Mum has 'perfect response' to neighbour who said they were 'superior household'

A mum had the "perfect response" after her new neighbour declared themselves the "senior" household in a bid to have control over their shared driveway. The house moving process is incredibly stressful and expensive, even when there's no difficult neighbours to contend with.

There's a seemingly never ending pile of paperwork and administrative tasks to sort out, as well as mounting legal fees, estate agent fees, plus the added costs of moving vans and various other bills that pop up and require more money. Most of the time though, the hassle pays off once the new keys are handed over.

Moving day is a bit of a chore but it's often tinged with the positivity and relief of being in your new home. Unfortunately, new neighbours can quickly sour this occasion - which proved to be the case for one family after they moved into their new house.

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In a Reddit post titled: "Neighbours tried to dictate what we could have on our drive", the mum explained after moving in, she and her partner had done their research.

They "paid close attention to the land registry documents" which clearly showed their "boundary lines", so they knew exactly what parts of the property were theirs.

She then said: "The house had very little in the way of outdoor storage and the kids' bikes were getting ruined outside.

"The property has a shared access drive [that] splits at the top, two spaces for our house (as per the deeds) and two for theirs [the neighbour's]."

The mum, who described herself as "quite an easy going person" wanted to be polite and respectful so chose to inform her neighbours - an "elderly very religious couple" - of their plans to "put two bike sheds" on their drive.

The sheds would be small - "about two feet deep and four feet tall" - and wouldn't "cause any issues for their house". The sheds "sit below the fence line" and "do not block access".

But her neighbour's reply left her gobsmacked.

The woman revealed: "He replied that it would not be acceptable, that as he owned the largest house then he had final say and that they were - his words 'the senior household'.

"Needless to say, we have two bike sheds on the drive and we've not spoken to the neighbours since".

Comments from fellow Reddit users keen to share their take on the altercation poured in. One sympathiser said: "Haha perfect response to such audacity".

Another said: "'Senior household' [crying laughing emoji] what a muppet!!"

A third expressed disbelief with: "Imagine having the arrogance to tell your neighbours that. How ridiculous."

One commenter praised the mum's approach and said: "You were courteous and upfront. They responded with ego and made-up authority. Not your fault the conversation ended there."

While another shared: "I applaud your ability to not laugh in his face. I would have."

Someone else replied: "Me too. I'd have said, 'I'm informing you of what's going to happen, out of politeness. I'm not asking you for permission.'"

Adding a sense of levity, another added: "I would've insisted on appealing to the higher legal standing of whose dad was the biggest."