New neighbour asked to "use" my drive.

It seems that you have a lot of problems with your neighbours biglouis
Good neighbours really are an absolute blessing.
Mine are even timing their holidays around my hip replacement; so that they are here if I need any help.

@ Nannarose There is a difference between doing a small favour for a neighbour and charging someone the "going rate" because they are trying to get a free lunch!

I follow the example of a relative of mine who is an accountant and therefore has a very transactional view of life. A new CF neighbour who was building an extension, took it for granted that his builders could site scaffolding in his (relative's) beautifully landscaped garden for the build. He thought he could just "bung you a few quid". However my relative was having none of that. Off the top of his head he reeled off a long list of items including:

health and safety considerations
loss of amenity for part of his garden
ground rental for said scaffolding
privacy issues
his time and that of partner
legal costs
etc etc

Off the top of his head he was citing several thousand pounds before he even spoke to his solicitor to "estimate a price". All this frightened his NDN to the degree that he completely redrafted his plans to site the extension on the other side. Unfortunately the other NDN, having been briefed by relative, cited similar costs. Eventually NDN sold up and moved elsewhere.

It was the cavalier "Hey mate" attitude which got up my relatives nose, and not the fact that NDN wanted to build an extension similar to those which other properties in the area have.

He used an iconic phrase:-

"Lets leave this neighbour business on one side. Im a business man and you approached me with a business proposition so there has to be something in it for me as well."

Well I'm a business woman and there has to be somthing substantial in it for me too.

I am all in favour of helping neighbours but this sounds as if they want to park on your drive permanently which I wouldn't even consider! I tend to keep my car in the garage and I have told my neighbours that when their children come to visit and they need extra space they can use my drive, however, he always calls in first to check it is still OK.

A dd rents out half her drive space once a week, via some online org. Parking is a bit of a nightmare locally and there’s a major hospital within walking distance so there are always takers. Seems to work well.

Once she gave up her car, my mother allowed a neighbour’s son to use her garage. Fine until she developed dementia, when she was endlessly and very angrily telling me that he’d ‘stolen’ it. ?

Good for you!
It's so much better to just say 'no' than try to back peddle later.

My daughter, when renting a flat
got to know her elderly neighbour
who then offered her garage space for free. It became a mutual friendship both if them winning

I would think that she will have got the message now biglouis

Different views of the world!
None of the cars people park on my drive would attract 'steal to order' , though I am amusing myself by wondering what order it might be!
Should I need anything from my neighbours, maybe running an occasional errand, taking me to an appointment, or a loan of something useful; I really hope they don't charge me the 'going rate'!

I was a solicitor Chrissyoh.

I do have an attached garage but its full of my "stuff" - some of it boxes still packed from 20 years ago. Im surprised CF neighbour did not ask to use that.

@Millie22 - yes I may have posted about this before on a thread about unwelcome callers. I was just going for my pm nap when cf neighbour rang my bell. I told her she had woken me up. Instead of apologising she began to rabbit on about her damned cars, I told her to come back next day as I only see people "by appointment". That usually puts people off but she came by at the appointed time and we had the conversation about the drive.

I did not invite her in and she stood one side of a 6ft locked gate while I sat on a garden chair the other side with my coat on.

I did point out that the "nice couple next door" dont have a car either so she might wish to approach them. with her request.

The "nice couple" have sent workpeople to trespass on my property, dumped rubbish on my garden and are general whingers and cfs. So they deserve one another.

You are absolutely right, Biglouis but I remember as a child my father used to rent a garage from a man further down the road to house his very precious Ford Popular, until we had a garage built.

There are commercial services which allow you to rent out your drive. I did look at them to get an idea of what commercial rents would be - from about £8 per day upwards depending on how close you are to desirable facilities like station, stadium, shops etc. However the conditions for these sites say they do not become involved in the "legalities" if any damage is done to the parked vehicle or the vehicle damages your property. It looks like a legal minefield.

To @VioletSky who said that a car on your drive can deter undesirable callers by making the house look "occupied" I get the point. And by the same token a car on your drive indicates that someone is in to undesirable callers like CF neighbours and sales people.

A smart expensive car on the drive could also attract entirely the wrong kind of callers, such as car thieves who steal to order! If they break in are they going to believe that its NOT your car and you dont have the keys?

@ShropshireMiss yes I do have visitors several times a month who want to reverse onto the drive and unload or load directly into or from the house. I am an antique dealer and there are friends in the trade to whom I sell (or who sell to me) on a regular basis. The way my drive is sited you can load right from the boot into my kitchen and no one can see what it is although it is usually pretty small boxes of "stuff". So I do need to keep it clear for private customers and tradespeople. I wasnt going to tewll my CF neighbour that. Its none of her business.

I dont think the CF neighbour had any intention of "renting" the drive. She probably thought she could pay me a tenner a month or something like that. Ive often found with chancers that as soon as you mention that you will "think it over and give them a price" the interest disappears.

Germanshepherdsmum

I certainly wouldn’t agree. And you know what I used to do for a living.

I don’t ?.
What did you do for a living ? ?

Obviously I'm in a minority here, but I have allowed folk to use my drive in the past, and know several people who do. We don't at present have anyone who does so regularly, but a number who do on occasions.

As VioletSky says, it looks as if someone is in, anyone eyeing up the property can see folk coming and going.
It is doing a favour for someone who might at some point do one for you. To me it is part of being in a community. If parking is tight in the street it helps everybody.

I only do it with people I feel comfortable with (and maybe biglouis, you don't). We are clear about the conditions, and would withdraw if there were any problems.

My parents were very happy, for these reasons, to have a neighbour park on their drive most of the time. The day after my dad died, when I went to the house, her (the neighbour) car was on the street. She had been told the news, and to her, permission had ceased. I asked her to put her car back, both to keep an eye on the house and help ease congestion in the street.

In fairness, I think we operate on gut feeling, so I understand anyone who says 'no'. I just don't think it's daft to allow it.

Quick thinking BigLouis. I would have just said no.

Why on earth didn’t he tell his solicitor about this Harris? He didn’t get vacant possession, this will be a breach of his mortgage terms …. A mess.

I'm sure you've posted this before ?

I’m waiting for this to explode with my sons new house. He has an end of terrace property with his drive being part of next doors. At the moment he doesn’t drive and the guy parks four old cars on both drives. I didn’t want to upset my son when viewing the property and I did say along the lines about this being a problem. He went ahead and bought it anyway but I do wonder about the future.

As they say on Mumsnet, she's a CF (cheeky F.....)

One of my builders before I moved in asked if he could store his classic car in my garage. I said no. Then he suggested his girlfriend and her dog could move into the house until I was ready to move! Cheek.

Hmmm, I wouldn't be comfortably with that whatsoever, yes its ok ( in my view ) to use a neighbours drive for an hour or 2 ( which I have done on their suggestion ) but in the situation you find yourself in..... NO.

So what if you don't own a car, THAT is anybodies business? Your drive, your land is for YOU not half the street...... !!!!!

Can’t you just say you need to keep it free for deliveries / visitors.

P.S. Why did they move there if there wasn't enough parking space for their vehicles?

Flat no for me as well, bloody cheek actually

We - and our neighbour - have allowed local people to park on our drives, but only for short periods of time when work was going on or when there's been a wedding or funeral at the church across the road (parking space is limited).

I'd certainly be cautious about a long-term arrangement and think that a legal agreement would be sensible.