Last year I bought the lot next to my house in a semi-rural neighborhood, which includes an abandoned home I intend to get rid of so that I can fence the lot in and extend my yard. This morning I noticed that a big four wheel drive truck is parked right in the middle of the lot's front yard. Normally it woudn't bother me but since we have recently gotten over a foot of snow, which is now starting to melt, the otherwise pristine yard has deep muddy ruts in it from this vehicle. I won't even park my own car there because I didn't want make a mess of the yard! I don't think the truck has been abandoned but someone has decided that they are free to park there for some reason. I don't have signs saying "No Parking" since I figured anyone with any sense wouldn't park on a stranger's property, especially when the ground is like this. I had planned to leave a note on the windshield requesting that they not park there, then putting up a sign when I get to it, but I wondered if, should the problem continue, I have a legal right to have an unknown vehicle towed from my property? Will I be financially responsible for it or would the truck's owner have to pay to get it out of the tow lot? Also, would the owner have any legal recourse against me? Right now it is purely theoretical since this is the first time this particular vehicle has been here (I've seen others park there but since it was during nice weather they didn't tear up the yard and I wasn't concerned) and I'm sure a tow truck would do even more damage to my yard. Does anyone know what the laws are in a case like this? I'd like to be prepared if this happens again.
Could you go down to or call the police/ sheriff's Dept. and ask them the hypothetical question, and the procedure so you are not liable for anything? I think technically you have to have signs up saying "Any unauthorized vehicles will be towed at owners expense".. It is good you are trying diplomacy first, though I understand that you want to know what to do ahead of time if it fails ... Good Luck.
call the police? They can find out who owns it and maybe they can help you get it moved. Not sure if it would cost you anything if they had it towed away. has anyone been in the house? Post your property asap!
You probably should put the sign up to be within legal rights. People can trespass on your property and get away with it if you don't have no trespassing signs.
You say you've seen others parked there in the past but didn't say anything as it wasn't muddy. It appears to me that a precedent has been set and the person parking there now may have thought it was okay to do so as others had done it in the past. Get your property posted ASAP. After that, you'll have some ground to stand on should someone park there.
You have the right to get it towed with no reprocussions from you. This is your property they dumped the car on.
Thanks for the answers everyone! I'm going to get it posted as soon as I can make it to town. It is funny, but right after I posted this I happened to look out the window to see a group of nervous looking teenagers walking to the truck. They kept looking around like they thought someone was going to come out and yell at them. They started the truck and moved it in front of the house on the other side of the empty lot. A mother, her boyfriend and her 3 or 4 kids live there and one of the teens was hers. I don't talk to the neighbors or know them well, but she seems nice, works a lot and is often gone. I'm guessing that the truck was the son's friend's and as soon as one of the adults saw where he'd parked, they made him move it. A minute later the Mom drove by on her way home. I'm glad I didn't have some poor kid's truck towed! Hopefully I'm right and won't have to deal with it again.
