Urget help, Complete on Friday. Scaffolding blocking shared Drive

ritz55

Was after some urgent help. I have exchanged on a house recently and we are due to complete this Friday 10th October.

However the neighbour has put up a scaffolding yesterday which blocks half the shared driveway. I wanted to find out the following

1) If we complete on Friday as agreed then does this give the neighbour any additional rights with the scaffolding being in place on completion? What would be the consequence of completing?
2) If we were not to complete on Friday due to the scaffolding then who would be responsible for the finance loss, would it be the Seller or me due to the shared drive not being accessible?
The Seller has moved to Australia so was not aware of the scaffolding going up. I've also tried to contact my solicitor but he is away on holiday so not having much joy there as well.


I'm not worried about the scaffolding being there for a few weeks but more worried about the legal implications on completion.


Thanks


Ritz55

princeofpounds

- What do you know about the terms of the shared drive usage?

- Will not having access to the full width of the shared drive cause you additional costs?

ritz55

So the shared drive is used by myself and the neighbour only. It's a semi detached house. With the shared drive blocked I'm unable to gain access to take my car into the garage, there wouldn't be any additional cost as such.

princeofpounds

I was hoping for more detail than that. Who owns which part of the drive? Is it split in half with mutual rights of way across the other person's portion? Does one property own it and the other have a right of way? Does the scaffold intrude onto land you own or just onto land you have a right of way over etc.

ritz55

So my understanding is the shared drive is owned by me but the neighbour has right of way to the drive and I'm not allowed to block his access It's a single drive. The scaffolding has 3 legs directly on the shared drive. I'll try and put a pic up so the scaffolding can be seen.

princeofpounds

There are two aspects to this.

One is how to deal with the obstruction of the right of way. This is normally done through the civil courts. There are a number of remedies, such as injuctions, damages and abatement.

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=remedies+for+interference+with+an+easement&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox&ie=&oe=&gfe_rd=cr&ei=tWU1VMLDLfDH8gfHzoHADw&gws_rd=ssl

Abatement would appear to be one option. It would basically involve arranging for scaffolders to come and remove the obstruction, then suing the neighbour for all the costs involved. THAT is obviously highly confrontational and a nightmare.

Another option would be moving in and suing for extra costs for dealing with the difficulty afterwards, plus an injunction to get the obstruction removed ASAP. Obviously that is not really any better. The legal battle route isn't that satisfying.

What I think you would like to do is delay completion, but how you stand in relation to that I don't know. If they are occupying part of the land you own then that might not count as vacant possession, but that's a lawyer question.

The seller should be talking to their ex-neighbour ASAP to find out what is going on of course.

ritz55

So Images are below. The property on the right is the one I'm purchasing and the one on the left is the neighbours.

princeofpounds

OK thanks, if it is just three legs then it might even be possible for your vendor/you to get them to remove them and not use that portion of the scaffold until an alternative solution is found. Certainly talking is always a good first step.

It will also be relevant why the scaffold is there. You are generally speaking allowed access to neighbouring land to maintain your property, but not to improve it. And then there is a difference between access and structures like scaffolding.

Remember that this is probably just an innocent issue. The neighbour may be doing this now as the property appears empty and he has picked a time he thought would cause minimum inconvenience, rather than maximum.

silvercar

Remember that you are going to have to live with these neighbours being next door to you.

I would knock on the door and ask them how long the scaffolding will be in place.

Mallotum_X

How about chatting to the neighbour about how long the scaffold will be in place for. Be reasonable about it, chances are that the scaffold won't be there for long. Whether it is there or not on completion date doesnt give them any extra rights over it being put up the day after you complete.

With any luck its not a long project so i'd be erring on the side of good neighbourly relations and other than asking how long and what its there fore wouldn't be chucking anything about rights/right of way/compensation around. You have to live next door to them for potentially many years. No point starting out with a row.

ritz55

Thanks PrinceOfPounds for your quick response. The agent did talk to the neighbour and they say that it's been put up due to a leaking roof. He is trying to get it removed but this may not happen before Friday.


At the moment I'm thinking maybe option 2. Move in and then sue afterwards assuming the neighbour doesn't remove the scaffolding in a reasonable time frame but hopefully won't be an issue and no need to get the legal side involved but assuming I don't loose this right on completion.