The most common parking dispute in the UK
Every UK homeowner with a driveway has had the moment. You come home from the school run, or you're trying to leave for work, and there's a strange car across your dropped kerb. Sometimes it's a delivery driver, sometimes a school-run parent, sometimes a total stranger.
According to a 2024 Churchill Home Insurance survey, parking is the number one cause of neighbour disputes in the UK. One in four adults has had a parking argument with a neighbour. Blocked driveways are the single biggest trigger.
And yet the advice you'll find from councils, police, and even the RAC is a mess of qualifications. Here's the straight answer for 2026.
What your council can enforce
UK councils have real, immediate power over two specific things:
Parking over a dropped kerb. If any part of a car crosses the dropped kerb section leading to your driveway — even by six inches — this is a civil traffic contravention. The council can issue a Penalty Charge Notice of £70 (£35 if paid within 14 days).
Parking on a designated white H-bar marking. If your council has painted a white H-bar across your dropped kerb, blocking it is directly enforceable and fines are usually issued on the first visit.
What this means practically:
Realistic outcome: a PCN gets sent to the registered keeper by post. You don't get any of the money. But repeat offenders do stop, because £70 hurts.
What your council cannot enforce
This is where people get frustrated. UK councils cannot:
If someone parks fully on your driveway (not the road — actually on your property), that's the surprising one — the council can't help you. It's civil trespass. Your options are: knock and ask them to move, or in extreme cases, apply to the county court for a removal order. Which takes weeks and costs money.
What the police can do
Call 101 (not 999) if:
Blocking someone IN their driveway can be classed as anti-social behaviour and, in some cases, obstruction under Rule 243 of the Highway Code. Police can and do act on this.
Call 999 only if:
Do not call 101 for a car that's parked awkwardly but not blocking you. Police won't act, and it clogs their systems.
The five steps in order
1. Look for a QR sticker first
If the blocking car has a windscreen QR sticker (they're becoming more common), scan it with your phone camera. You can send a polite message (Please move — you're blocking my driveway) and the driver gets a WhatsApp within 30 seconds. Problem solved, no confrontation, no fine.
2. Knock on doors
If there's no sticker but the car is on your street, knock on doors within 5 houses either side. Most people will move within minutes.
3. Photograph the violation
If it's genuinely across your dropped kerb, get the photo evidence before you do anything else. Registration, kerb, timestamp.
4. Report to council (dropped kerb violation)
Online form, photos attached. Within 7-14 days you'll get a response.
5. Call 101 (only if blocked IN)
If you are stuck on your own driveway and need to leave. Be specific about the urgency (medical, work) — this affects response time.
What doesn't work
Angry notes under the wiper. They get ignored, or worse — screenshotted and posted to Facebook to embarrass you.
Blocking the driver's car with your own. You've now committed the same offence they did.
Wheel-clamping the offending car. Illegal in England, Wales and Scotland since 2012.
Threats or damage to their car. Criminal offence. You'll end up worse off than the person who blocked you.
Slashing tyres. Criminal damage. Do not do this even in frustration.
Painting your own white H-bar. Illegal without council permission. You can be fined for defacing the highway.
The modern quiet fix
Here's the deeper point. Most driveway-blocking is unintentional. School-run parents in a rush. Delivery drivers with 130 stops. Sunday market shoppers not realising there's a house on the other side of the parked cars.
All of them would happily move — if you could reach them.
A small QR sticker inside your own car windscreen means when you're the one blocked in your driveway by someone parked on the street, they don't have to knock on 12 doors to find you. They scan your sticker, tap 'You're blocking me,' and you get a WhatsApp in 30 seconds. You come out and move your car. Everyone's back on with their day.
This is what TapReach does. £7.99 as a one-time sticker, made in Manchester, free UK delivery. It doesn't solve the strangers-parking-across-YOUR-drive problem — for that you need the council enforcement above. But it does solve every other blocking situation where you're the one parked in.
See also our full school-run parking guide, and our guide to handling neighbour parking disputes without starting a war.
FAQ
Can I get someone's car towed for blocking my driveway? No. UK councils have no towing power for civil parking offences. You can report the blocking to your council (they'll issue a PCN if it crosses your dropped kerb), or if you're blocked IN, call 101 for police attendance.
Is it illegal to park across a dropped kerb in the UK? Yes, it's a civil traffic contravention. Councils can issue a PCN of £70 (£35 if paid within 14 days). Report with photos showing the registration plate and the dropped kerb.
What if someone parks ON my driveway (not the road)? That's civil trespass, not a traffic offence. The council can't help. Knock and ask them to move; if they refuse, seek legal advice. In extreme cases, you can apply for a court removal order.
Protect your vehicle. Keep your number private.
TapReach QR stickers from £7.99. No app needed. Number stays private.
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