What to do if someone blocks your driveway - your rights and options

Motorists could find themselves in hot water if they attempt to tackle a common nuisance on their own.

While it's incredibly frustrating when someone else parks in your driveway, blocking your access, it's crucial to keep your cool and understand what you can and cannot do in such situations. Often, your initial reaction might be to ring the police and let them handle it.

However, in most instances, the police may actually be powerless to physically intervene as parking in someone else's driveway is not strictly against the law. There isn't any legislation that explicitly criminalises parking on a driveway that doesn't belong to you.

Despite this, it could be deemed trespassing if that driveway is considered part of your property. Trespassing, however, is not a criminal offence but a civil one - hence, the police do not have the authority to arrest the culprit.

The Road Traffic Act 1991 assigns the local council with the task of enforcing parking regulations on public roads. Therefore, if a car is parked on the road outside your driveway, resulting in it being blocked, then you can contact the council to have the car removed.

However, a car parked on your driveway falls outside the council's jurisdiction since it is on private property, and they lack the authority to remove it forcibly. The one exception to this rule is if the vehicle has been abandoned on your driveway, lacks valid insurance, an up-to-date MOT, or poses a hazard.

If the police or local council cannot help, you may feel tempted to forcibly remove the car from your driveway. However, doing so can lead to a range of complications and even prosecution in some cases.

According to AskThePolice UK, you must ensure that you: Refrain from damaging or clamping the vehicle, or hiring a third party to dispose of or store it, without consulting a lawyer first. Taking such actions may lead to a criminal charge or a civil lawsuit from the owner.

"Under no circumstances would we advocate you merely pushing the vehicle on to a road and leaving it there as you may commit a number of offences."

You may also consider taking legal action to have the vehicle removed, which could be possible if you take the matter to civil court and the judge grants a removal order. Nonetheless, be aware that this can be a protracted and expensive procedure with no guarantee of a favourable outcome.

Alternatively, the swiftest and most cost-effective solution would be to attempt a peaceful discussion with the car owner to resolve the issue. Moreover, to avoid any future problems, you could safeguard your driveway from unwelcome parkers by installing a gate or a bollard.