Usually, having neighbors is great. However, if any disputes arise with them, it's almost never nice. This is especially true if they start using a part of your property as their own, without respecting your boundaries.
Today’s story covers how inconsiderate neighbors took over a next-door resident’s driveway as their own, and the person reached out for online advice to see if building a fence is reasonable.
More Info: Mumsnet
Considerate neighbors are good, and if they're not, high fences will solve the issue
Image credits: freepik (not the actual photo)
A person reached out to the Mumsnet online community to see if they were being unreasonable
Image credits: rawpixel.com (not the actual photo)
Their neighbors park two cars in their driveway, crowding it, and walking on the next-door resident's driveway instead
Image credits: Drazen Zigic (not the actual photo)
Over time, even delivery personnel started walking through the Original Poster's property, and not only the neighbors'
Image credits: Peedoff24
The person was fed up with this and decided to see if it would be unreasonable to build a fence to divide the driveways, and the netizens agreed that it was long overdue
Recently a person reached out to the Mumsnet community to ask for advice concerning their neighbor. They were unsure how to proceed and asked for advice to see if putting up a fence or a wall would be reasonable.
The resident began by saying that the next-door neighbor started using their drive first as a means to get out of their car since there was no fence dividing the two driveways. The only thing that separates the neighbor's property from theirs is a decorative border. Although it makes it abundantly clear when they step off from their land, onto neighboring property, they don't care about it.
Moreover, OP’s (Original Poster) neighbors fit two cars in their driveway, however, that’s only possible because there’s no physical fence or a wall. So when they open their car doors, they cross into the OP’s property. The trouble began when the neighbors would have two cars parked, and the OP would need to squeeze between their cars and any visitors.
More annoyingly, the visitors started using their driveway as a sidewalk so they wouldn’t need to go in between the cars. But even then, the OP was patient and kind enough to not bother the neighbors about this. However, as time passed, delivery guys and others got so accustomed to this that the driveway was commonly used as a pathway even when only one car was parked in the neighbor’s driveway.
Of course, eventually, the OP’s patience ran out, some netizens even said that they had been too tolerant. So they asked online if putting up a fence would be okay, and pretty much everyone unanimously agreed that it’s long overdue. Hilariously, the OP even drew a diagram and uploaded it.
The author of the post uploaded a visualization of the property on how the neighbors interfere with their driveway
Image credits: Peedoff24
The sketch is minimalistic but gets the job done of showing how people cross their property instead of the neighbor's driveway. It's unclear whether the OP will go through with building a fence, but it seems very likely. People online support them wholeheartedly and say that a fence is not only reasonable but a must at this point.
The good thing is that the OP can freely decide if they want to divide the driveway with a real fence, regardless if their neighbors think they're a jerk or not. It's their right, after all. Interestingly, though, property boundary disputes between neighbors are far from the leading cause of conflict.
According to a survey conducted by FindLaw, the most common reason for neighbor conflict is noise. 48% of respondents who have experienced issues with their neighbors said that noise is a constant issue that flares up. Other reasons are pets, child behavior, and the last one is property boundaries. Only about a quarter of the survey participants said they needed to involve authorities to resolve the issue.
Conversely, 58% of respondents said that they didn't have any issues with neighbors at all. That said, if lawyers and authorities are involved in a dispute between neighbors, it's most commonly because of property damage or disagreement on boundaries. But even then, only 4% of disputes go to court, and another 4% go for mediation. The vast majority of such disputes are solved to the subject's satisfaction.
It's safe to say that if the OP decides to go through with the fence, the neighbor probably won't make it difficult for them. Either way, the neighbor would only have a chance to dispute the fence if the OP interfered with their property boundaries or complained to the Home Owner Association if they've joined one.
What do you think about today's story? Do you also think that the fence should be built ASAP? Let us know in the comments below.
Netizens show overwhelming support and say that getting a fence should be a priority
