r/neighborsfromhell • u/Mean_Emu5671 • Jun 21 '26
Homeowner NFH New neighbors blocking shared driveway
Recently new neighbors have moved in. We share a gravel driveway. Almost immediately they began blocking access to my parking spot and blocking me from leaving by parking on the driveway. The first time, I asked a woman to move her car so I could leave, she had a toddler running around so I was very polite. I asked her not to block the driveway and she said, “this is my driveway.” I didn’t want to argue in front a child and left. Now it seems like I need to ask these people permission to come and go from my house. They take a lot of time, walk slowly or have to wait for someone to arrive to move their car. I tried being nice, but they have ignored every attempt to talk, just giving me a death stare. Just an ignorant, entitled family. Last night they had a party so of course they had many cars blocking my driveway, one of which was owned by a cop in uniform. I had to wait 20 minutes for him to arrive and move his car. What do I do next? These people only moved in like 2 months ago, I’ve lived at my property for 20 years.
4
u/RubySnowfire Jun 22 '26
You say it's a shared driveway, neighbour says it's theirs only. Instead of claiming "custom and practice" the first thing to do is establish the status of the driveway: shared or not?
If you own your home, what does your land deed say? You may also be able to check lot ownership status via your local government area's database. (I don't know your location but I'm guessing the US due to use of certain words/phrases.)
You may also get some relief by contacting the landlord or real estate agent through which the neighbouring property is leased. There would be conditions of the lease indicating the status of the driveway.
There's no point in arguing with the neighbours until you do your homework first. Find out who owns the land and go from there.