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Abandoned Car on Overgrown Front Garden
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Fish&Chips
Posts: 23 Forumite
My elderly mother and I have been chatting on the phone (I live overseas) and both she and her next door neighbours are very upset at the state of the gardens in another neighbour's property (I don't know his name, so will call him Rob).
Rob lives on a corner plot. He is apparently in his late 30s and lives alone since his ex partner and child moved out a couple of years ago. He has abandoned an old car on his front lawn; there is no dropped down curb, he took down the front fence to put the car on the lawn and I guess therefore has no tax or insurance for the vehicle. The car has been there for at least a year and I think is probably only fit for scrap value. I've just looked the house up on Google Streetview and the car was there in Sept 2015.....it hasn't been moved at all and is even more unkempt now, according to my mum.
Unfortunately, Rob has stopped cutting the grass and it is now about a foot high and growing around the car. His house is a semi and his immediate neighbours are in their late 70s, as is my mum.
He has a long rear garden, which my mum's garden backs on to (she has an end terrance house next to the semis). Rob has abandoned this garden too and brambles are now about 5ft high and pushing my mother's fence out. She said she paid a lot of money for the fence and new posts to be installed about 3 years ago.
Rob has now acquired a dog (but has never been seen to take it out for a walk) and it just poops in the lower part of the back garden....apparently the smell is very strong as Rob never cleans it up.
I have never seen the guy but my mum thinks he does shift work. Both she and her next door neighbours have asked him to tidy his garden up and he says he will get around to "sorting it" but he never does. They seem to be afraid to confront him any further. I said to my mum that perhaps he is depressed but she seems to think he is just lazy and that is why his ex partner moved out.....!
All the houses are former council properties, most of them are now privately owned in her street and Rob is the owner of his house. My mum has no idea if there would be any kind of covenants issued by the council about keeping cars on lawns. All the other properties in the vicinity have well kept gardens, with the exception of this guy who seems to have no pride whatsoever in the upkeep of his.
Is there anything that my mum and her immediate neighbours can do?
Rob lives on a corner plot. He is apparently in his late 30s and lives alone since his ex partner and child moved out a couple of years ago. He has abandoned an old car on his front lawn; there is no dropped down curb, he took down the front fence to put the car on the lawn and I guess therefore has no tax or insurance for the vehicle. The car has been there for at least a year and I think is probably only fit for scrap value. I've just looked the house up on Google Streetview and the car was there in Sept 2015.....it hasn't been moved at all and is even more unkempt now, according to my mum.
Unfortunately, Rob has stopped cutting the grass and it is now about a foot high and growing around the car. His house is a semi and his immediate neighbours are in their late 70s, as is my mum.
He has a long rear garden, which my mum's garden backs on to (she has an end terrance house next to the semis). Rob has abandoned this garden too and brambles are now about 5ft high and pushing my mother's fence out. She said she paid a lot of money for the fence and new posts to be installed about 3 years ago.
Rob has now acquired a dog (but has never been seen to take it out for a walk) and it just poops in the lower part of the back garden....apparently the smell is very strong as Rob never cleans it up.
I have never seen the guy but my mum thinks he does shift work. Both she and her next door neighbours have asked him to tidy his garden up and he says he will get around to "sorting it" but he never does. They seem to be afraid to confront him any further. I said to my mum that perhaps he is depressed but she seems to think he is just lazy and that is why his ex partner moved out.....!
All the houses are former council properties, most of them are now privately owned in her street and Rob is the owner of his house. My mum has no idea if there would be any kind of covenants issued by the council about keeping cars on lawns. All the other properties in the vicinity have well kept gardens, with the exception of this guy who seems to have no pride whatsoever in the upkeep of his.
Is there anything that my mum and her immediate neighbours can do?
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Comments
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Is she on friendly terms with suitable/efficient local councillor - that she could have a conversation with them and ask re the possibility of covenants on ex Council houses?
Second thought - pay the Land Registry a few quid and get a copy of the house title and another few quid to get the bit that goes with it (cant recall name offhand). I've found covenants before now in that "bit that goes with it".0 -
Wow, my gut reaction is MYOB. The only thing of concern is the dog if it's not being treated properly and walked appropriately in which case a call to RSPCA.
Why do people feel the need to impose their standards and way of life on others?0 -
So - in reverse why does the slob neighbour feel the right to impose HIS standards on OP's mother? Because thats what he is doing...0
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Fish&Chips wrote: »Is there anything that my mum and her immediate neighbours can do?
Keep their noses out of other peoples business?
The reality is not much. There might be something with the dog poo but will need to contact council about it.
As for the car, ive always fancied having a car as a garden ornament that and a bath tub pond.0 -
moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »So - in reverse why does the slob neighbour feel the right to impose HIS standards on OP's mother? Because thats what he is doing...
On his land?! He's not coming onto someone else's, he's minding his own business getting on with his own life.0 -
Fish&Chips wrote: »My elderly mother and I have been chatting on the phone (I live overseas) and both she and her next door neighbours are very upset at the state of the gardens in another neighbour's property (I don't know his name, so will call him Rob).
Rob lives on a corner plot. He is apparently in his late 30s and lives alone since his ex partner and child moved out a couple of years ago. He has abandoned an old car on his front lawn; there is no dropped down curb, he took down the front fence to put the car on the lawn and I guess therefore has no tax or insurance for the vehicle. The car has been there for at least a year and I think is probably only fit for scrap value. I've just looked the house up on Google Streetview and the car was there in Sept 2015.....it hasn't been moved at all and is even more unkempt now, according to my mum.
Unfortunately, Rob has stopped cutting the grass and it is now about a foot high and growing around the car. His house is a semi and his immediate neighbours are in their late 70s, as is my mum.
He has a long rear garden, which my mum's garden backs on to (she has an end terrance house next to the semis). Rob has abandoned this garden too and brambles are now about 5ft high and pushing my mother's fence out. She said she paid a lot of money for the fence and new posts to be installed about 3 years ago.
Rob has now acquired a dog (but has never been seen to take it out for a walk) and it just poops in the lower part of the back garden....apparently the smell is very strong as Rob never cleans it up.
I have never seen the guy but my mum thinks he does shift work. Both she and her next door neighbours have asked him to tidy his garden up and he says he will get around to "sorting it" but he never does. They seem to be afraid to confront him any further. I said to my mum that perhaps he is depressed but she seems to think he is just lazy and that is why his ex partner moved out.....!
All the houses are former council properties, most of them are now privately owned in her street and Rob is the owner of his house. My mum has no idea if there would be any kind of covenants issued by the council about keeping cars on lawns. All the other properties in the vicinity have well kept gardens, with the exception of this guy who seems to have no pride whatsoever in the upkeep of his.
Is there anything that my mum and her immediate neighbours can do?
Not much. He can own an untaxed, uninsured vehicle if he wishes as long as it's kept off the road. That's not illegal.
He's probably taken it off the road to save money so that he can support his child.
If the dog isn't being cared for properly then you can contact the RSPCA and they can write a letter and make a house call if they fail to get a response.:footie:Regular savers earn 6% interest (HSBC, First Direct, M&S)
Loans cost 2.9% per year (Nationwide) = FREE money.
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I wouldnt bother with the covenant route, your mother will notbe the beneficiary so unless he finds the person that set it up shes unlikely to get it enforced.
The slob can do what he wants (with in reason) on his land. The mother can choose to acknowledge it or not.0 -
About the only thing that could really be complained about is the brambles wrecking the fence panels.
I would suggest a civil conversation about this point, and leave the rest to his concern.0 -
As for the car, ive always fancied having a car as a garden ornament that and a bath tub pond.
:rotfl:
Someone in our (considered to be rather posh) lane has an old toilet and phone box in the overgrown front garden of their eight bedroom house :rotfl:
Mortgage-free for fourteen years!
Over £40,000 mis-sold PPI reclaimed0 -
AnnieO1234 wrote: »On his land?! He's not coming onto someone else's, he's minding his own business getting on with his own life.
Damaging someone's fence in the process. Nice.0
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