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We moved in to our rental a few months ago. Our home is the original house with several new units built into the land behind it. It is at the front of the property with a large lawn in front of it, and all the other units have their own garages.
On the day we moved in we noticed two cars parked on the yard in front of the house, so we asked some of our new neighbors about it, and they said they’d been parking there while the house was empty and offered to move their car into their own driveway. The other car they said the owner had “permission from the landlord” to park there. Nothing more has been said about it, and we have no idea if it’s even true.
The car is a real eyesore, a huge ute that is the only thing you can see when you look out the front windows of the house. It is also directly outside our bedroom window, making privacy and security a real issue for us. We can’t even take one step off our front porch because that beast is parked there, and the owner of it has a habit of sitting in the car for a long time after he’s pulled in. It’s really uncomfortable for us.
He also lets his guests park there and there’s sometimes as many as four cars parked on our lawn. Today I saw an unfamiliar car pull in so I went outside and asked them why they were parking on our front lawn, and of course our neighbor had said they could, but I argued that it was our yard and no one had asked us if it was okay. They reluctantly parked on the street, but a few hours later our neighbor was banging on the door to abuse us for this. He claimed that he “pays extra” to use that space but that sounds like bull to me??
We called our property manager and he has no knowledge of any such agreement and sided with us that the lawn is in front of our house and should be ours to do with what we please.. He is now “looking into it” but at the moment I’m feeling really stressed and wishing I hadn’t said anything. Just wanted to know people’s thoughts on the situation and if I’m in the right to have stood up to them. Also if anyone has heard of any such arrangements for tenants to pay extra for a parking space, especially when it’s on someone else’s space.
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A couple of observations. It is not unusual for rental agents to give permission for parking and other privileges when they are not entitled to do so, to sweeten the deal for their tenants.. They may even charge for it without having the authority to do so.
Your first issue is to establish what rights you have over that space (if any) and that will be in your rental agreement and in the strata plan for the scheme. If it’s common property, they will probably need written permission to park there and you can raise that with the strata committee or strata manager.
If that doesn’t get the result you want, then ask for a rent reduction due to the fact that this neighbour’s vehicle is blocking your view, your daylight and your access. This is a good tactic for getting everyone’s attention.
And don’t be alarmed by bullies banging on your door. The fact that they do that suggests they know they don’t have a leg to stand on and they are hoping to intimidate you into allowing them to breach the rules. Just shut the door in their face and if they don’t go away, call the police.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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