Neighbour dumping rubbish into garden

PenguinOfDeath

Hi all, bit of a vent/ask for help

My OH lives in a detached house, next door to which is a shop with a flat above. The flat also has a door to 'outside' which is a flat roof which overlooks the side of his house where there is a gap around 1 meter wide between the extension and the fence.

A while ago he found quite a bit of rubbish in this gap obviously thrown/dropped down from this roof, from usual household stuff to large planks of wood. He cleared the rubbish away and the planks got dumped back over the fence (theres a bit which backs onto the 'front' of the flat area, not the pavement)

This weekend we have found some more household rubbish towards the back of this area, plus now parts of a wooden bed frame dumped down the gap, that had been on this roof for the past few days seen by all and sundry walking and driving past...

We now have photos of this stuff as proof, but is there anything we can do to get it stopped? Hes a bit reluctant to confront them as hes worried it could start a bit of a war - they arent 'nightmare' neighbours but if he has this sort of disregard for other people what else could he get up to? I suppose if it gets reported then its also obvious whos done it but I dont see much of a way round that!

The flat is nothing to do with the shop below and seems to be privately rented. Would the landlord be the person to speak to (assuming we can find out who it is?) or the council? We are getting a bit fed of of the property being used as a dumping ground!

daska

Keep a diary, photos etc.

You might be able to find the details of the owner via the Land Registry. If the rubbish is being dumped on private land then you probably won't get any joy from the council. You could try asking the police for advice.

the_cat

Well you only really have 2 options
1. put up with it
2. say something to him. Yes he might be awkward but if you want it to stop there is no choice really.

If you get no joy from him, then go to the landlord and complain. The landlord won't want rubbish lying around and encouraging vermin near his/her property any more than your OH does.
Worst case scenario, I would imagine it to be Environmental Health who would be the people to go to after that

antw23uk

I think your first point of call are the neighbours themselves. Perhaps knock to ask if they have 'blah blah 'put excuse here' .... and see what they are like. If they are rough as! then no harm done but if they seem ok then explain there is a problem with the dumping of rubbish.

If thats not right for you then contact the landlord, it wont be too difficult to find out who they are and explain the situation.

Good luck. Seems not even being detached allows us the priviledge of being away from scumbags!

gardner1

chuck it back where it came from;)

pogofish

See above - dump it back on their doorstep forthwith.

You may also want to check the regs on dumping or fly tipping - they could be breaking the law by doing this.

londonsurrey

Am loving the concept of a PogoFish answering a query by a PenguinOfDeath.

PenguinOfDeath

Thanks for the replies. :beer:

We have previously dumped some of the larger stuff back onto their 'front' but that is just set back form the pavement where people can walk so am reluctant to do it for all because a) its not actually affecting them then, mainly used as access to the shop and looks unsightly and b) could be considered fly tipping too?

Id rather not touch the stuff but I guess slinging it in a bin bag and chucking back up there could be an option? If hes as thick as **** though it may not twig and he'll just carry on doing it

OH will probably have to go and talk to them (with a couple of large mates haha!), I'm also wondering if its worth suggesting they ask for more bins from the council, you know, the things they are supposed to store their waste in!

londonsurrey wrote: »

Am loving the concept of a PogoFish answering a query by a PenguinOfDeath.

Best. Zoo. Ever :cool:

JodyBPM

I'm struggling a bit to understand the layout. Is the gap in your OH's garden between his extension and his fence, or in the next properties garden between their extension and their fence?

Presumably its in his garden? If so,then I would say that the first thing to do is to talk to the neighbours. Its probably the easiest way of getting it stopped. Otherwise, is there anyway of blocking up the gap, so that rubbish can't be dumped there? I'm thinking something like a lean to roof from the extension to the fence.

Obviously, if they're dumping in their own/the shop's garden, then there's nothing your OH can do unless it becomes a health hazard.

PenguinOfDeath

Yeah the gap is between the extension and the fence, so in his garden but its so small and 'out of the way' its not really used. I did suggest putting up some sort of roof with a message on the top which would become a google earth talking point lol!

heretolearn_2

sorry, just to clarify the 'he' is that it is being dumped in your OH's garden?

I'd bung it back up on their roof and put a nicey nicey note through the door saying 'some stuff fell off your roof so i've put it back for you, can you please make sure stuff doesn't fall into my garden again, thank you'

and see if they take the hint.

If not, then OH will have to grow a pair and go round there. Why is he so scared to talk to them about it? You'd think that people just wouldn't do anti-social stuff like this, but if they do, quite often if you challenge them in a firm but nice way pretending it must have been an accident/one off so letting them back down gracefully, they do. For example 'yes you quite understand it just blew over in the wind, but you are sure they won't let it happen again will it' and they will pack it in. Stand up to them without being aggressive. It's if you leave it unchallenged they get worse and worse. (from experience of living in crappy sink council estate for 20 years).

And then if they still keep doing it it's time to go round there and yell at them!