Land use by Neighbour... what to do?

-taff

I'd imagine void because you let someone damage it, it wasn't accidental.

Mistral001

Keell said:

Does anyone know if we allowed him to use the land but he damaged the tree or anything else, would we be insured for his mistakes? Or would it be void?

It will be down to the insurance company.  Remember,  when making an insurance claim, you need to be totally honest with the insurance company.  If you are not, you could be committing insurance fraud. 

Norman_Castle

You could probably allow him to use it on the condition you agree with everything he want to do. This includes no fires or digging in a way that undermines anything. He needs to work with your agreement and on the understanding the land is yours and his access could end at any time and certainly when you sell.

Personally, due to the damage he has already caused I'd make excuses and find a reason to stop him. Replace the damaged fence with one that excludes him.

Are there any local allotments?

Keell

He wants it to put a wooden shed on. Originally this was going to be screwed into my garden until I explained it is illegal if we say no!! The land is mortgaged so not sure if we can even let him use it as it’s not his!

Grenage

Am I missing something here?  You're saying that you have no issue with him taking a chunk of your garden and you're just worried about tree roots and the like?  No!

Do you know if he's even been using the land for that amount of time, or is it a time-frame he gave you knowing that it's beyond the old '10-year period for adverse possession'?   You need to assert yourself before your neighbour takes advantage.

-taff

Tell him you asked the mortgage company they said no and the insurance wants it fenced off.

Keell

I think we may need to go with the awkward conversation of putting the fence in correct place and taking back the land! Less risky for us in the long run... but won’t help with neighbour relationships!

shaun_from_Africa

Go with the advice offered by -taff. 
Next time you speak to the neighbour, simply tell him that you phoned up your mortgage company to ask the best way to proceed and they told you that as they have a vested interest in the property and associated land, you are not entitled to transfer it to anyone else.
He might not like it but that's just tough.

Norman_Castle

Keell said:

I think we may need to go with the awkward conversation of putting the fence in correct place and taking back the land! Less risky for us in the long run... but won’t help with neighbour relationships!

Intruding into someones garden causing damage shouldn't help with neighbour relationships. He's apparently had 13 years to put a shed there. He's tried it on hoping the new neighbour would assume its his land and now trying to coerce you into giving it to him. Explain you're putting a fence on the boundary and ask how he's going to compensate you for the damaged fence.

Take photographs of all your boundaries, you may need them in the future.

Keell

Thanks... wish me luck