I recently purchased a two family home at the end of a street. Next door there is a three unit house filled with renters. Lately someone from one of the rental units next door has been parking their car in front of my house (which block the walkway to my front door) for days on end. I feel like this is an eyesore and disrespectful. The other problem is that once we rent out the apartment we will need more parking spaces to accommodate them and their potential guests. I have called the police and town hall about the parking laws and apparently there is nothing illegal with them doing this. I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem and curious as to how they solved it. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!
It sounds like a public street , you are not entitled to a spot in front of your house , or even a spot at all . Thats called on street parking . First come first served . Its not disrespectful by any means . Your tenants will have to fend for themselves unless you can provide off street parking .
I guess I'm unclear if they are doing something technically wrong, or if they are parking on a legal curb, but your paved walkway happens to be coming off of the curb (but no driveway.) You can't enforce with the city or with a tow truck driver most likely if they are not parking illegally. If it's not illegal, and you're not handicapped, you can talk to the city about putting a driveway or depressed (no curb) area there so you can walk up the walkway to your house. Then only you would have the right to park in front of it.
Otherwise, the only other way I see is to ask nicely. Or move your walkway.. :(
Hi David. I feel for you. You could ask the City to pass an ordinance that cars have to be moved every 24 hours, many cities have that. Although that sounds painful and somewhat spiteful and could burn you as well as them.
Do you have off-street parking for your property? And I am unclear - are you living there and then renting out the 2nd unit? Or renting both units?
It may not be as big of a deal as you think. When I owned a house in the city, that type of thing annoyed me to no end. When I had RENTED in the same neighborhood - you just parked wherever you could find a spot, and didn't think anything of it.
Not much else you can do other than talk to them and explain your situation and ask them nicely not to park there. Since there's nothing illegal about what they're doing, you certainly cannot have their car towed as suggested in one of the posts above.
It also helps to know your local/state laws in regards to parking. For instance, while it might not be illegal to park in front of your house, in some cities/states (like mine) it is illegal to park in such a way that it blocks someone else's driveway or to park a car in the same spot on the street for over 72 hours. Both of these are also towable offenses. Just a couple examples.
If I were in your shoes, I'd probably start by trying to talk to the neighbors.
It is probably best to figure out how to deal with it. City spaces aren't assigned, people can park where they want. My block is similar and I get frustrated, but know I can't expect to park in front of my house. You could write a letter to the other landlord.
It sounds like a public street , you are not entitled to a spot in front of your house , or even a spot at all . Thats called on street parking . First come first served . Its not disrespectful by any means . Your tenants will have to fend for themselves unless you can provide off street parking .
Not sure how it is set up, but if everyone uses on-street parking, then you're likely out of luck, like rows of units with no driveways (which I always see permit parking around here). But if it's a matter of being able to widen your current private driveway to accommodate more vehicles, maybe it's better to focus on that. A lot of beachfront homes in Va Bch have widened driveways and "private parking, do not block" signs so the street traffic can't keep them from parking directly in front of their own homes.
Hi David. I feel for you. You could ask the City to pass an ordinance that cars have to be moved every 24 hours, many cities have that. Although that sounds painful and somewhat spiteful and could burn you as well as them.
Really ? The answer to a problem sure as heck isn't asking the gov't to fix the problem by creating more laws.
My first question would be did you research how much parking was available prior to purchasing this property. I just passed up a duplex at a great price because it has no parking.
Most congested areas are simply first come first serve and there isn't much that can be done.
Lets keep it simple, is there anyplace else for this car to park? I would start by asking him to respect your spots, but the parking in from of your property is not guaranteed by any means unless the spaces are physically on your property like a driveway or lot.
Muni off street parking is usually unassigned, first come-first served parking. In my city the only rule is that you can't block a driveway or alley entrance (obviously). And you can't keep your car it the same spot for more than 72 hours. I'm in a neighborhood with mostly small 2BDRs, in the $700K range. We have totally temperate weather so everyone, homeowners and renters, park on the street. There are a ton of granny flats and extra units. Since the houses are small, the garages are full. 2 doors down, the neighbor moved to a nursing home this year and his family has rented the house to a girls basketball team....6 players with six cars. They are out of town a lot, thank goodness.
We only get to park in front of our house when it works out. We are not entitled to a spot. There's a converted 3 plex around the corner that has signs on the street asking to leave the street parking for their tenants. We all laugh at that one. We can't find a space but their tenants should have a reserved one?
I say let your new tenants figure out what they need and what they want to ask for from the neighbors.
@Chris Adams - notice I didn't recommend that option, I called it "spiteful." But he was asking for options, and that is one. It is not an uncommon law in many places.
Talking to them about not using your desirable spot is probably going to end up going no where because they are going to be in front of someone's house.
You can try one trick. Park in front of your house yourself. When you leave, you put two of those in your spot. When you come back, you put those back into your trunk.
This should work for a day or two, until they figure out what you are doing, then the cones get stolen or moved.
I dont understand the reason, but some people get really ramped up about "their spot." If it really bothers you that bad, the best solution is to fork out a couple thousand and build a driveway so you can truly have your own spot. I am sure they are just looking for a spot as well and no disrespect is meant.
Talking to them about not using your desirable spot is probably going to end up going no where because they are going to be in front of someone's house.
You can try one trick. Park in front of your house yourself. When you leave, you put two of those in your spot. When you come back, you put those back into your trunk.
This should work for a day or two, until they figure out what you are doing, then the cones get stolen or moved.
A fake fire hydrant on the sidewalk might work too.
Not much you can do.
Talking to them about not using your desirable spot is probably going to end up going no where because they are going to be in front of someone's house.
You can try one trick. Park in front of your house yourself. When you leave, you put two of those in your spot. When you come back, you put those back into your trunk.
This should work for a day or two, until they figure out what you are doing, then the cones get stolen or moved.
A fake fire hydrant on the sidewalk might work too.
I remember when I was in Los Angeles they sold "dummies" off the freeway exits, the dummies are to be seated in the passenger side so you can use the HOV lanes!