Neighbor repeatedly calls law enforcement on apartment resident for parking in front of their house, even though the street allows public parking use: ‘Man, I'm ready to be just as petty’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Aug 14, 2025 6:00 PM EDT

When someone parks in front of your house on a public street, do you take issue with it? At the end of the day, the street is public, and the person's care isn't bothering anyone. If you take issue with a homeowner utilizing the public spaces for their intended use, then you might not like this next story. An apartment tenant who recently moved to a new neighborhood is being antagonized by his neighbors, who think they own the public street and the parking spots that belong to it.

Parking is always stressful if you don't have a driveway—especially so if you live in a larger apartment building that doesn't offer parking spaces in a parking lot for its tenants. Even still, renters must make do with the circumstances they have, so when the resident in this next story starts parking in front of their neighbor's home on a public street and the neighbors try to scare them off, they refuse to back down. Would you accept defeat as a renter, or would you put your foot down and stop tolerating nonsense from folks who think they deserve to have it all? Scroll to read the full story.

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  • cars parked on a street in the autumn foliage
    via Toa Heftiba For Unsplash+

  • "Neighbor keeps calling cops on me for parking *legally* in front of their house"

    My apartment building is at the end of ad d-end street. Across from us is a house, and they think that being the last house on the block gives them ownership of the entire street area.
    via UncleDeeds
  • Being that I live in a tiny apartment building with no parking lot, when I have car maintenance to do I have to do it off-site. A couple years ago was helping someone fix a spot of paint on
    via UncleDeeds
  • their car, so we were in the street doing some bodywork and the cops showed up and said the neighbors called them.. They basically told us that the street is public property and
    via UncleDeeds
  • that we are not doing anything wrong, talked cars a bit and told us to carry on, but they pretty much What ed my gig. me off is that I actually
    via UncleDeeds
  • approached him before to tell him what we were gonna do and that if we are in his way just to let me know, just to be nice. Instead, he calls the on me? cops
    via UncleDeeds
  • siren that lights up blue and red with a dark background
    via Scott Rodgerson for Unsplash
  • Now, last week, I had to jack up my car and do a quick repair under the tires. The entire time the whole family were playing in the street /surrounding my car like they own the place.. him, wife,
    via UncleDeeds
  • kids, dogs. Like, dude, u have a whole. front and backyard, I got none of that. Then wife comes up to me and is like. "did your car break down or something"? NO, Karen.
    via UncleDeeds
  • Then yesterday, they're all ganged up hanging out in the street again and I had to move my car from the spot at the end. I backed up slowly and with awareness, and didn't come close to
    via UncleDeeds
  • them, but they were all staring at me like annoyed. (b get out of the street) I ran a quick errand then parked in the same spot. Soon after, I get a call from an unknown number (this is
    via UncleDeeds
  • why I have my phone number on my windshield lol), they say it's the police and my heart dropped like what did I do lol. She tells me she's been called as I'm parked illegally there. I told her
    via UncleDeeds
  • no, thats a spot, everyone parks there everyday and the traffic enforcement comes by multiple times daily and wouldn't hesitate to ticket if it were illegal. I came down and showed her
    via UncleDeeds
  • that it's a spot and that I have my parking pass/sticker on my windshield. She was shaking her head with me, and said "and this is on OUR time", rolling her eyes.
    via UncleDeeds
  • are they thinking? I mean even if I was parked illegally or something, call police. What are 311, not the they trying to communicate? I don't even really know what they expected.
    via UncleDeeds
  • They know well that that's a parking spot, someone else is using it as we speak. I think they were thinking that it's not an "official" spot and that they could get me in trouble/towed.
    via UncleDeeds
  • Man, I'm ready to be just as petty. This is f ed up and makes me feel unwelcome, even makes me want to move location entirely. I have been thinking of how to get them back,
    via UncleDeeds
  • being careful not to do anything illegal knowing that they are 911-happy. Throw my dogs in their yard? Call cops on them back for whatever ? Approach them/curse them out? That's
    via UncleDeeds
  • not illegal lol. Or just leave a note (debating between a simple "go f yourself" and an actual letter detailing how f ed and ridic) Exercise my rights and spend MORE time in that corner, blasting music while I'm at it?
    via UncleDeeds
  • Also ways to keep my stuff safe /unharmed/untowed, like a note on MY car, or a hidden camera? Do I have any legal options/recourse for wasting the cops time with the absurd 911 calls?
    via UncleDeeds
  • Oh and in the fall they don't pick up their leaves, just pile them all in that corner of the street to block parking there. I knew I should have reported them last year. F these ppl.
    via UncleDeeds
  • todaythruwaway If you want to "get them back" just keep parking there. Clearly it passes them off and the cops wi eventually get tired of it. Get dash cams for sure. They're also hopefully calling the no emergency line& not 911, you can even ask for copies of the reports and possibly even the calls to start documentation.
    via todaythruwaway
  • Overall if it's legal to park there, they can't do anything. They can call all they want but it won't change anything. We had a neighbor who'd call the cops anytime we parked in front of "her" house and the cops would show up and laugh or simply drive by an wave. We were also
    via todaythruwaway
  • UncleDeeds Oh I am lol. I just moved my car from the side spot to the end spot just for fun, and parked it ALL the way at the end, a good 10ft from the usual. No more courtesy, b ! Curiously, nobody outside today. Lol I have dash cam with parking monitor but that's only for bumps, I have some other cameras I could mount in my car/like a trail camera I could plant lol.
    via UncleDeeds
  • Now that u mention abandoned, I'm getting a vague flashback to coming to my car and someone asking me if it's abandoned. Not sure if it's some deja vu or what. I hate ppl like that. What if they come and I AM breaking some law lol. 911 is an emergency number for serious matters, so accordingly, I don't take this shlightly.
    via UncleDeeds
  • BouncerTiny "Isn't it illegal I repeated call in false reports to the police?" Simple statement to the next cop that comes to talk to you.
    via BouncerTiny

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