‘I parked in my neighbour’s drive – they’re furious but I don’t see the problem’

He was accused of being 'disrespectful'

You can sleep peacefully at night knowing that when you're driving home from work tomorrow, you've got a guaranteed parking spot waiting for you.

Or do you?

One man has defended himself after he told his wife parked in his neighbour's drive, which they weren't best pleased with.

The neighbours accused the man of lacking respect and said they were "disappointed" in him after his parking antics sparked a furious row - but he doesn't think he's done anything wrong.

In a post on the iconic Am I the A**hole subreddit, the man explained that his wife usually comes home first and parks in the garage, so he leaves his car on the driveway in front of it once he arrives.

On the day in question, he got back first and parked in the drive - blocking his wife's access to the garage.

When she got back, he was in the middle of something so told her to park in their neighbour's driveway for half an hour. They were on holiday at the time so he assumed they would never find out. Then, when he was free they could rearrange their cars to their usual positions.

What he didn't count on was another neighbour grassing on them to the owners of the driveway.

The couple then got in touch with th man to let him know they were unhappy with his "disrespectful" parking.

He wrote: "We live in a row of four townhouses, so our houses are all connected. Each house has a garage, and outside each garage is a driveway for that house. My wife parks in the garage and I park in the outside space because my car can't fit inside.

"Our neighbours have gone away on holiday, leaving their space empty for three days. Today, I got home before my wife and was parked outside. She got home and parked in our neighbour's drive for half an hour until we moved the cars around so she could park inside because I was busy doing other stuff and couldn't move my car immediately.

"We then got a message from our neighbours who are still on holiday. One of the other neighbours told them we were parked in their spot. They told me that it had come to their attention that one of our cars was in their driveway.

"They said they understand that they are not home and their driveway is empty, but it was to do with the principle. They said parking there without asking was disappointing and showed a lack of respect.

"I didn't think it was a problem to park in their empty space for half an hour. I've even offered my space to all our neighbours when we went on holiday for a week."

There wasn't much sympathy for him on Reddit though, with several people pointing out that just because he would have no issue with someone using his driveway for a bit, that doesn't mean others feel the same.

One person wrote: "From their point of view, they don't want you getting in the habit of parking there. If they don't nip this in the bud they don't know how far the behavior will creep. It's much easier for there to be a blanket 'no' in place so they never have to worry about you taking up their parking space and them having to spend time and effort dealing with you.

"Besides, it's simply not your spot; beyond the practical issues, you should respect their space. Whether you think it's fine or would offer up your space is irrelevant. You can't project your values onto others and make decisions for them."

Another agreed: "This is something neighbors may do, but if so it’s discussed and agreed upon before the vacation. Just because you told your neighbors that your parking spot was available while you were away doesn’t mean theirs are as well.

"And they didn’t know it was only for a half hour. With a lot of people, if you give them an inch they take a mile. So having no context, they put an end to something they didn’t want to develop into a problem before it actually became a problem. If it’s not yours, you don’t get to use it unless it’s been offered. Major thing, minor thing, it doesn’t matter. It’s called manners."

A third wrote: "Do you also go sit on their deck when they’re not home?

"You had no idea what their plans were for that parking space while they were away. Maybe they had a house sitter coming. Maybe they had repair people coming. Or maybe they just wanted to leave it empty for whatever reason.

"It is their space and you had no right to trespass."

Related links:

‘I returned home to find someone parked in my driveway – so I ruined their weekend’