It's our drive!!

Oh, why do people do these things?

Of course people shouldn’t be parking on your private drive unless they have been given permission to do so. I assumed on first reading your post that he had come to ask you if ok, but I now realise your doorbell probably just picked him up after doing it.

Although you shouldn’t have to, I too might consider parking in a certain way yourself which didn’t allow others to park also, but you really shouldn’t have to resort to such methods.

Awkward I know, but think you should approach neighbour and say that you don’t want your drive being used by her visitors.

But I would dread doing it personally!

Just good manners, and common sense, to ask before parking on someone else’s private land.
I would have a quiet word with my neighbour if it happened here.
I’d need to have a long think before I started the conversation so I was absolutely clear about whether it is ok for him to park if he asks first or whether I really don’t want anyone blocking me in at all.

A disabled friend who needs her car to be accessible, now has neighbours with several cars who often park across her drive. When she rang their bell to explain, the woman said "just ring our bell when you want to get out and we'll move the car!!"
The audacity of some people.

I have gates which I leave open. A neighbour started to park just inside the gates. I was fuming so closed the gates and locked the car in. The neighbour was forced to ring my bell and ask to be let out. There was some feeble excuse, someone was in her space etc. But really they could have asked.

I’ve had this problem for years and even posted a pic on GN about it. Now the house with the main culprits is for sale and advertised with parking for at least 6 cars! It hasn’t, only if you count my additional spaces. I’ve spoken to the EA, but if and when the house is sold, I’ll probably have a friendly word with the new occupants, although the solicitor should show the boundary lines and discuss the covenants.
The other neighbours always ask if they can pop a vehicle there and I’ve no objections, as long as they ask, so I know where a stranger car belongs.

I can't believe how many selfish and entitled people think it's OK to park on someone else's drive.

You couldn't make it up could you? So unreasonable and self entitled!

It’s mindboggling to me that so many people feel entitled to do exactly as they please with no thought for anyone else. I’d definitely make arrangements so the drive was no longer accessible to them, Kittylester.

so where do you park, OP ?
why don't you park at the outer edge of your drive to prevent incursions.
or get a lockable pole fitted.
i wouldn't waste time and emotional energy trying to parley with such people.
just take steps to physically prevent trespass.

Bloody cheek.
If it happens again you should knock and ask him to move it as you're expecting visitors/going out etc.
They'll soon tire of it.
Or put some sort of barrier across your drive

Where I used to live we had new neighbours after a year they had visitors who parked on our drive . My husband went straight round and asked why they had parked on our drive as they where blocking my husband's car . And had no right to park there as it was trespass. They said they thought it was their friends drive my husband told them he was an idiot as they could clearly see it was our drive as there was a lawn on our side which was ours.

After my son was born he started to learn to play the saxophone and insisted on playing it at 9pm . He's wife had told him not to but he soon stopped once my husband went round and threatened to put it where the sun doesn't shine.
Believe it or not we got on very well with them once we sorted out these problems .
You can't let neighbours use your property as there own. If not nipped in the bud now things will only escalate.

kitty I’m actually appalled that someone did this. How rude to just assume he could park on your drive without asking your permission first. I’m also surprised at the number of GNs who have had a similar experience. You must mention it before it happens again.

I would be extremely annoyed. Our new neighbours son left his car parked opposite our house when they went on holiday for 3 weeks. It meant nobody could park outside our house. I didn’t say anything at the time but at Christmas I parked on the road as the family were coming and the lad parked directly opposite my car blocking the road. When I saw my neighbour I very pleasantly asked him if we could talk about cars and showed him his son’s car. He was horrified and son hasn’t done it again. We are still on very good terms with them.
Next time you see your neighbour I would pleasantly ask them to ask the brother not to park on your drive as you may need to get out at a moments notice.

MissInterpreted

I would just have a quiet word with your neighbour and say that, at the very least, it would have been nice if her brother had asked for permission to park on your drive rather than just assuming it would be ok to do so. You could point out that it could have caused problems if you'd needed to get into or out of your drive yourself.

Exactly.
What a liberty!

Totally unacceptable. We had a neighbour who did this in a previous property we lived in many moons ago. Another neighbour on the other side whom we were friendly with told us when we got back off holiday that this neighbour and his daughter had been parking on our drive the whole time.
We were about to say something to this neighbour about it but had to go and do a big shop, having just got back. And hey presto when we returned the neighbours car was on our drive, the neighbour just getting out. He said that he thought we were still away but not to worry he would move his car later when his wife’s friend had gone.
I told him in no uncertain terms that he would move the car now seeing as the drive is our property and not a free parking space.
He was a bit put out but I really didn’t care.
This kind of behaviour is entitled and down right rude. I suggest the OP parks in a way to block anyone else using the drive and puts a wheelbarrow or plant pots on the drive when going out in the car so as to get the message through.

Aldom

You have my sympathy Kitty.
I once, not long ago opened my front door to find a very large van on my drive. So large it was backed up almost to the door of my house. As I had no idea who had parked there I went inside to write a note for the windscreen. On coming outside the driver appeared. I asked him why he was using my drive and was told to F off. He then drove away.

Charming

A car repeatedly parked across our drive so I couldn’t get my car out at the same time on a Thursday, and was there for quite a while.

Eventually, I left a polite note pointing out that I’d been blocked in, and had to miss an appointment, and asking the driver not to do it again.

The note was stuck under my windscreen wiper with a message (unsigned) saying ‘I am working at no. 68 (nowhere near our house) and I have to park while I’m working’. Cheeky ****y indeed!

I’ve just realised I should have asked the occupants of No 68 to tell their employee not to block me in next time! But I don’t think it happened again.

We have two parking spaces behind our house. We bought one of them many years ago that did not belong to us, so we now own the two. Many of the houses around us are having extensions and changes to the front facades of their homes.. We have found some of their work Lorries/Vans park on our spare parking space often dropping oil and metal detrious.

Last year DH found a metal square stand left behind by workmen. He has now painted on it in small letters our address in white paint and places it beside our parked car. Only once has someone knocked it over otherwise it keeps our space for family and friends.

I have a space for 2 cars on my drive and lockable gates. I dont drive or own a car but I have had entitled neighbours approach me to ask if they could use it. When I offered to "give them a commercial price" they quickly backed off.

Is it a shared drive? I wonder if you could put a row of bamboo in planters down the middle?

Our neighbours opposite have a shared drive. The one family use the other neighbours drive to pull on and off their drive instead of moving their cars. I’d be furious if it was me

biglouis

I have a space for 2 cars on my drive and lockable gates. I dont drive or own a car but I have had entitled neighbours approach me to ask if they could use it. When I offered to "give them a commercial price" they quickly backed off.

We don't mind if neighbours use one drive occasionally if they have visitors, as long as they ask.
It's not often and one lot always give us a bottle of wine as a thank you.

Some people round here have hired out their drives at a slightly less than commercial rent when there have been big gatherings in the vicinity.

He’s lucky it wasn’t a very feisty friend of ours.
He left home at 3 in the morning. One morning he was blocked in by someone parking on his dropped curb.
He took a baseball bat to the car.

Many moons ago, someone parked on our driveway, blocking our car in. My DH discovered that the driver hadn’t locked the car, so he let the handbrake off and moved the car off the driveway and parked it neatly on the road - which had double yellow lines! We never had trouble again!

Squiffy

Many moons ago, someone parked on our driveway, blocking our car in. My DH discovered that the driver hadn’t locked the car, so he let the handbrake off and moved the car off the driveway and parked it neatly on the road - which had double yellow lines! We never had trouble again!

That’s the way to do it! Mr Punch is quite right😄

😉😆