We all know how annoying it is to come home and find that someone has parked in the space right outside your house or, even worse, that they’ve parked across the length of your driveway… but did you know that, in actual fact, unless you have a designated parking space, you have no legal right to park in front of your home.
Research from uSwitch shows, however, that more than 60 per cent of people believe they do have a legal entitlement to park right outside their own homes. As long as your street isn’t managed by residents’ parking permits, anyone can park there, as long as they don’t cause an obstruction.
This lack of awareness over the legalities means extreme measures are often taken to prevent people from parking outside houses that aren’t their own. It seems that people in Nottingham are the most likely to confront a stranger for parking in this way, with one in eight admitting they’ve had just such an argument.
In Edinburgh and London, meanwhile, one in seven say they’ve left an angry note on someone’s windscreen for parking outside their house.
Florence Codjoe, uSwitch car insurance expert, said: “Whilst it’s really frustrating to find a vehicle parked outside your home for weeks or months, it’s the decision of your local council as to whether it’s removed. If the vehicle is damaged, causing an obstruction, uninsured and without road tax, it’s likely the council will remove it.
“However, if you know the owner of the vehicle, it’s probably best to have a polite discussion with them before contacting local authorities, as they may not realise how much distress their vehicle is causing you.”
If you find yourself a victim of antisocial parking, get in touch with your local authority or the police to see if there’s anything they can do.
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