need help with bad neighbours

[Jabb]

recently, my neighbour paved his driveway and had it widened so that he could fit 4 cars onto it (instead of the usual 2). the problem started when the contractor who paved it paved a bit onto our driveway (see red line. black is the original). its only slightly over, but that little bit makes all the difference because to fit all of the cars on his driveway, he parks right up to the edge of "his" driveway. this makes it really hard for us to park on our driveway because when we pull in, we have one car on the right side (our second car - see picture) and his car on the left. it also makes it hard to get in and out of our car because we cant open the driver's door a whole lot.

my question is, is there anything we can do about this? the parking issues or the pavement issue? i think solving the pavement issue will solve the parking issue. we've tried talking to him, but he doesn't leave us any room or anything

diagram:
http://img398.imageshack.us/my.php?image=48594717bf4.jpg

[3weddings]

Do you have your survey? Simply show it to him and have him correct the error.

He is infringing on your property.

[Jabb]

we dont. how do i get that and how much does it cost?

its easy to tell he's over the line because our houses are attached and he's clearly going onto our property if you look at the driveway relative to the houses

[MrDisco]

we dont. how do i get that and how much does it cost?



Google is like so totally awesome.

"A recent Survey of the property is usually required by the lender, and if one is not available, it normally costs anywhere from $600-$900 for a new survey."

http://www.aols.org/single.asp?itemcode=AOLS-BYL

[Jabb]

wow, 600-900? thats on the pricey side of my options here.
anything else you guys suggest?

[Phreeze]

have a curb put in that follows the line of the house

[infinite.chaoz]

How about you park your car right up to the edge of the original line?

[Jabb]

How about you park your car right up to the edge of the original line?



that would just end up screwing me over because it'd only block their passenger side while blocking my driver's side

[boyoflondon]

Aren't there permits required for widening a driveway? Not sure if there are or not, but maybe you could contact the city and check?

I would contact the city anyways and seek help from them as he clearly moved onto your property.

[3weddings]

have a curb put in that follows the line of the house

I would not recommend installing anything without a survey on the property!!

You must have received something when you bought the house....check the package from your lawyer!

[CSK'sMom]

From the many previous threads on this topic here have you checked your local bylaws yet? Many places in the GTA have bylaws that stipulate the max width of driveways and some places do not allow widening at all. If he's out of compliance the city will make him rip it all out...

Oh, and this should be in the Home & Garden forum too...

[Jabb]

thanks for a ll the help guys! i'll check around with all that stuff. by laws will probably come in hadny ( i didnt know that there was a max driveway width)

[AudiDude]

I say rat him out to the city. In most places it is becoming illegal to widen your driveway because when it rains the water that would have gone into the missing grass now flows down the driveway and overwhelms the sewers.

http://juliekinnear.com/toronto/parking

[fortunekitty500]

If you live in Toronto, you're in luck. The city of Toronto has very specific bylaws with regards to driveway size after numerous complaints. People were paving over their entire front yards. Here are all the details:

www.toronto.ca/building/pdf/landscaping_requirements_feb08.pdf

Report the neighbours. Besides the ugliness of all that driveway it's also a safety hazard. Firemen/Paramedics were complaining that they've had trouble getting to front doors cause cars were blocking it.

[sovexxed]

Did you try talking to him first? If you plan on living there for a while, it could get ugly if you don't discuss it and go straight to lawyers. If he's not reasonable when you try to talk to him, then call the city. That being said, after looking at your drawing, not sure if what you've done (widening on your side) is permitted.

[sexpuppet6000]

If talking it about doesn't work you know what you have to do :evil:

[sunnybono]

that would just end up screwing me over because it'd only block their passenger side while blocking my driver's side

Park in Reverse!!!

sk