Can neighbours block my access to my garage?
Question:I have recently moved into a new property, our new neighbours had an agreement with the previous owners that as none of them used the garages, they would park the cars in front of the garages. we have moved in and we need to use our garage, as we have a specialist vehicle that has to be garaged overnight or the insurance is invalidated. The houses are privately owned and the garage is in a block on private land. I have phoned the local council and they said they cannot deal with this and that I need to contact the police, the police said they will not get involved as it is private land....where do i go from here.
I have spoken with the neighbours on quite a few occassions and at first tried to compromise with them, I have tried being tough and telling them that they must leave the garage clear - we have even painted a "keep clear" sign on the door - but still they park there 24 hours a day..
This has been going on for 5 months now !
any advise would be great
Answers:
Some good and some very dangerous advice previously posted. This is neither a police or a council matter as no criminal offences are being committed. It is a private, civil issue which will rely for its outcome on what the deeds to your property say. The most important thing is not to follow the advice to take matters into your own hands and have the vehicle(s) removed. In Britain you could render yourself liable to allegations of theft, trespass and criminal damage depending on precisely what rights you have (or don't have). The only sensible advice anyone can give you is to see a solicitor who will establish from your deeds what action he can take on your behalf. Frustrating I know but in the end I suspect that a threat from your lawyer that unless your neighbours stop blocking access, you will seek an injunction in the civil courts to formalise the situation. If granted your neighbours would have to comply under threat of imprisonment for contempt of court. Good luck
Have the vehicle towed, when it's blocking your garage. Then call the police and say that you're having the vehicle towed and don't want any problems. They'll come out and stand by while you have the vehicle removed from in front of your garage.
Or simply call the owner (unless YOU are the owner). If you are the owner, you are fully entitled to have that vehicle removed.
ETA: Hunneybu...yes, the police will do what they call a "stand by", while the vehicle is removed. Maybe this isn't done everywhere but I have worked for a few different police departments (in different states) and they've ALL offered this service to citizens. Obviously, if they are busy then it won't be done but as long as they aren't busy-they'll come out and assist. The towing company calls the PD to report it as towed so that the vehicle can be entered into the states law enforcement tracking system. Here in CA that would be CLETS. In Arizona it would be ALETS.
You can try leaving notes on their cars saying that you need access to the garage and if they continue to park there the vehs will be removed. If you cantact a garage that deals with removals they will tow it away for you and as there is a registered keeper they will not charge you for the removal.. they will charge the keeper.
With regard to the above comment. Police wont attend whilst the veh is removed. The garage will contact police to let them know they have towed the veh for obstruction.
I am guessing you are in the uk not in usa so my comments about the garage will be relevent to you. thanks x
They don't have a right to do this to you, but getting them to stop is going to be difficult and possibly costly, and they know it. I'm not surprised the police won't get involved, but you will find a solicitor who will, no problem. It could be that a letter from a solicitor proving you mean business about this will be enough to get them to cave in, but if not then you could end up being very inconvenienced whilst it all gets sorted out. If you can't afford a colicitor, the Citizens Advice Bureau will offer you free legal advice, and will help you with the process of taking it to court. Once you have a court order, the police may be more inclined to get involved.
Also, did the people who sold you the house not tell you about this? If they didn't then you may well have a claim against them and/or their solicitors, as they are duty bound to tel you about this kind of problem when you are buying the house.
i say let the air out of there tyres, if they insist on always parking there then they may aswell leave there car there!
maybe throw a few bricks through the windshield, they'll know it was you but what are they gonna do about it!! lol (im kidding by the way!!)
They have every right to park there as you don't own the land, it sounds like you may have been a bit harsh? or they seem like a bit of a w*nker.
They only real way to get round it is to get there first or comunicate with them.
The only way the council will interveen is if they are stopping you from exiting your property, could you leave a bike in there and someone use it everyday? That way you would have claim that you need the space infront of your garage.
get your local council / authority involved. If they've been asked nicely and yet no change then, you ahve to deal with it the hard way.
they may have had an agreement with the last owners but that is were it ends.
have a polite word then if that dont work call the law what they are doing is illegal same as parking across someones drive way.
Wow.. That would infuriate me. Umm. Can't you talk to whoever owns the property and get him or her to fix the problem? If they don't give a damn, than I would f^cken sabogage the area. Dig wholes. Place Nails.. Whatever. That would piss me off so bad, you have no idea. Yeah, so sabotage the area, even put a sign that say "park at your own risk". Break glass there,, whatever you gotta do there. Your neighbors are incredibly inconsiderate.
I agree with Rhapsody, you have every right to get the vehicle towed because it's private property, they are basically trespassing because you put the notice up & the area in front of your garage is your property too. Let your neigbours know that you will have their vehicle towed if you see it parked in front of the garage & call the police for assistance.
If you want to be polite, send them a registered letter stating that you will begin towing the vehicle after X amount of days, then follow through. A real estate attorney can better advise you on your rights.
Hi there,
I would get it towed away.
Or park a car in front of their garage (if they have one), let them know how it feels!
I don't really understand. If their vehicle is on your property or blocking your driveway and they refuse to move it, then you just have to get it towed. And I don't know - get a court order that stops them from doing it again, on penalty of spending time in jail. Nobody wants to have bad relations with their neighbors, but these guys seem like a$$holes.
I'm not sure what the complication is. They aren't your tenants, are they?? If so, they are surely in breach of the lease and you can get them evicted. Something.
As it is private property neither the police or local authorities can help.You have tried to reason nicely with your neighbours and as that has not worked you might have to adopt a more stronger attitude.This is a pity as living with neighbours with a strained atmosphere is not pleasant.As a last resort you may have to get solicitors letters sent to your neighbours threatening court action if your garage access is not left clear at all times.
get some of those road cones and leave them out side or you could buy a cheap clamp and clamp any car that parks there and a sign that says private property! every time they park there go and ask them to move their car as you need to use YOUR garage!! cheeky buggers! the arrangement is null and void now the old neighbour has moved!
You could try one of the free legal advice web sites such as:
http://www.freeadvice.com/
It is not clear from your text if they are parking on your land or if they are just blocking your access.
Here in Arizona we posted a sign stating that illegally parked cars would be towed at the owners expense. This is in the case of them parking on our property. also police and city not wanting to be involved. We then had their vehicle towed. Fortunately we have a local tow company who will do this at their expense because they will not return the car until they have been paid. Frankly - the tow company knew the law better than anyone else, and were willing to enforce it because they would make money.
In London we had a problem with someone parking on the public street blocking our driveway. My husband and I each had a car, so one weekend we parked our cars - one behind and one in front of the offending vehicle. We parked our cars within inches of the offending car making it impossible for them to get their car out. They - of course - called the police. Although the UK police are not known for their sense of humour, they were hard pressed not to laugh and told the offending neighbour that there is no law covering this, that we were legally parked unlike him. The officer then told the neighbour that he could be arrested for causing a public nuisance because he was cussing up a storm. He never parked there again.
CAUTION - We had to watch our cars the whole time. The neighbour was the sort of person who would damage our property in a fit of temper.
I have every sympathy with your situation and I hope you find a solution. Why cant people just do the right thing!
i would go and see a soliciter to see whre you stand on the mater and get them to send them a letter out, that should work hopefully your neighbours will take you bit more seriosly if they have a solisitors letter, good luck.
Instruct your solicitor to handle this, I am a conveyancing legal secretary and deal with this kind of thing every day. It may also need to be dealt with by the litigation department as it involves a dispute.
You need to review your deed to see what it says about access and rights. If you're lucky, it will detail what property rights come with home ownership, and you can take them to small claims court to take care of it.
definitely not !! They may have had that agreement with the previous occupants. You need to speak to them & say that you use the garage & it's no longer possible for them to block it. If that doesn't help you have no choice to go to the council to ascertain who has right of way. you have nothing to worry about you have been perfectly reasonable.
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