Problem Neighbours with Parking on Easement/Shared Access

[ParkingProb]

A neighbour is parking on the shared access of our houses. We own half of the land strip classed as the shared access and 4 houses own the other half. They have four garages on the right hand side and we have an open driveway on the left hand side. He is parking on their half of the shared access blocking 2 garages (he's the owner of one and the other garage is unused). When he parks there and our cars are both facing outwards we can get off the driveway, but one is a very tight squeeze to get off. If we have gone out and come back and his car is parked there (both cars facing nose in) he blocks us in as we have no way to turn the cars around. Also the car closest to the wall of our garden cannot get in if he is parked there, we have to move the first car across a space and then park the second one where that one was. If one car is nose in and one car nose out, one would be fully blocked in until we move our other car, but if that car was also facing nose in the only way we could get that car out would be to reverse all the way onto a main road which we would be doing blind as there is absolutely no visibility due to high side walls and is on a steep slope. And I also would never want to reverse off into a busy main road when there is fast flow of traffic with no visibility. If one car is facing in and one facing out we can do a lot of manoeuvring to eventually get them off the driveway. But if he parks there and we are both parked nose in, unless he moves the car we are blocked in.

We want to know what we can do to stop him, which we think is to go to court. But we want to know how much this will roughly cost, will we be able to get the costs back? Every time someone new moves into one of the four houses and if they park there, will we have to do this every time? What is the likely hood we will be successful? and if he keeps parking there even after court how do we stop him?

I have added the below as a a take out from the house deeds -

• MR. & MRS. XXXX hereby grant and confirm to the Company and its successors in title owners or occupiers of the said land edged blue or any part thereof and its or their licencees (in common with all others entitled) a full right of way at all times and for all purposes with or without vehicles and animals over the land coloured green on the said plan Subject to their repaying one half of any costs incurred by the owner or occupier of any part of the land edged red on the said plan in maintaining or repairing the way over the land coloured green and brown on the said plan.
• THE Company hereby grants and confirms to Mr. & Mrs. XXXX and their successors in title owners or occupiers of the said land edged red or any part thereof and their licencees (in common with all others entitled) a full right of way at all times and for all purposes with or without vehicles and animals over the land coloured brown on the said plan Subject to their repaying one half of any costs incurred by the owner or occupier of any part of the land edged blue on the said plan in maintaining or repairing the way over the land coloured green and brown on the said plan.
• IT IS HEREBY AGREED AND DECLARED by and between the parties hereto that they and their successors in title owners and occupiers for the time being of the said plots of land edged red and blue on the said plan annexed hereto or any part or parts thereof will at all times hereafter keep open clear and unbuilt upon the said lands coloured green and blue on the said plan and every part thereof.

I cant attach images at the moment, but when I can I will attach the deed map and an image to show the parking arrangement.

Thanks!

[ParkingProb]

Deed Map

[ParkingProb]

Current Parking Layout as layout on deeds was not how it ended up.

[atticus]

It appears that you have a right of way over the land edged brown. However, it seems that access to your land and parking area is not being obstructed. Rather, it seems that your neighbour parking his vehicle at the very end of his drive is affecting your ability to manoeuvre your cars as conveniently as you would like.

I strongly advise against the insanity of making this a legal issue.

Try to resolve this by amicable discussion with your neighbour.

[ParkingProb]

It appears that you have a right of way over the land edged brown. However, it seems that access to your land and parking area is not being obstructed. Rather, it seems that your neighbour parking his vehicle at the very end of his drive is affecting your ability to manoeuvre your cars as conveniently as you would like.

I strongly advise against the insanity of making this a legal issue.

Try to resolve this by amicable discussion with your neighbour.

If he is parking on the right of way and this is allowed, what is the point in having the right of way? He refuses to not park there, we have tried discussing it with him. It isn't his driveway, it is supposed to be access for everyone. For them to maneuver into their garages and us to get on and off our driveway. Its a turning circle for us to get on and off our drive and their garages. Now he is parked there it can stop us getting our cars on and off the driveway. The shared access is one car wide and only opens up slightly at the bottom where he parks. So his car is a cars width away (2 meters at most) from the front or back of our cars when they are parked on the driveway. Thus if we are nose in and need to reverse out of the space we cant. And sometimes we can only go nose in as when he is there we can't turn around. How is it ok that if our cars are parked nose in to our driveway we cannot get either of them off the driveway? We are stuck??

Did you view the updated layout? As the image in the original deed is not how the layout is now.

[sandfordboy]

Fully agree with Atticus !!

[ParkingProb]

What about the fact that the covenant of the deeds says that it 'will at all times hereafter keep open clear and unbuilt upon'? The deed requires that land to be kept open and clear. Why does a right of way and a covenant stating this mean absolutely nothing?

[atticus]

I can assure you that I did read your first post and that I looked at both plans. Do you think that in my first post I misunderstood anything?

Your covenant does not "mean nothing". I have not said that. What I have said is that going to court over this will be madness.

Have you spoken to your neighbours about this?

[ParkingProb]

He refuses to park either in his garage or on the road. He wont park on the road because he says his car will get damaged and he cant fit his car in the garage. So he outright refuses to do anything differently. He has been verbally abusive. He gave us his number so when we are blocked in he would come and move it, we sit in our car waiting for him to move his car after sending polite messages asking him to move it, and he always comes over to my car window to argue. There have been numerous times we cant get off our driveway without him pulling his car onto the road so we can turn around. How else are we supposed to deal with this?

We also sent him a letter with the deed information, a solicitor letter from a previous owner that stated people should not park where he was parking and he just ignored it.

[atticus]

Let me be frank. Yes, you can go to court. But it will:

- cost you a lot of money
- take up a lot of your time
- completely ruin relations with this neighbour
- create a dispute that you will have to disclose if you want to sell your house.

I can only advise. Whether to accept that advice is a matter for you, but please think about it.

[Bomber99]

I know it might not be the desirable thing to do, but can you not play him at his own games and block him in with your car and give him your number to call you if he needs to get out. I would also message him in the middle of the night telling him you need to get your car off the drive. I am sure he would soon start to park in a reasonable fashion.

[ParkingProb]

I know it might not be the desirable thing to do, but can you not play him at his own games and block him in with your car and give him your number to call you if he needs to get out. I would also message him in the middle of the night telling him you need to get your car off the drive. I am sure he would soon start to park in a reasonable fashion.

We had been sticking to the agreement of the deeds, we wanted to do things the right way. But he is not interested in doing the same obviously

[ParkingProb]

Let me be frank. Yes, you can go to court. But it will:

- cost you a lot of money
- take up a lot of your time
- completely ruin relations with this neighbour
- create a dispute that you will have to disclose if you want to sell your house.

I can only advise. Whether to accept that advice is a matter for you, but please think about it.

I can understand that. And we don't want to go to court. If you have any suggestions how people usually deal with someone like this out of court? Also I am keen to find out how much dealing with this in court would cost? Do you have a rough figure that this kind of thing would cost?

Thanks

[atticus]

I can actually see a judge saying that this is down to your choice of cars on both sides. You have 2 cars. Your neighbour has a car that is too big for any of his garages. He may say that by parking right at the end he is doing his best to ensure that you have access to your land at the end of the drive.

I expect that when the deed containing the covenants was prepared and executed, the modern-day problems of large cars and multiple vehicles were not envisaged, and maybe the road in front of your houses was a lot less busy.

[atticus]

I can understand that. And we don't want to go to court. If you have any suggestions how people usually deal with someone like this out of court? Also I am keen to find out how much dealing with this in court would cost? Do you have a rough figure that this kind of thing would cost?

Thanks

1. Jaw-Jaw rather than War-War. Direct dialogue. Mediation.

2. A large 5-figure sum, possibly 6, for a case that goes to a full contested hearing.