A new Indiana homeowner thought 60 strangers had just helped themselves to the empty lawn, then found a festival was charging $10 a car to park there

A new Indiana homeowner thought 60 strangers had just helped themselves to the empty lawn, then found a festival was charging $10 a car to park there

A homeowner in Indiana says a local festival has been using their private land as an official paid parking lot without permission. The homeowner, who posts on Reddit as u/OutsiderMotif, says the festival is charging attendees $10 per vehicle to park on a half-acre grassy lot they purchased in February. As reported by The Daily Dot, the homeowner shared the experience in the r/legal subreddit. They were out of town on a Saturday when a neighbor sent a picture showing roughly 60 cars parked on the grass.

The owner initially thought “people had just helped themselves to parking because the lot was empty.” The festival had reportedly been using the property for years with the blessing of the previous owner. However, the new homeowner says they never granted permission for this arrangement, and they did not authorize the festival to profit from the land.

The festival is still listing the address as a parking spot

The homeowner explained that the lot is part of the same parcel as their house, and that they have a survey from the purchase showing the boundaries. The annual fall festival takes place about two blocks away.

The festival is reportedly still listing the homeowner’s address as an official parking location on its website for the next day of the event. The owner said they have emailed the organization demanding that their property be removed from its parking arrangements.

The parking also reportedly caused damage to the grass. The homeowner said they are not especially concerned about the money the festival collected, though they found it outrageous that the organization profited from their land. “I want the property repaired and I want this to stop,” the Redditor wrote.

The post has gained significant traction on Reddit, gathering thousands of upvotes and more than a thousand comments from people offering advice. Many commenters argued that the festival’s nonprofit status does not protect it from liability. “Being non-profit doesn’t give them an escape from liability,” one user wrote.

The same commenter argued that permission from the previous owner does not carry over to a new owner unless a contract exists, which should have been disclosed in the sale. Informal deals made by a previous owner do not always survive a sale, as a former owner’s plum-picking request showed.

If such a contract exists and was not disclosed, the commenter suggested, the previous owner may be liable. They advised the homeowner to demand compensation for the damage, keep receipts, and go to small claims court if the festival cannot pay.

Other advice focused on keeping cars off the lot. “Quick fix….post private property, no trespassing/no parking signs,” another commenter suggested. They also recommended telling the festival the land is now off limits, warning that any cars parked there will be towed, and getting an estimate for repairs.

Commenters largely encouraged the owner to document all the damage and clearly mark the land as private. According to the homeowner, the festival had not responded to their email demanding that the property be removed from its parking plans.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the festival’s side of the story, as this account comes solely from a Reddit post.