He paved paradise and put up a parking lot! Homeowner sparks wrath of neighbours by converting his front garden into a car showroom

A homebuyer has sparked a furious row with his new neighbors – by paving his front garden and converting it into a showroom for up to a dozen used cars.

Farshad Kia, 45, has caused several complaints after displaying numerous used cars in or next to the driveway of his 1930s semi in Arnos Grove, North. London.

Tempers between Mr Kia and the angry neighbors over the unofficial dealer have run so high that the police have even been called to defuse a row.

Barnet Council has now given Kia a written warning, it is understood, and could issue unlimited fines if he does not stop trading cars from his yard.

Before and after: How the house was changed to accommodate the additional cars

Farshad Kia, 45, (pictured) has sparked multiple complaints after displaying numerous used cars in or next to the driveway of his 1930s semi

Mr Kia bought the house last year for £725,000 and soon removed all the greenery from the front garden and instead created a paved area where ten or more cars can park at a time – and often do.

Most display stickers advertise them for sale and show a phone number believed to belong to Mr. Kia.

Among those living near Kia, in the fashionable suburb close to Arnos Park, who have complained about his actions is neighbor Mel Campbell, 76.

Furious Mr Campbell says the unexpected arrival of a second-hand car company in an otherwise smart area of ​​London has significantly devalued his own nearby £1.2 million home.

Mr Campbell, who lives just around the corner from Mr Kia, said he was stunned that his new neighbor had opened a so-called ‘shabby car dealership’ without any planning permission.

He told MailOnline: ‘We certainly felt we should object. This is not the area where cars are sold.

‘It’s just not what you buy. My house is something, £1.2 million, with a shabby car dealer around the corner.

‘There are simply more cars than you would reasonably expect. We have four cars and we have parking for four cars.

“But he parked his cars here and rubbed our noses in them. A few times the neighbors couldn’t park because he had parked his car along the road.’

The paved front garden which is furnished as a second-hand car parking lot

When contacted by MailOnline, Mr Kia claimed most people living in the area didn’t mind

Mr Campbell claimed it is ‘illegal’ for Mr Kia to sell cars from his driveway, stating he must apply for planning permission – a claim Mr Kia has refuted.

Mr Campbell, who lives nearby on Marlborough Avenue, also claimed Mr Kia leaves his cars on the road, making it difficult for neighbors to park.

In his letter to Barnet Council – believed to be one of many – Mr Campbell stated that on one day last month there were 13 cars parked in Mr Kia’s driveway at the same time, nine of which were for sale.

Another neighbor who did not want to be named told us: ‘It’s absolutely astonishing that anyone would think they could do this in a residential area. The people here are very proud of their home and it is quite an ambitious area.

‘The previous owner had bushes and grass in the front garden and a beautiful vintage VW camper was the only vehicle. It looked very nice.

‘But the new owner just paved the whole thing, and it’s a really big space as a front garden.

‘Now you routinely see ten hatchbacks parked with price stickers on the window. It’s so tacky and downmarket.

“Everyone who lives here and I’ve talked to about it is furious.”

Another resident who lived nearby said: ‘We’ve kept our original front garden and are trying to encourage butterflies and bees to come there – then a new guy moves in and parks ten cars in his driveway to sell.

“It makes my heart sink every time I see it. That’s every day.’

When contacted by MailOnline, Mr Kia claimed that most people living in the area did not mind and that he had not broken any rules, further emphasizing that his actions ‘didn’t bother anyone’.

But he claimed that hostile neighbors who hate what he does even forced him to call the police after someone confronted his elderly father.

The 45-year-old said he had not received any complaints directly from other neighbors since he started displaying the cars in October last year, and insisted he does not need planning permission to store or sell the second-hand motors.

Mr Kia, a businessman who previously lived in the Middle East, insisted he is “not doing anything illegal” and is just trying to support his family.

Mr. Kia has generated multiple complaints after displaying numerous used cars in or next to the driveway of his 1930s semi in Arnos Grove

The 45-year-old, who moved to the address just over a year ago, said he maintains good relations with neighbors who have not raised any concerns about the issue.

He absolutely refuted the claim that he was parking used cars on the roadside for sale, saying he knew this would be illegal as the cars are untaxed.

Mr Kia said: ‘I’m not disturbing anyone. Each house on this road has about three cars, many have more.

‘There’s only one person who seems to have a problem with this. All the other neighbors are happy with it.

‘I have two disabled parents that I care for, my mother has severe dementia and my father has had two strokes.

‘I am not dependent on any government support, no informal caregiver, nothing. So I had to do this to survive in this economy, and I’m not doing anything illegal.

‘They are not noisy cars, they are not modified cars. They don’t disturb anyone.

“I keep the driveway very clean. I don’t keep cars out of the driveway and I have commercial insurance.”

He even claimed, “The neighbors told me they don’t have a problem.”

When MailOnline came by, there were eight cars in the driveway.

Although the signs did not explicitly say “for sale” or display sales prices, interested buyers could call the number on the car windows to discuss a sale.

Mr Kia said the hostility he encountered over the cars led to him calling the police last month when a man started berating his family about the cars.

He said: ‘I had to call the police. It’s not correct. He was very rude to my father.

‘I also had to call the ambulance because my father was panicking.

‘I told him I care for two elderly, disabled people, but he said he didn’t care.

“He said the fact that I had used cars here devalued his property.”

He added: ‘It’s very disappointing and heartbreaking, I’m trying to avoid my parents having to go into a care home.’

A source told MailOnline: ‘The council recently sent a planning infringement notice to the owner, raising questions about the use of the site. They have 21 working days to respond.”

It is an offense to fail to respond to such a notice and anyone found guilty could be hit with an unlimited fine.

Another close neighbor, David Bradshaw, said he had not yet complained but might be moved there in the future and was monitoring the situation.

The 86-year-old said: ‘They often have a car out front so if someone tries to pick me up it can be quite difficult.

Emotions between Mr Kia and the angry neighbors about the unofficial dealer have become so heated that the police have even been called

‘But I don’t mind that, it’s only a problem if it ends up on the road. But overall they are quite attentive.

‘Only if it gets too big, you might have to complain. I would not like a situation like this to arise where it becomes too messy on the road.

“It’s not that big of a problem yet, but you don’t want it to become a problem as long as it doesn’t get worse.”

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said: “Well, it’s a business, isn’t it?

“And this is a residential area. That’s my problem with it. It is a residential area.

“It’s a real nuisance, I’m just glad I don’t live next door.”

After hearing that more than one neighbor was concerned about the use of the driveway, Mr. Kia said he decided to remove most of the cars from his driveway.

He said, ‘I moved all the cars. I only have my personal car and two more that aren’t gone yet.

‘Not because I’m afraid, because what I’m doing is completely legal.

“But if my neighbors are unhappy, if it’s more than one person, I think I’m a pretty fair person, and I think if my neighbors are unhappy, that’s not fair to them.

“I have to find another solution.”

A spokesperson for Barnet Council said: ‘Planning permission is required to convert a house into a car sales lot. However, there are no planning laws that specifically prohibit someone 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 the neighbors and on the character of the area to warrant planning enforcement action. If we believe this is the case, we will demand that sales decrease or stop altogether.”