I’m flogging cars from my own DRIVEWAY – my ‘idiot’ neighbours keep whinging but it’s completely legal
A MAN who is flogging cars from his driveway has labelled a neighbour who complained an “idiot” and said it’s all legal.
Farshad Kia, 45, has been flicking motors from his north London pad leaving his neighbours fuming.
Neighbours near the busy Arnos Grove street that spoke to The Sun complained that Kia was parking his cars down their nearby street.
They also said Kia was a car “dealer” and the number of cars on the driveway were affecting the area.
But Kia said the sales were legal and he was selling the cars to support his ailing parents.
He said: “Someone is trying to be funny, I let it go.
“I am just the latest thing here they (his neighbours) believe is going to downgrade their area.
“I have not received anything from no one, no council, no police, nothing.
“It’s just some idiot around the corner, he thinks putting cars here [is wrong], well it’s a car! I have seven cars. Legally speaking I am paying my tax, I could buy a Lamborghini to drive.
“It’s all legitimate. Someone is just bothered I have more cars than him.”
Kia bought the home last year and immediately converted the front garden into a larger concrete driveway, the MailOnline reported.
“I haven’t done anything illegal, I am a tax payer, VAT, everything is legitimate.”
Kia told The Sun that he was selling the cars to pay for looking after his elderly parents.
He said: “In fact, I am supporting two old people with not a penny from the government.
“My parents are my blood, I won’t let them go to care home, I will sell anything I have, I will do anything, if I have to sleep on the road, I will do that.
“No one can take me out of my direction, I am in the right direction.
“My father, ex-pilot in the airforce, has had two strokes, can hardly walk…I was feeding my mum, she has Alzheimers.
“I told that guy [the complainant], even i I am doing that it is nothing [financially], this house is worth one point… everyone knows how much it is worth in the area.”
One neighbour, Mel Campbell, told MailOnline that it was wrong for Kia to sell the cars and it was affecting the area.
Campbell said the situation was “a load of old fanny”.
If you know more please get in touch with James Halpin on james.halpin@the-sun.co.uk
He said: “I think there was 11 cars at one point… he told me that the lease had finished on his car dealership site.
“It’s just not what you buy into. My home is what, £1.2 million, with a shabby car dealer round the corner.
“There are just more cars than you would reasonably expect. We have four cars, and we have parking space for four cars.
“But he has been parking his cars around here, rubbing our noses in it. A couple of times, the neighbours haven’t been able to park because he’s parked his cars along the road.”
The Sun attempted to question Kia more, but when a reporter approached him he put flower pots he said were for his restaurant into his car and drove off.
Despite selling the cars from the driveway, the only business to be registered to the Arnos Grove address is a videography one.
None of Kia’s four businesses he has been a director of relate to selling cars, according to the Companies House.
A Barnet Council spokesperson said that planning permission is required to turn a house into a car sales lot.
They said: “However, no planning laws specifically prohibit a person from selling a limited number of vehicles from home.
“We are currently investigating this case to determine whether it has a significant enough impact on neighbours and on the character of the area to justify planning enforcement action.
“If we think that it has, we will require that the sales reduce or cease altogether.”
Your rights in this situation
According to Barnet Council, there are no planning laws from preventing someone to sell a limited number of cars from their home.
Whether Farshad Kia or anyone else can sell cars depends on the number of vehicles they are selling.
Selling more than 12 cars in a year typically qualifies you as a trader and would therefore subject you to regulations and tax obligations.
As a neighbour you could be affected by the number of vehicles reducing the amenity of the area.
If you believe that is the case, contact the local council who will investigate the situation to see if it breaches local planning laws.