fox problem, do we have to grant access to neighbours?

novamation

A neighbour is claiming that they have a fox den under their garden which has caused paving stones to collapse, and they are worried it will cause damage or subsidence to the foundations of their house.

They say that the entrance to the den is in our garden and they want us to grant access to a company that will fill the den in.



Is it even possible for a den to cause this kind of trouble? I'm worried that the company they are using has spun them a tall tale.

How do they know there's a den in our garden anyway?? There isn't one visible, but our garden is messy and they may just have assumed it's us harboring the entrance. My Mum is actually a fan of foxes, and is quite incensed at the thought of a fox being harmed or troubled. I've not seen a fox in years, but there maybe an old den around.

We're going to refuse access, but are there any legal implications for us?

ic

Its probably a good way to fall out with your neighbours.

novamation

ic wrote: »

Its probably a good way to fall out with your neighbours.

Well..... it's probably already too late to worry about that:o

SplanK

Why do people feel the need to say no straight away without getting all the information! So many neighbour issues can be avoided over a cup of tea/coffee/beer/wine/water and information gathering before saying no for reason X/Y/Z or come up with some other solution to suit both sides!

Why not arrange to discuss the situation with the company and ask them to point out where they think the problem is and how they propose to resolve the problem the neighbour is reporting. Make it clear that you want all the information first before making a decision on the best way forward as it will require access, and maybe alterations on your ground.

Who says they are going cause harm or suffering? It is illegal to cause suffering to an animal no matter what it is. On the flip side, foxes can be quite nasty little things if they are scared or want to make their point known so in my opinion it’s probably not the best of ideas to have a live or old fox den in the garden!

I suppose anything digging under or near a house could cause implications later on if just left.

DVardysShadow

novamation wrote: »

.... We're going to refuse access, but are there any legal implications for us?

You need to understand the legal concept of nuisance.

Arguably, if the fox hole is on your property, the foxes are a nuisance originating on yours. Although if the den is on their side, you might argue they are a nuisance arising on theirs. This sounds like it has the makings of a law school mock trial.

daveyjp

Neighbours have a right to enter your land if it is for the purpose of property repair. Why be awkward? Look up Access to Neighbouring Land Act for more info.

cutestkids

Why is it a problem for the company to have access usually there will be a written contract so that any disturbance in your garden is made good.

It very much sounds like you are just being awkward for the sake of it.

Lets hope you never have an issue on your property that requires others to agree to you having access to carry out repairs

George_Michael

Neighbours have a right to enter your land if it is for the purpose of property repair.

Not quite correct.
Neighbours have the right to apply to a court to get an order allowing them access for property repairs, but only if the work required can't be carried out on their own land or it is far more difficult to do this.

If the fox burrow runs under the neighbours garden, then they should easily be able to dig a hole to get to it, and if there is already a den under the paving stones, these will have to be removed to enable the hole to properly filled in.
Simply blocking the entrance in the OP's garden won't do anything to repair the subsidence already in place, nor will it prevent any further problems.

johnfarquhar74

George_Michael wrote: »

Not quite correct.
Neighbours have the right to apply to a court to get an order allowing them access for property repairs, but only if the work required can't be carried out on their own land or it is far more difficult to do this.

If the fox burrow runs under the neighbours garden, then they should easily be able to dig a hole to get to it, and if there is already a den under the paving stones, these will have to be removed to enable the hole to properly filled in.
Simply blocking the entrance in the OP's garden won't do anything to repair the subsidence already in place, nor will it prevent any further problems.

I was thinking much the same, unless they were planning to pump the hole full of some form of liquid concrete.
Is the fox still actively living in the den or is it redundant, if still in use then a licensed pest control company will be required to humanely destroy the creature before remedial work can be carried out, that work would clearly have to be done where the majority of the subsidence is, sealing the entrance isn't going to magically make the depression disappear!

[Deleted User]

Foxes are vermin and yes do cause damage in this way. This is how farm machinery gets damaged when you run over a fox den and it collapses :-(

novamation

I've not seen a fox in years, but I've also not seen a foxhole.

It's definitely a good point that a couple of you have raised - that if there's damage in their garden that needs dealing with, then the whole thing can probably be dealt with from their side anyway.