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Advice please re neighbours' electric gates
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Helen1971
Posts: 177 Forumite
Hello, I was hoping that you knowledgeable people might be able to offer some advice.
We live in a house at the end of a long private drive, which we share with one set of neighbours. The deeds are clear about which side of the drive we own, etc. and we've never had any problems with the drive. Our house is at the far end of the drive. A set of electric gates stand at the end of the drive, next to the road; they are jointly owned by our neighbours on each side. The neighbours are a couple on on side, with whom we share the drive, and their daughter on the other. The gates are not ours, but we have right of access through them to our property.
We have remote controls to open these gates, but they are rather hit and miss (see below). There's a buzzer on the gate, which we can't hear easily when we're in our house. Nor can we see whether the gates are open from our house. Our preference is for the gates to stand open during the day so that post, shopping etc can be delivered more easily. In the past we've found that Ocado etc can't get in.
The couple moved out of their house about six months ago, leaving their house empty, since which time the gates have been open all the time. We assumed that our remaining neighbour, the daughter, was OK with this arrangement. We don't live in a high crime area.
This week we've found that the neighbour is constantly closing the gate. It's a hassle because quite often the remotes don't work (yes, we have replaced the batteries!) and we have to get out of the car, in the rain, to punch in the code. Sometimes the gates get stuck and we can't get in or out.
This evening, finding the gates having been closed every time we opened them, I called in on the neighbour and asked in a friendly way whether there was a reason for the gates having to be closed all the time. Her reaction took me aback, to say the least; she claimed that "having the gates held open" had caused her electricity bill to increase by £400 and consequently the gates would be staying shut whether we liked it or not. When I asked whether she was sure that was the reason for her increased electricity bill (I thought it sounded rather implausible), her response was, "well, you'd better go and get some advice hadn't you?", after which she swore at me and stormed back into the house. Nice.
Anyway, here are the questions I was hoping you might be able to help me with. I really don't want to get into a tiresome dispute with this woman.
1. Do you think the story about "holding the gates open" adding £400 to her electricity bill holds water?
2. Do we have any right to request, or insist upon, access to our property being unimpeded during certain hours of the day, e.g. during daylight or between 7 am and 8 pm, say?
3. Would the fact that their gates don't work very well have any bearing on the answer to question 2?
4. What would you do?
Thanks for any help or advice you can give. I dread getting into one of these awful neighbour disputes one reads about!
We live in a house at the end of a long private drive, which we share with one set of neighbours. The deeds are clear about which side of the drive we own, etc. and we've never had any problems with the drive. Our house is at the far end of the drive. A set of electric gates stand at the end of the drive, next to the road; they are jointly owned by our neighbours on each side. The neighbours are a couple on on side, with whom we share the drive, and their daughter on the other. The gates are not ours, but we have right of access through them to our property.
We have remote controls to open these gates, but they are rather hit and miss (see below). There's a buzzer on the gate, which we can't hear easily when we're in our house. Nor can we see whether the gates are open from our house. Our preference is for the gates to stand open during the day so that post, shopping etc can be delivered more easily. In the past we've found that Ocado etc can't get in.
The couple moved out of their house about six months ago, leaving their house empty, since which time the gates have been open all the time. We assumed that our remaining neighbour, the daughter, was OK with this arrangement. We don't live in a high crime area.
This week we've found that the neighbour is constantly closing the gate. It's a hassle because quite often the remotes don't work (yes, we have replaced the batteries!) and we have to get out of the car, in the rain, to punch in the code. Sometimes the gates get stuck and we can't get in or out.
This evening, finding the gates having been closed every time we opened them, I called in on the neighbour and asked in a friendly way whether there was a reason for the gates having to be closed all the time. Her reaction took me aback, to say the least; she claimed that "having the gates held open" had caused her electricity bill to increase by £400 and consequently the gates would be staying shut whether we liked it or not. When I asked whether she was sure that was the reason for her increased electricity bill (I thought it sounded rather implausible), her response was, "well, you'd better go and get some advice hadn't you?", after which she swore at me and stormed back into the house. Nice.
Anyway, here are the questions I was hoping you might be able to help me with. I really don't want to get into a tiresome dispute with this woman.
1. Do you think the story about "holding the gates open" adding £400 to her electricity bill holds water?
2. Do we have any right to request, or insist upon, access to our property being unimpeded during certain hours of the day, e.g. during daylight or between 7 am and 8 pm, say?
3. Would the fact that their gates don't work very well have any bearing on the answer to question 2?
4. What would you do?
Thanks for any help or advice you can give. I dread getting into one of these awful neighbour disputes one reads about!
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Comments
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Had you met her before?
She sounds like a nutjob.0 -
I think my temporary solution might be to put a notice on the gate - "Buzzer broken. Deliveries for [house number] - please call [mobile number] for access".
Longer term, I've no idea whether the electricity argument holds water. Do you know who installed the gates so you can call them to check / ask how much it would cost for them to come look at them (and possibly solve the 'not working very well' while they're at it). If servicing the gates didn't cost too much, I might be tempted to pay for the fix myself for an easy life.0 -
Who owns the driveway? what right do they have to even install the gates in the first place?Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.0
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Thanks for your responses so far.
Yes, I fear she may be a bit of a nutjob. Shame, because her parents (the other neighbours, who have now moved out) were OK.
The gates appear to have been installed whilst the previous owners of our house were in residence. The houses are only 12 years old so suspect it was done when the houses were built. Although I'm now wondering whether the wretched gates are the reason the previous owners left!!0 -
Sorry, should have added: the drive belongs to us and the other set of neighbours, who don't live in their house any more. The gates aren't ours; the belong to the suspected nutjob and the neighbours with whom we share the drive (her parents).0
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Sorry, should have added: the drive belongs to us and the other set of neighbours, who don't live in their house any more. The gates aren't ours; the belong to the suspected nutjob and the neighbours with whom we share the drive (her parents).
How many people live at the end of the drive? Two houses? You live in one and 'nutjob' lives in the other (where her parents used to live also)
So there is your house, and your next door neighbour, and you both own the drive and one of you has gates which are purely theirs, paid for by them and electricity costs paid for by them?0 -
im sorry i dont get it, the gates belong to the nutjob but its not her drive? if you share the drive with 1 neighbour who has moved then why is a 2nd neighbour using them?Be Alert..........Britain needs lerts.0
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Three houses. One right inside the gates with a private drive (nutjob). Two more, sharing a long drive (us plus nutjob's parents).
Nutjob and parents bear the electricity costs for the gate, since it's theirs.
Strangely, I feel better for using that slightly insulting nickname for my excitable neighbour.......0 -
So what right exactly do they have to install a drive over three people's driveways? Two people of which do not seem to be benefitting at all from the gates (I assume they can hear the buzzer easily as they live closer?)
It would seem to make more sense for all three houses to pay for and bear the cost of the gates on the drive (and therefore have some say over the useful/lessness of them!) rather than just one house blocking the rest of the drive.0 -
Do the deeds not give any information about unrestricted rights of access?All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.
Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.0
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