Parking In Front Of Your Neighbour's House - Legal or Illegal?

Legal or not, parking in front of your neighbour's house is uncourteous, but if that doesn't make you reconsider, you could be in trouble with the law if you do so.

They say the difference between a good neighbour and a bad one is a good fence, but when it comes to street parking, the difference between a good neighbour and a bad one is where you park your car.

While some of you might not have this problem because you live in condos or housing areas with plenty of parking spaces, many Malaysians out there have access problems, where inconsiderate neighbours obstruct roads and houses so that they have a convenient place to park their cars.

The problem usually arises when there is a lack of parking space around residential areas where residents have to get creative with parking spots. With many Malaysians owning more than one vehicle due to lack of good public transportation, this problem is becoming more common.

While some of these creative parking spots are mostly a nuisance where it's just hard to manoeuvre around your street, there are some extreme cases where these inconsiderate car owners completely block someone's home by parking in front of their gates.

Logically and courteously, parking in front of someone's home is a big fat no, especially when it blocks access to their property. Not only is it mannerless, but this act also creates a grievance between neighbours, which is a nightmare for all parties.

Legally, it is also not allowed, and according to Section 48 of the Malaysian Road Transport Act, it is a compoundable act that may get you a summon of up to RM1000.

This act entitles you to tell those inconsiderate neighbours or car owners that they can't park in front of your house. Still, suppose the kind warning doesn't motivate them to park somewhere else, in that case, you have the right to contact your local authorities like the city council or the police to either issue them with a summon, clamp their vehicle or remove their car.

But to be honest, if it ever reaches that point where you have to get local authorities to intervene, then the only outcome would be an unharmonious neighbourhood, so perhaps you should first try to reach out to your neighbours and kindly tell them that they are blocking or obstructing your home.  

To completely avoid this awkward situation with the parking problems, motorists and neighbours should all be a bit more courteous and think of each other when we park our cars. It's simple really, would you like it if someone obstructs your home and makes it difficult for you to enter and leave your own house?

We're pretty sure the answer is no! So when you park, just put yourself in your neighbours' shoes and be sure not to block anyone's way.

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