Scaffolding dispute with the neighbour

Shaqui

Section62 said:

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Sorry, I thought "recent" meant was, but no longer is.

Unless there is something in the RA articles of association/standing orders/code of conduct which requires a member to act in a specific way, then they won't be required to notify/consult you any more than any other resident would be.  If there was something, then the issue would be a disciplinary matter for the RA (e.g. making the director promise not to do it again) rather than something which would be of direct benefit to you.

I've never thought to ask if such a 'code of conduct' does exist but had some while back flagged to another director that this one was not a good neighbour, and that if matters of conflict continued, I'd call a meeting to have them removed as director, if possible.

I'll look into this, thank you.

FreeBear

TELLIT01 said:

The builders can't access the part of the plank outside the window.  There is a scaffolding barrier in place to prevent them doing so.  You could ask it they can fix a couple of scaffold planks to that end section to block vision. 

Or hang a tarp across the end attached to the uprights - Going to make quite a bit of noise when the wind blows.

A quicker solution would be to tape some card/paper over the window (from the inside) or keep the curtains drawn.

Shaqui

Tucosalamanca said:

Use Windolene Emulsion to white out the window for the duration of works. It's £8.99 from Amazon but probably only a pound at the local cheap shop.
With no curtains in place, how do you / the lodger retain privacy once it gets dark? Do you not turn the lights on?
If OCD is an issue, might I suggest that getting the curtains replaced is a priority. Close the curtains, job done.

Thank you for the suggestion.

We don't actually have anyone living opposite so not having fabric curtains (we do have net ones) hasn't been an issue until now.

As for dressing, she does it in the bathroom.

Section62

Shaqui said:

We don't actually have anyone living opposite so not having fabric curtains (we do have net ones) hasn't been an issue until now.

Not sure if you and your tenant are aware, but from outside when it is dark, net curtains are virtually see-through.

In the light - when the builders are more likely to be working outside - nets are virtually opaque from outside.  The builder would need to get very close to the window to be able to see anything inside, and from the inside it would be very obvious that someone was trying to look in.

Unfortunately if you tried to seek any kind of legal remedy over this issue I think a court would take the view that the design of the scaffold isn't intended to invade your privacy and in normal use it wouldn't.  The issue here is primarily the lack of curtains* (if the builders will be working at night time), for which you - as landlord - may have a responsibility to provide.

*Edit for clarity:  By that I mean that someone standing in the place you took your photo would probably be able to see as much, if not more, than someone standing on the scaffold.  In which case is the 'fault' (in a legal sense) the presence of the scaffold, or the lack of curtains?