hippies on 19/02/2017 - 20:59
    -1

    ill be pissed too if i am your neighbour.. eventhough its not their "land" technically, but maybe they want to see clear view everytime they open their door. For me, you should move your car somewhere else or ask them nicely before you park in front of someone else properly.. - just my 2 cents -

  • AusGeno on 20/02/2017 - 07:12
    +1

    Please continue to park there whenever you need to OP, don't enable people like this any further.

    I live next door to an angry old cliche who comes running out to try and tell people off whenever they park in front of his house, it's pathetic.

    Although we do have another old guy across the road with no carspot who owns about 5 shitty old european luxury cars which are permanently located outside his house either as some sad attempt to appear wealthy or also a dickish way of making sure nobody can park in front of his house.

    • treeman on 20/02/2017 - 11:36

      If all the spots are taken in front of your house, what do you do when you have visitors? Can be annoying especially if on a narrow road.

      • tomsco on 20/02/2017 - 12:25
        +1

        To be frank, people need to accept the shortcomings like a narrow road when they choose a property.

        If someone is really concerned that someone is going to park right outside their front window, perhaps they can look at moving further out on a bit of land is a viable option.

        As many people have already voiced, if a resident is worried of a safety concern, they need to contact the council.

        • treeman on 20/02/2017 - 14:43
          +1

          Same good be said about the people that are parking on the side of the road though. If people don't have ample parking space maybe they need to move to a property with more spaces.

          I think the OP is fine in their use of this part, renovations can be explained to the person querying the spot being taken up and it isn't every day.
          But for people that have 4 cars for their household and only 1 parking spot and then take up 2 or 3 spaces on the road it is a bit excessive!

        • tomsco on 20/02/2017 - 16:03

          @treeman:

          Look, that's a very valid point. We're seeing more and more properties being filled up with driving aged people that all have their own car that can take over a street. I believe this is also fueled by council allowing development but not expanding the infrastructure to go with it - my area for example, big blocks of land are having house leveled to build 5 townhouses. All of a sudden there's a chance of 20 cars where they might have been 4.

          In saying that, if it's legal, then good luck to them. And there I say the issue is with the complainant. If you're buying in suburbia, you have to accept that other residents will do what is legally allowed, even if it's something you disagree with.

  • Gronk on 20/02/2017 - 12:30

    I'd usually comply with a polite and reasonable request but given this person's history

    Normally I tend to give old people the benefit of the doubt but that line leads me to believe this is just the most recent in a series of similar incidents.

    You're not parking illegally, so if you feel they're using a bull**** reason you get you to move then just come up with an equally bull**** reason why you'd love to but simply cannot comply with their request on this occasion ;)

  • foolsgold on 20/02/2017 - 14:24

    not sure if someone else has mentioned this, but if safety is such a concern, they should not be actually reversing out of their driveway, they should be driving front on.

  • jevozen on 04/12/2017 - 14:22
    -3

    Don't park in front of someone's house or near driveway without asking their permission first. Show some respect and consideration. I would most definitely say 'No' if you were my neighbour. I don't want anyone parked near my house, my front yard etc.

  • myusername on 04/12/2017 - 15:12

    my old neighbour would do the same, but he actually came and asked if it was possible to park his car out the front of my place.

    at first i was hesitant but then thought about it and realised he only wanted to park his car there during business hours.

    from a security perspective i liked the idea as it made it look like there was always someone home.

    confront your neighbour and ask if it is a reasonable request.

    maybe you need to sell the idea to them?

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