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Help we are being held prisoner!!!! Is THIS lawful??? Landlord problem!
tanzwutdream
Posts: 7 Forumite
Didn't know where to put this, was told this section maybe the best to get this noticed. I really need help and quick! 
A landlord of the building opposite us is demanding £300.00 off us so we can get in and out of our area as the only entry and exit point is through his building's archway!!!!
There is no way we can get to our home but through the arch of this other building, there is no other way, and he is demanding that we pay £300 a year to do that!!! Even though for the last 14 years we have been going back and forth through this only entry and exit point without paying a penny.
When we first moved in, the building opposite us was Council, then about six years ago it was bought up and became private. So we were walking and driving (not me but other tennants) back and forth for years whilst it was council and several years still whilst private.
The landlord is now erecting a gate in which no vehicle can come in or out without a zapper. We can walk by foot but if we want any deliveries to come in, ie royal mail, or any beds or furniture we are in his opinion forced to buy a zapper, so even if you haven’t a car you have to pay!!! But we have been using this access and entry point before he even built that building.
I don’t believe he can do this. Can anyone help. I believe a free solicitor said that it was not right and that we could win that, but they didn’t deal with cases like that. But we need to be sure, as she said we would need a conveyance solicitor that dealt with contentious issues. So at the moment were not 100 percent we could win. It is a terrible situation, as especially he want £300 up front!!!! Next year who knows it could be £500, or more. Could he price us out of our building!!!! I personally think he wants to price the residents out by making the charges so high so we all move out, our Association may find it hard to get people in and sell the building to him dirt choice because they have to. This is my own personal feelings though but he does resent this building it looks like and he is very unpleasant. How can you charge people £300 a year to get in and out when for all these years its been free, and he didn’t even buy his building to recently. Its seems criminal to me. Someone please help us if we can, anything, advice, advice on a cheap lawyer who knows these matters. I don’t trust this man, he is a little Hitler and needs to be stopped. £300 a year is so much, any fee is wrong seeing that his building was council when we came. Surely we have right of way. Our Association of our building seem asleep to the dangers. Please someone help!
Just so you can get an idea I've dug out two pictures.
This here is the building owed by this nasty land lord! And our only entry and exit point from the area.
Was were taken when it was foggy (not too helpful). This is my building at the very bottom of the long driveway (it's nothing to do with the landlord). You can't see it in the picture but behind the building it's all just fenced in and backs on to houses either side. There is no other way out near my house at all.
Picture having to walk all that way every morning to get parcels etc. I help run an ebay business so I'm always getting deliveries and most come by DHL and such. It's going to be a nightmare! NOTE this picture was only taken half way down the driveway, it's longer than it looks in both the photos!
He has planning permission for the gates but I haven't seen it myself. I don't think it said anything about charging tentents that are not even his to charge. Arrcording to other tenants no pricing was mentioned. He will be giving emergency services an over ride key. He's covered that.
This gate goes up June the 18th so not long but he wants the actual £300 sooner. He sent a contract yesterday, it says if it's not signed your phone can't be programmed so you won't know when people come to see you. They will be locked out! But I can't sign it, gah. Signing it is as good as hanging myself!
Yesterday we went knocking on everyone's door telling not to sign. Everyone a part from the guy at number 10 (who is firm friends with this law lord) are terribly unhappy.
There is no reason to erect the gateway at all. I know of not one single crime in this area! It's funny because he boasts how we will all be safer, safer from WHAT? I personally think he's putting it there to protect himself, he's always tossing people out their homes in the building he owns! In one case because a man put up a sky dish!
ALSO, recently he has put up a million and one CCTV cameras some of which are pointing right out my house, one points at my bedroom window. HE PLANS TO BOARDCAST THE IMAGES FROM ALL THESE CCTV CAMREAS LIVE ON THE INTERNET FOR ANYONE TO ACCESS!
This land lords building is classed as a company for some reason!
A landlord of the building opposite us is demanding £300.00 off us so we can get in and out of our area as the only entry and exit point is through his building's archway!!!!
There is no way we can get to our home but through the arch of this other building, there is no other way, and he is demanding that we pay £300 a year to do that!!! Even though for the last 14 years we have been going back and forth through this only entry and exit point without paying a penny.
When we first moved in, the building opposite us was Council, then about six years ago it was bought up and became private. So we were walking and driving (not me but other tennants) back and forth for years whilst it was council and several years still whilst private.
The landlord is now erecting a gate in which no vehicle can come in or out without a zapper. We can walk by foot but if we want any deliveries to come in, ie royal mail, or any beds or furniture we are in his opinion forced to buy a zapper, so even if you haven’t a car you have to pay!!! But we have been using this access and entry point before he even built that building.
I don’t believe he can do this. Can anyone help. I believe a free solicitor said that it was not right and that we could win that, but they didn’t deal with cases like that. But we need to be sure, as she said we would need a conveyance solicitor that dealt with contentious issues. So at the moment were not 100 percent we could win. It is a terrible situation, as especially he want £300 up front!!!! Next year who knows it could be £500, or more. Could he price us out of our building!!!! I personally think he wants to price the residents out by making the charges so high so we all move out, our Association may find it hard to get people in and sell the building to him dirt choice because they have to. This is my own personal feelings though but he does resent this building it looks like and he is very unpleasant. How can you charge people £300 a year to get in and out when for all these years its been free, and he didn’t even buy his building to recently. Its seems criminal to me. Someone please help us if we can, anything, advice, advice on a cheap lawyer who knows these matters. I don’t trust this man, he is a little Hitler and needs to be stopped. £300 a year is so much, any fee is wrong seeing that his building was council when we came. Surely we have right of way. Our Association of our building seem asleep to the dangers. Please someone help!
Just so you can get an idea I've dug out two pictures.
This here is the building owed by this nasty land lord! And our only entry and exit point from the area.
Was were taken when it was foggy (not too helpful). This is my building at the very bottom of the long driveway (it's nothing to do with the landlord). You can't see it in the picture but behind the building it's all just fenced in and backs on to houses either side. There is no other way out near my house at all.
Picture having to walk all that way every morning to get parcels etc. I help run an ebay business so I'm always getting deliveries and most come by DHL and such. It's going to be a nightmare! NOTE this picture was only taken half way down the driveway, it's longer than it looks in both the photos!
He has planning permission for the gates but I haven't seen it myself. I don't think it said anything about charging tentents that are not even his to charge. Arrcording to other tenants no pricing was mentioned. He will be giving emergency services an over ride key. He's covered that.
This gate goes up June the 18th so not long but he wants the actual £300 sooner. He sent a contract yesterday, it says if it's not signed your phone can't be programmed so you won't know when people come to see you. They will be locked out! But I can't sign it, gah. Signing it is as good as hanging myself!
Yesterday we went knocking on everyone's door telling not to sign. Everyone a part from the guy at number 10 (who is firm friends with this law lord) are terribly unhappy.
There is no reason to erect the gateway at all. I know of not one single crime in this area! It's funny because he boasts how we will all be safer, safer from WHAT? I personally think he's putting it there to protect himself, he's always tossing people out their homes in the building he owns! In one case because a man put up a sky dish!
ALSO, recently he has put up a million and one CCTV cameras some of which are pointing right out my house, one points at my bedroom window. HE PLANS TO BOARDCAST THE IMAGES FROM ALL THESE CCTV CAMREAS LIVE ON THE INTERNET FOR ANYONE TO ACCESS!
This land lords building is classed as a company for some reason!
0
Comments
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Are you renting from a Housing Association? If so, get down there tomorrow and ask them about it. Their legal department may be able to take this up on your behalf, as technically from the sounds of it he will be preventing the Housing Association's tenants from being able to access their own properties.
They should also be able to look at the deeds for the property to determine access rights. The last house we were in had an entry way between our house and next door, leading to both back gardens. Although the entryway was our property, according to the deeds we had to allow next door access to it, so couldn;t put a gate at the end of it as this would block their access.
Hope this helps a bit, don;t really know what else to suggest.BCSC # 9 and proud! :beer:0 -
Don't panic.
As previously mentioned you need to check the deeds for your property and his property (you can get these from the land registry if the land is registered) to see what level of access you have. If you have a right of way then he can not charge for it.
If you don't - Seek legal advice about an implied right of way. If you have been using the drive for 14 years without complaint and without the owner making clear that no implied right of way was being formed then you may be able to argue that a right of way exists. However, this will take time and be expensive (as anything involving the law always is).
N790 -
If you rent the property than I would say that it is your landlords issue rather than yours, however I suspect that he will not be able to put a gate in as its likely that either your road is classed as a public highway (call the council and ask) so he would be causing an obstruction, plus what would happen if there was a fire and you needed a fire engine to visit? Its also lilely that detailed somewhere in someones deeds there will be a covenant or something granting each of you access. I imagine he is just trying it on.0
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Get on to the council - probably highways dept, maybe planning?
They should be able to clarify if there is a right of way thro the arch (which there most probably is).0 -
god what an awful situation. Have you thought about going to your local papers about it? A nice photo of you and the others in your street standing under the arch looking cross?! Especially if anyone in the road is perhaps disabled or elderly and can't get about by foot - he's pretty much holding them hostage / almost extortion.
Others please pipe up if you think this is a bad idea. but i think some bad publicity might help him rethink... and you never know he might have some unscrupulous business hidden away somewhere and this might bring him to the attention of someone important... (eg did he have planning permission for the arch/gate...)
Also I would query the emergency services key. I don't really know how that works but i mean who wants their ambulance to be fiddling about with a key or tag while you're having a heart attack in the front room...0 -
I'd focus your attention on the council, can you get the other tenants together, so you're making a single case, but as a group?
The others above have made good points abou approaching the council in the first instance. I can't believe he has the right to do this.
As for the CCTV, does he have planning permission for these? you could maybe get them taken down if not."Mrs. Pench, you've won the car contest, would you like a triumph spitfire or 3000 in cash?" He smiled.
Mrs. Pench took the money. "What will you do with it all? Not that it's any of my business," he giggled.
"I think I'll become an alcoholic," said Betty.0 -
didnt read it all cause its long and im tyred but i would assume it is a public right of way, tell the land lord each of the tenants has 50k legal cover from their home insurance and youll meet them in court, i would also threaten them with the police for blocking a public right of way/ unlawfull imprisenment /erecting a perminant structure without planning permission etc.
actually i would have bought an oxyaceleline torch and cut the hinges had it blocked my way but then i would be willing to bet any fines would be less than £300 and you could fight the legality of it being there.0 -
I imagine an air rifle will make short work of the CCTV."Mrs. Pench, you've won the car contest, would you like a triumph spitfire or 3000 in cash?" He smiled.
Mrs. Pench took the money. "What will you do with it all? Not that it's any of my business," he giggled.
"I think I'll become an alcoholic," said Betty.0 -
Direct action. I like it Guy.
Reminds me of the old days.Whenthemusicstopsmakesureyou'renotleftstanding0 -
Wish you luck fighting this, as someone else metioned I would call the police and say that you are been held against you will. Also CAB may be able to help you out.0
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