Neighbour advice....

BigAlC

Hi guys, I've come here from the "In my home" section with a question which i'll copy and paste below, if you can take the time to have a read and give me some help that would be great.

Hello all,

One for all you legal eagles and people who might have had this happen before to them.

We recently purchased our first house, and as such are extremely proud of our achievement as you would be with current market etc. This was done knowing the area and we actually moved on the same street. Anyhow this is beside the point.

The house next to us is rented, we were aware of this when we brought our house and as such had no problem as the previous tenants were superb.

However..... The new ones who have moved in, in most cases are fine, say hello when passing, but don't bother us too much (although it is like living next to foghorn leghorn sometimes when a certain party pipes up - again beside the point - apologies). Recently they have got a puppy, no problem there I like dogs as much as the next person, and it is very quiet and well behaved (we have cats and no problems with the dog - the owner... that's another thread)

We came home tonight and the OH told me she heard a grating noise on our living room wall (outside wall) and I instantly said that would be them putting a gate up (presumably to stop the dog running out of the back garden). The problem I have with this is that they have come on to our land (about half a foot inside our boundary at a guess) drilled in to our outside wall and put the closing mech on a couple of pieces of 2x4. No permission asked or owt like that. This has riled me a little.

The question is, where do I stand? I don't want to be unpleasant but at the same time, common courtesy dictates you ask someone if you want to do something on or near to someone elses land, nevermind drill in to their wall.

I'm just after pointers, and good advice really as this is our first home and I'd like to keep it nice if possible. I'm worried about things like what if they drilled so far in and punctured the damp course etc and things like that?

Thanks in advance for any advice or guidance that is offered.

Al.

dimbo61

It would have been nice if they asked you first but NO it will not damage the damp-proof course.
Noise travels through walls and unless you pay for sound block insulation and sound block plasterboard to cut down the amount of noise you will hear from the neighbours

G_M

1) if they came onto your land, that's trespass - a civil matter (not criminal) Not much you can do except get an injunction forbidding them doing it again, or sue for damages - see 2)

2) drilling a hole in your property. That's damage. You could employ a contractor to remove what they've done and make good (ie fill the hole), then sue for the cost of the contractor.

3) damp proof membrane. Only issue would be if they breached it. ie attached th wood extending both down below the dpc level AND above it, such that water (damp) could rise up the wood and penetrate the wall above the dpc

You could mention it tothe landlord/owner, but not much he can do (they haven't done anything toHISproperty!) except perhaps refuse to renew the tenancy when it's up (6 months?). There again, if he does that, he loses money!

Or you could discuss with them amicably, and request they pay (either now or when they leave)to re-instate/make good your wall.

dinofabio

G_M wrote: »

1) if they came onto your land, that's trespass - a civil matter (not criminal) Not much you can do except get an injunction forbidding them doing it again, or sue for damages - see 2)

2) drilling a hole in your property. That's damage. You could employ a contractor to remove what they've done and make good (ie fill the hole), then sue for the cost of the contractor.

3) damp proof membrane. Only issue would be if they breached it. ie attached th wood extending both down below the dpc level AND above it, such that water (damp) could rise up the wood and penetrate the wall above the dpc

You could mention it tothe landlord/owner, but not much he can do (they haven't done anything toHISproperty!) except perhaps refuse to renew the tenancy when it's up (6 months?). There again, if he does that, he loses money!

Or you could discuss with them amicably, and request they pay (either now or when they leave)to re-instate/make good your wall.

over the top advice

go around and have a look at what they've done. they've probably drilled a couple of inches into the outer skin of your outer wall. no structural damage done.

a bit cheeky but not the end of the world. 20p worth of mortar to refill if you want to refill the holes

Davesnave

dinofabio wrote: »

over the top advice

I think G_M's post was meant to be ironic.

The dog owners have been thoughtless, but if there is no other indication that they are seeking to offend, I'd let it lie. Fixing a piece of 4x2 to a house isn't going to cause a structural issue.

The mechanism is on your property and you can remove it at any time, so long as you give it back. As there are hints that you have a few issues with one of the new neighbours, I would just keep this in mind, in case it's the thin end of a wedge.

princeofpounds

Multiple ways to deal with this:

- Make it very official. Write a letter before action to the tenants demanding removal and repair. Then sue them. Inform landlord.

- Make it informal. Speak to tenants. Ask for removal and repair.

- Hide head in sand.

- Passive aggressive. Remove while they are out. Fix it over their front door with a padlock.

Up to you really! Personally, I would address it. Structurally it's very likely to be totally meaningless, but it was rude not to ask permission and it confuses the boundary.

I'd probably just speak to them in the first instance, ask them to remove it from your property. Filling the holes will be a five minute job.

missile

I don't fully understand. Is this gate inside your property, i.e. claiming 6" of your garden? Boundary disputes can be very difficult to resolve and longer you do nothing, harder it will be to resolve in the future.

If so, I would ask him to relocate it to the boundary asap. Give him a week then take it down myself.

BigAlC

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

Just to straighten a few items out. I'm not proposing that this be dragged through court or similar as like has been stated a couple of holes can't be that damaging. I was slightly concerned on where the bottom screw would be located in relation to DPC, but in hindsight I think they would have to be pretty big screws in order to get that far.

The gate in question is a mid height metal type with narrow gaps so that the dog can't escape. Not intrusive like a full height wooden one or similar, but where the locking mechanism is mounted is on two lengths of wood no more than 3ft high but on our outside wall.

The picture below probably outlines it better than words would.



So basically, they haven't violated the boundary by much at all but there is still the principal of it, and the lack of permission.

I'm probably going to take a couple of pictures just to cover my own back and then go and ask them to remove it because they didn't ask for our permission to drill in to our wall. In regard to the dog, I'm pretty sure they are ok on that front as previous tenant had a border collie (he was cool)

Meadows

I would speak to them and also the landlord.
Bad enough they came on to your garden but to drill in to your property wall!

We had new neighbours several years ago that are quite nice and said if you have an issue with anything let us know.
Last year I noticed that they had put a trellis on my wall (our house join to theirs but the front of ours is about a few feet forward of theirs on the front and vice versa on the back). So they put the trellis on the side of our house that borders on their garden.

I asked them to remove it as I did not want plants growing up my house wall, they said its not invasive, but I said never the less I don't want things attached to or growing up my wall. I was polite but since then they speak but seem less friendly (so much for speak to us if you have an issue!).

I would not dream of putting anything on or against their wall on the back garden (this could lead to damp on their property) and I feel they really have a cheek drilling into mine and totally out of order especially as they did not ask permission.

They say good fences make good neighbours, but no person should do anything to anyone's property with out seeking permission!

martyn05

Take a few photos of it, then ask them nicely to remove it from your property. See if you can work together to come up with a suitable solution. Can they fix a post on their side then attach wood to it that touches your wall but not fixed to it? What is the ground like? If it is concrete you can get a bracket that screws to the concrete then stand the post in it. If it is soil then you can fit a post in the ground. Either way, wood can be fixed to the post then positioned so it touches your wall.

BigAlC

Hi,

I've been thinking about this and trying to think of possible solutions for her R.E. the closing mech position. There isn't really one that I think holds much water from both my view as a home owner and also from when I was renting.

The pathway is tiles leading down the side of the house, roughly 1.5ft square and 2 inch thick. To the left of where the boundary line is on the picture is gravel filled. So in order to get a fixed post the only way I can think of her to re-do the work is to either remove a tile and set a steel post fixing in to the ground (I believe under the tiles is a concrete bed) and then affix the new post and closing mechanism. Or have a frame bolted to their house wall and wedged on ours. However, I highly doubt that landlord or the letting agency would approve of this .

I'm just thinking that now I should go and have a word and ask for it to be removed and repaired to my standard and then to inform the letting agency of what has been done should there be any fall out. Undoubtedly there will be in the form of them not being particularly friendly anymore but I would rather have a sound house than people who have no respect for my property.