In the close quarters of a cul-de-sac, neighborly relations can shift from warm to ice cold in a heartbeat.

When parking spaces become a point of contention, one resident decided it was time to take a stand, using a little malicious compliance to reclaim their space.

Read on for the full story.

You believe residents should get priority over street parking!? Okay no problem!!!!!

I live on a cul-de-sac where I rent a back house from my landlords.

There’s another elderly tenant who lived inside the landlord’s house I was very close with that we’ll call Good Sir.

I have these neighbors next to me who I had gotten along with for as long as I had lived here before the pandemic.

The husband (we’ll call him Mr. Chill) especially has been cool with me.

My neighbors have three cars between them.

Two belong to Mr. Chill and the wife (we’ll call her Mrs. Hypocrite), and the other car belongs to their daughter (we’ll call her The Hog).

But community harmony was soon upended when the parking arrangement became jumbled.

When the pandemic hit, Mr. Chill’s family, for reasons that didn’t make sense to me, suddenly stopped parking their cars in the driveway.

They would park them all on the curb in front of their house, and The Hog began taking the spot I usually parked in, more so than her parents did.

Finally, after a few months of this going on, I see The Hog outside.

The homeowner tries to be reasonable at first, but had no luck.

I ask her if she wouldn’t mind sharing the spot that I used to park at with me, explaining my situation with being overworked and exhausted from my job.

She gives me an annoyed look and just responds by saying, “I use it.”

I realize I’m wasting my time, tell her never mind, and go inside.

Nice or not, the neighbor’s took great offense to the homeowner even asking at all.

Not even five minutes later, there is a knock at the door, and it’s Good Sir letting me know that the neighbors want to talk with me.

Mrs. Hypocrite is standing there all ticked-looking, asking me what the problem is.

I explain to Mrs. Hypocrite what I said to The Hog.

She backs down a little, but still makes it clear they aren’t on the same page.

She apologizes for coming off so angry and says, “You know, street parking is what it is, it’s first come, first serve, and we’re not parking to try and give anyone a hard time.”

The conversation goes nowhere, but we end it peacefully.

About a week later, I’m parked in my spot for a change, and my girlfriend comes over to visit with our child.

It’s summertime, and it’s hot.

But then they get another knock on the door.

Towards the evening, I get a knock on the door, and it’s Good Sir again.

He says the neighbors want to talk, and I see Mr. Chill standing right there, and he just asks if my girlfriend could move her car because she’s got a bunch of curb behind her car, but not enough for another car to fit.

This time, Mrs. Hypocrite is decidedly less civil.

Before I can even say anything, Mrs. Hypocrite shows up out of nowhere and goes off.

“I’M SICK OF GOING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT THIS! SHE IS DOUBLE PARKED, AND THERE’S NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR ANOTHER CAR TO FIT! I UNDERSTAND THAT SHE’S YOUR GIRLFRIEND AND SHE’S VISITING, BUT I BELIEVE THAT RESIDENTS SHOULD GET PRIORITY PARKING FIRST. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO SAVE THE PARKING FOR YOURSELVES! AND I’M NOT DEALING WITH THIS ANYMORE! SHE NEEDS TO MOVE HER CAR!”

The homeowner doesn’t even know what to say, but they decide complying is their best option for now.

I’m in complete shock and have a lot I wanted to say, but I don’t and just go inside to ask my girlfriend to move.

She thinks they’re hypocrites and moves just because she feels like that’s all they have to feel proud of in their lives.

The only reason I gave in to them is just so my landlords do not get involved and risk it turning into them not wanting to renew my lease with me.

Otherwise, I would have said something.

Mrs. Hypocrite sure earns her nickname, according to the homeowners.

Funny enough, even though they got ticked at my girlfriend for double parking, The Hog is the queen of doing that on our cul-de-sac without Mrs. Hypocrite telling her anything.

Then one day, the dynamic of the neighborhood changed after a tragic death.

Last year in November, Good Sir wasn’t doing too well and went into hospice care, eventually passing away, unfortunately.

He gave me his car as a gift and a thank you for being family to him.

I now had two cars, two spots, and an idea.

Sad as it was, it became the perfect opportunity to put their cunning plan into action.

Enter (Petty) Malicious Compliance

Mrs. Hypocrite said that street parking is first come, first serve and that residents should have priority over the parking.

Well then, so be it!

So the homeowner would just have to make sure they got there first, then.

I only need to use one car, and the other can just stay parked.

Since I am a resident, I decided to park whichever car I am not using in the spot that I would normally park at and swap them out every two weeks in rotation.

My girlfriend parks where Good Sir used to.

The plan seemed to work perfectly.

The Hog, her boyfriend, and Mrs. Hypocrite have not touched that spot since I started doing this since one of my two cars is always there.

As a little bonus too, Mrs. Hypocrite put one of their cars they aren’t using back in the driveway.

When there’s a party going on and all the parking is taken up, the spot in front of their house is sometimes open.

The homeowner takes great joy in throwing Mrs. Hypocrite’s words back in her face.

Since, again, I am a resident and the guests have taken all the other spots, well, I guess I do need a spot to park at after all, right?

Sorry, Mrs. Hypocrite and/or The Hog—you’ll just have to park around the block and take a nice walk to get to your house!

I’m only following what you believe the parking rules should be.

Rest in peace, Good Sir.

I miss you every single day, and I’ll always love you as my own family.

What did Reddit think?

This redditor thinks the situation could have been totally avoided.

It’s obvious to this commenter that the neighbors were in the wrong.

Some people just aren’t willing to play by the rules.

This redditor doesn’t think these neighbors were ever worth giving the benefit of the doubt.

What started as a simple parking dispute transformed into a lesson in neighborhood diplomacy, where a little cunning could go a long way.

Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.