Quick outline of the problem, Parking outside of my house in a layby which according to the land registry is owned by the block of houses I live in and we all share right of way access to this piece of land and we all share the upkeep of said land if anything needed to be done to it, I know this bit is true as the council re-surfaced the road just after I moved in and they didn't bother doing the layby but did everything else in the area. Bit more detail. There are 6 houses in this block & the layby stretches from No.2 to us in No.5 so you can imagine its not small and you can at a push fit around 7 normal sized cars if parked neatly but most of the time there is somewhere around 5-6 at anyone time, No.1 has a layby also down the side of his house of which he parks all of his cars in and thus doesn't affect the layby outside the house, No.6 has a driveway so again doesn't park anything in the layby, No.4 doesn't drive so that is another car out of the equation, so between No.2, 3 & Us we have a possible 6 spaces to use now as I've said above this land according to my investigations through a solicitor and the land registry is registered to Pine court (the name of the block) specifically its held under No.1 with right of way access and shared maintenance across all 6 properties, so according to my solicitor this is private property and can be used by residence of Pine court as they see fit as long as all parties are in agreement we can all park there. This is where my research got stuck, how do I then stop other residence that do not live in our block from parking in the spaces? I have already tried asking them politely not to park in the spaces I even tried reasoning with them by asking them to not specifically park in the space directly outside my house but now they have a vendetta to try and park in the space as much as they can if they get home first before us and all the spaces are empty they will park in that 1 space outside of our property first. What can I do? Any help as I am not sure what I can search for to find the answer as I keep finding commercial parking companies but I don't think that will do anything other than cost money.
So, what's the issue exactly? Do the three houses (2, 3 and you) own 6 cars collectively, requiring all the space? Otherwise, you're coming across as a bit miserly if there's spare spaces and you're trying to stop them being used.
It's private land owned collectively by the group of houses mentioned. Anyone else parking there does so by effectively trespassing. Call a private clamping company, register all of your number plates with them and give them the right to clamp. They'll soon stop then.
The only way I'm aware of to enforce it is to use fees, signage and permits. You place signs that it's for permit holders only, you give permits to yourself and the neighbours and then you can enforce it using a BPA certified company. I'd imagine this is all going to cost you, but asking people nicely isn't going to work - not when (as recent global elections show) <50% are reasonable caring people. My gut feeling is, this isn't going to be practical for you and such a small number of spaces (It's not as if you're Westminster Council). It's a shame that those parking unfairly are clearly such arseholes - I wish you luck. http://www.theaa.com/public_affairs/reports/parking-tickets-private-land.html http://www.britishparking.co.uk/AOS PS If anyone here suggests violence to persons or vehicles then don't ever think about going down that route.
See Below, as I mentioned above my main issue is they insist on parking directly outside my house which would be common courtesy to allow me to park outside my own house if there is space to do so the remaining collective houses do not occupy all of the spaces but as it is private land we can if we want. My main gripe is they will insist on parking outside of my house rather then using the other remaining spaces (side note there is no markings on the floor to divide the layby into spaces) nor will they use the road side near their own property, its also worth mentioning they have 2 cars and park both vehicles outside. Wheel clamping is now banned as far as I can see when searching for Private clamping companies. Thank you, I think I'll have a word with my neighbours and see what they think as It might be enough to deter people just with the threat of us collectively setting up a permit system.
Wheel clamping on private land is indeed illegal. The issue you have is whilst yes you can look at getting in a private parking company the cost implication thats involved will probably be more than you'd want to pay and for such a small piece of land in the grand scheme of things many of these companies may not be interested. Police would be your best bet, but they may be powerless to do anything as they may argue ( as with most things) its a civil dispute between the parties involved so they won't call out. If the cars parked there are taxed and insured they will more than likely not be able to do squat. The only thing I can think of is a polite notice to start with on each car, and if they keep doing it put another notice on said car which is less polite each time.
Ahh, gotcha. Perhaps a solution would be to all chip in for some road marking paint, clearly mark some spaces and number them?
Block them in so they can't get out again (easily)? Not causing any damage, just an inconvenience. Something to show that parking there isn't worth the hassle. Probably worth using something other than your car though... try an old washing machine.
That strikes me as quite an elegant solution It's a pig of a situation though, people won't just respect the bay being yours as it appears to be communal, and any polite pointing out of that error will only get backs up. Find a local company that do thermoplastic road marking and have them divvy it up; people are a lot less likely to knowingly deprive a specific person of their rightful space.
Retractable bollards. If you feel like being a bad person, invest in a very nice hydraulic jack and some flat concrete blocks. Jack car, add blocks under the wheels, etc.
Pig of a situation. Despite the law being on your side, the enforcement of said law is the problem here and as you say yourself it's likely to cost you a fair bit. I agree with Guinevere that sadly it boils down to people not giving a sh!t, in which case any action on your part seems futile. At least if you were dealing with reasonable people, you could reach some kind of compromise or resolve. You could erect big, bold "Private Parking - Residents Only" signs at the layby, but as Behemoth said there's not much you can do if said signs are simply ignored. The only other thing I can think of (as suggested by Cheapskate) is a physical barrier, e.g. bollards or a chain, which basically gives other residents no choice in the matter. It would probably cost a fair bit to get something like that installed, but it will solve your problem.
My parents own a house with a garage that exits onto the residential road behind. Someone decided to keep parking on the private land between the doors and the pavement - you can get a car on it. As such whenever my dad went down there he could never access the garage. In the end he got some builders to attach a nice strong chain to stop them. Came back to find the chain on the ground still attached to the wall. It seems they couldn't break the chain, so they knocked down one of the wall pillars it was attached to. TL: DR, people are dicks and they'll park there if they want to even with a chain.
If not too expensive pick up an inflatable car balloon. Then one day wait for your spot to be clear and then set up the dummy car and reserve the parking spot in front of you. That said I suspect you might find a similar experience as loftie's parents.
Thank you for all the suggestions but it does seem that people will just be dicks no matter how nicely you ask them, I've looked into getting a professional in to paint road markings on the floor which I was quoted around £250 to paint 6 spaces and mark them with house numbers, I think I might get a couple of cans of floor paint and at least try it myself if they parked straight It would be a help neither of them can park to save their life. I am also drafting out a letter to throw through there door I might just print loads of them and keep putting them through there door & on there car till they give in it can't make them any more of a dick then they already are. If it wasn't such a stretch bollards would be a neat idea but I think if it did come to that then it would be more beneficial to create driveways to each house from the layby. Will see how the letters go down .
Upside down spray paint is pretty good (will fade and wear), but you need boards to get a clean straight line I use it regularly at work to mark out spaces on ropey old tarmac
I came to post something like Dr. Coins suggestion. Get a crappy motorbike you can roll in your yard when you get home.
or just let the tyres down... a couple of days of having to pump up their tyres might change their minds
I know from personal experience, people don't read. I suspect you'll just be wasting time and materials with a letter campaign. As for painting your own lines, you can buy specialty pavement paint, it is a bit more durable, ticker and has the option of high visibility, i.e. reflective. Clean the pavement well before you paint, sweep, wash and let dry and then use compressed air over the area to be painted just before application. You might also want to check with the local authority, while it is private land there can be rules that limit what you are able to do.
Sprinklers on your front lawn, every time you see them try to get on their car, turn the sprinklers on. Or if you have 2 cars to play with, park as close as you can to their bumpers, watch them get tired of trying to maneuver out of the parking space. 1) Record footage 2) Post on Youtube 3) PROFIT!! 4) ???
