Street Parking Dispute with Neighbour. Should I Move

Hi all,

Here’s my story. (there is tldr down the bottom for those who are lazy like me)
MS Paint

One of my friend moved into my house two weeks ago. Since our carport can only fit two cars, he has to park his car out on the street.

Our street can only fit around three cars in width-wise so it isn’t very wide. However you can park on the street as long as it doesn’t have a solid line on the middle of the street. The problem is the line starts from my house so I can’t park the car out the front of my house. So unfortunately it has to be parked at one of my neighbours’ houses.

The first day he moved in, he parked his car between my driveway and my next door’s (neighbour 1) driveway. We all commute to work by train and we use my cars on the weekend (his car is a bomb) so the car was parked at the same spot for the past two weeks.

This Monday, we found a letter stuck on the windshield saying he almost hit my friend’s car while reversing out of his driveway and asked to move the car elsewhere. It also said if we don’t move the car, he’ll assume it’s a stolen vehicle and contact the council to tow it away.
We assumed the letter was from neighbour 1 (but now I’m certain it’s from neighbour 3) since it was parked next to his driveway. (I’ve known neighbour 1 ever since I moved in 7 years ago and we’re in good terms). On the following day, we moved the car to the opposite side of the street and wrote an apology letter to neighbour 1.

Today I was out for driving my friend’s car so his battery doesn’t go flat and when I came back, neighbour 3 came up to me asking where I live and basically told me I’ll have to find somewhere else to park otherwise the ‘council will be called’. I didn’t want to confront him so I just told him I’ll find a new spot soon.

Our street gets literally full with parked cars during the daytimes since there is a community centre located about 20m down the road (but the street gets empty at night though). I really can’t think of any other spots other than a train station which is around 5 minutes walk.

Should I move the car to the train station or just leave it there?

tl;dr
I parked a car on the opposite side of my house (neighbour 2’s house) and the next door neighbour of neighbour 2 (neighbour 3) asked to park elsewhere or he’ll call the council. Only spot I can think of is the train station which is 5mins walking distance. Should I move my car to avoid further dispute? plus I’m upset

Thanks

Poll Options expired

  • 58
    Leave it where it is
  • 4
    Just move the car elsewhere and carry on with your life
  • 3
    Park the bomb next to his driveway to piss him off

Comments

  • +4

    What you are doing is a pain in the Ass. It is unsightly, and if the car is a bomb I can see why people think it is dumped.

    BUT you are within your rights to park there.

    Next time you see this person, tell him you have spoken to the Shire and they have confirmed that as the car is yours and not dumped you may park in that location.

    • +2

      I know it’s not socially acceptable to park out front of someone elses house. So that’s why I’m thinking of moving the car elsewhere.
      But him bringing up stuff like ‘council’ bothers me really. He could have asked nicely though.

      • But him bringing up stuff like ‘council’ bothers me really. He could have asked nicely though.

        +1
        maybe he's had difficult neighbors before, could be just what he is tho

  • +7

    Only read tldr; you can park your car wherever there is an empty space. End of discussion.

    • +8

      And if the registration is valid, council won't tow the car.

  • +5

    If its street parking and not signed/parked on kerb, free for all if you are not blocking a driveway. My neighbour has 5 cars, doesnt park in his garage and 2 of his cars are in front of my kerb. While it is annoying, it isnt illegal.

  • +1

    I know a friend who had a similar issue, and he just asked the council if it was okay that he parks there, council said of course which basically meant he had proof that its fine to park there whenever the issue cropped up. Still though I wonder if you can get the solid line moved back a bit? Maybe not due to some sort of law but I imagine that would be the best option being able to park in front of your own place.

    • I’m assuming it’s distance from the intersection, which is a starboard length. Or perhaps the road narrows too much for cars to be parked. But it is a good question to ask council.

      • *standard length

    • Yeah, it really annoys me not being able to park cars out the front of my house. We didn’t have the line when I moved in so it was all ok back then. And even after the council drew the line (a year ago I believe), I assumed it was still ok to park on the curb but one time I had a friend came over and she got fined for parking out the front my house and that’s when I realised it
      But I don’t think the council will be nice enough to move the line for me

  • +6

    If you do plan to leave it on the road, you might want to consider a security cam facing the car from your house, just in case things escalate with that neighbour.

    • ^This is what I’m worried about. I have a relatively long/sloped driveway so there’s no way I can install security cam that’ll capture what’s going on in my street.
      But even if I park my car at the station, there’s a chance it’ll get stolen.

      • maybe get a dashcam in your car recording at night.

  • +1

    Keep the note and document in detail face to face conversations. If it's legally parked then that's the end of the issue, nothing he can do about it. If it has rego it can be parked on the street. He can contact whoever he wants, no one can do anything about it.

    You do mention however that you can fit two cars in the carport and only use them on the weekend. Can you park this other car in the driveway instead of on the street?

    • I occasionally need to use my car after work. Besides, my driveway is sloped and narrow so it takes a bit of effort to reverse out

  • +3

    They cant tow it away if its parked legally and registered.

  • -3

    Reassess your need to have a car.

    • +4

      done! still need a car.

      • REASSESS HARDER!……………….. jk

  • +5

    Neighbour buys in to a narrow street and "high" density neighbourhood but wants the luxury of wide street and acreage neighbourhood.

    Tell him to move to Hopetoun Road, Toorak. The streets are very wide and driveways are far apart. He can have his way there.

  • Do you know there are straight line, rectangle and round shape tools in MS Paint?

    • +3

      I guess it's time for me to take MS Paint masterclass.

  • Nope.

  • Make sure the car is a bomb and put retreads on it.

  • Ive decided to keep the car on the street and move to the station only on the weekends.
    Thanks all for the comments. Really appreciate it

    • good decision, make sure your friend invested in a dashcam with hard-wiring kit and entertain us later on.

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