I live in the San Fernando Valley in LA in a tiny apartment complex. My building is on the intersection of a main road and our more residential suburban road. My building is the only apartment complex on the block, the rest are single family homes. My building only provides one parking spot per unit so my partner parks his car in the garage to prevent his Prius’ catalytic converter from being stolen (again) and I park on the road.
I usually try to park directly in front of my building but sometimes I do park in front of one of the single family homes. Sometimes there’s tons of available spots and sometimes it’s slim pickings especially at night. I prefer not to park on the main road because there are frequently cars that get side swiped from people driving too fast and there are usually creeps who congregate by a camper that is parked there. Our street has signs that it’s one hour parking from 9a-4p (which is not enforced at all). Anyway back to the issue at hand.
I was gone for a week at Christmas and came home to a note on my car that said: “dear neighbor, please be more considerate and respectful leaving your car parked here for weeks”. Mind you I was not blocking their driveway or front gate at all and I have a very tiny hatchback car. I moved my car when I got home.
Tbh I had forgotten about it with the current state of the world. Came home late the night before and there were no spots to park except in front of this home. I went to my car this morning to head out to work. I was sending a text to my coworker when I heard a knock on my window. I rolled down and the woman who lived in the house asked me if I lived in the apartment building and I said yes. She proceeded to scream at me and say that I constantly park in front of her house and as a renter I needed to be more respectful of actual homeowners. I explained that this was probably the first time that month I parked in front of her house and I was gone at Christmas and could not move my car. She then threatened to have my car towed if I ever park in front of her house again. I told her she was being extremely hostile and I will avoid parking in front of her house but she does not have the right to dictate where I park on a public road. Then I rolled up my window and went on my way.
AITA if I need to park there again in the future if there are no other spots available?
EDIT: clarification, I usually park directly next to my apartment building as there are a few spots there for street parking. I only park further down the street in front of this home if there is nothing else closer to my building. I’m lucky bc it’s not a super busy neighborhood and I can normally get princess parking. It’s only an issue if I come home late.
NTA whatsoever
Street parking on a public road is first-come, first-served. The space in front of someone’s house is not their private property, it’s public curb space. You weren’t blocking their driveway, gate, or access in any way, and you weren’t violating any posted restrictions that are actually enforced (the 1-hour signs from 9AM to 4PM don’t apply at night or when you’re just parking normally). The neighbor doesn’t get to reserve or “own” the spot just because it’s in front of their house. This is an extremely common entitlement issue in residential areas, especially in dense cities like LA where parking is tight.
Your neighbor is TA alone simply for treating public space like private property and then lashing out at you over it.
NTA, as long as your weren’t blocking her driveway or gate opening it’s public property. You have no reason not to park there. Maybe I’m petty but I would print a copy of the street regulations and hand that to her next time she complains.
NTA generally. Single family homes don’t own the street in front of their house. I will say that most of the places I have ever lived don’t let you leave a car parked in the same spot on the street for more than a couple days–whether you’re “out of town” or not, but enforcement varies pretty wildly.
NTA
If it is legal to park in that spot, you are not an AH for parking there.
This woman sure is an entitled AH. Of course the landed gentry have more rights than mere peasant who have to rent. /s
Personally, I’d start parking there everyday, but only during the legal hours. (i.e. no more abandoning my car while on vacation.) If my car does get towed, it would be illegal and I would rain Zeus’ thunderbolts on whoever dared.
NTA its a public road and, so long as you aren’t blocking anything, you have every right to be there.
I get that its annoying if its constant, and you tend to have people visit (for example, if you want people to come over but have no space for them to park since everyone around there parks in front of your house) which sounds like it possibly happens
While I would also say that its possible that the apartment complex parking issue hasn’t always been a thing, and it became an issue after she bought the house, she’s complaining to the wrong person.
You did nothing wrong, if she has an issue with parking, she needs to take it to the apartment managers if its such an issue.
NTA as it’s a public street and you can legally park there (presuming you’re in the US).
Be aware, though, a lot of counties have a limit on how long you can stay parked in one spot on a public street. For example, in my city there is a 72 hours limit, after which you car will have a notice slapped on it that you have 24 hours to move it or get towed.
Also, if this particular person is the vindictive type (and she may well be given her reaction to you), your car could wind up vandalized. Got a dashcam?
Her neighbor is insane, but OP isn’t legally in the right here. She herself admits it’s one-hour parking between certain hours. Leaving the vehicle there for an entire WEEK is asking to get it towed or at the very least ticketed.
If her apartment complex offer a 2nd spot at an additional monthly cost, then OP should seriously look into it.
Nta. Let her call the cops. Let them tell her she’s wrong. Public roads are public parking, she has no say on who parks there or how long they park.
If it’s on the road, not a restricted use space, and you are not blocking an entrance you are always NTA
NTA. She doesn’t own the road. If you don’t park there, someone else will. The lady has taken up a mission to bother anyone who parks in front of her house. It’s not just you.
NTA. Make sure you have a dashcam with parking monitoring. Entitled people who think they own the public road are the same type of people who vandalize property.
nta, but you don’t need to explain yourself to her and you don’t need to try to not park there. if you’re parked legally she can’t do anything about it. also, your partner can get a product called “cat shield” to prevent theft of the catalytic converter. i had one installed on my prius and have not worried since.
Not an AH at all here, but I would definitely check your local laws just in case. Some of the cities near where I live have ordinances in place that don’t allow you to park on the street in front of a homeowner’s property overnight. In most places, everyone saying that it’s a public road so you can park there is correct, but that’s not the case everywhere/all the time.
NTA. It’s a public street. You can park anywhere you want on that public street. The neighbor is full of shit. They don’t ‘own’ the spot(s) in front of their house.
Sometimes, you have to park a building or two away from your specific building.
It’s called urban living.
Your neighbor can pound sand. NTA.