My neighbour keeps putting a chair in the road to stop me parking outside my own house – what are my legal rights?

A SHARED parking spot has caused a spat between two feuding neighbours.

Writing on Reddit, one user from the US said their neighbour keeps putting a chair out to claim a spot, even though there is no assigned parking.

The pair had been sharing the parking spot and everything was going fine until the neighbour started to block it.

Being new to the area, the Reddit user was told by their roommate that they could use the space beside the house as there was no assigned parking.

The user said: "I recently moved into a house with a friend and it's kind of a suburban neighbourhood.

"When I moved there I started parking in the spot beside my house because it seemed like no one was parking there and my roommate said there's no assigned parking."

But the user soon started to notice they were sharing their coveted space with a neighbour, who also regularly used the spot.

The Redditor said: "I then notice that my neighbour would park in the spot as well and even park in it while I'm gone which is fine, it isn't assigned."

When it comes to unallocated parking, the general rule is spaces are taken on a first-come, first-served basis.

But this poster soon noticed a chair was being placed into the spot, meaning they couldn't park there.

They said: "The problem started arising when they would leave and then put a chair in the spot, basically prohibiting me from entering the spot.

"They will also tend to block the spot which further irritates me because they have the 'if I cant have it no one can have it' mentality."

The user turned to the online forum for advice, asking whether they should be allowed to use the parking space or whether their neighbour was within their rights to claim it.

They said: "So I've been thinking of just moving the chair since it's ridiculous to hold a spot that isn't assigned."

What are your rights if someone tries to hold a parking spot

Feuds between neighbours over parking aren't uncommon.

One driver left a note on their neighbours car being told she had "no right" to park there, even though it was her street.

In the UK, parking outside your house on the street is fairly common.

However, no driver has the right to park outside their house - unless there is a designated parking space.

Some motorists resort to using a wheelie bin or traffic cone to stake a space on their street, but this is not allowed as it could obstruct the road.

Any road obstructions can be reported to your local council.

If the street you live on uses permits, anyone with the correct permit has the right to park there, as long as they're not causing an obstruction and are complying with any road restrictions.

The same rule applies in America - parking spots cannot be saved unless its a designated parking space.

In some of the colder states, drivers will put a chair out if they've had to shovel snow from a spot to park there.

There is an un-spoken rule that other drivers won't park there but if someone has moved the chair to take the spot, there is nothing that can be done about it.

Elsewhere, here are four common parking mistakes that motorists have been making - be careful so you can avoid a fine.

Also, you can report parking if you think it is illegal.