Neighbour interfering with viewings

Grizebeck

ThisIsWeird said:

I'm really liking these injunction thingies.

They do work in the right circumstances.

Section62

Bailey1980 said:

Grizebeck said:

@Bailey1980
Those are legal costs and your a litigant in person. So forget any of that.
The injunction is your best option through this.
The injunction is there to protect you.
I am going to be blunt. Your saying your scared it will antagonise them etc but if you don't grab the bull by the horns then your not going to get any where with this
You can moan about the police etc not doing anything but you have a civil option at tour disposal. Quick. Relatively cheap and straightforward. I've offered to assist you.
So what's stopping you ?

And we really appreciate the offer I guess we are trying to figure out what the right thing to do is as friends, family & police have told us not to take any action - civil or otherwise; especially the police as they have said they won't do anything to help us in future if we take any action 

I suspect they really mean they wouldn't do very much in future if you personally did something antagonistic and/or criminal first.

If your interpretation is correct - that the police are advising you not to get an injunction - then that would be a matter for a high-level complaint about the police conduct.

The courts have the power to grant you relief via an injunction.  The police effectively impinging on the powers of the Court by attempting to dissuade you from seeking that relief is a really serious matter - people who have a justifiable need to ask the Court for help shouldn't be subject to any kind of 'threat' as regards the consequences of doing so... not least if the 'threat' comes from those who are supposed to know and uphold the law.

But complaints like this should wait until after you've dealt with the issue at hand - Grizebeck is giving sound advice, pay attention to that.

deannagone

Even if you did complain and the complaints succeeded in getting the police to act,this would all take years.  The Police move very slowly, particularly if they aren't keen on moving forward.  It sounds like you need action sooner than I suspect going with getting the police to take on the work part of this would take.  If you look at other people's stories of neighbour action/getting to a position where the courts will take forceful action to stop a behaviour.., it takes a long time (if done through the police)..

Grizebeck is offering an alternative to that.  But you'd still need to look into what that would mean, and how quick you could be in a position to force change on the neighbour and at what financial and emotional cost..

However, if you want the neighbour's actions to change, and selling the house to anyone who would take it as things stand would incur a huge loss of money to you - you have to do something that you haven't done so far to change this.  Otherwise you stay in the position you are in right now.

GDB2222

"However, if you want the neighbour's actions to change, and selling the house to anyone who would take it as things stand would incur a huge loss of money to you - you have to do something that you haven't done so far to change this.  Otherwise you stay in the position you are in right now."

I entirely agree. The OP seems to be hoping for a solution that doesn't involve the neighbour. But, since the neighbour is the problem, it's pretty much impossible not to involve them. 

The OP can sell fairly cheaply at auction, but even then almost all buyers will want to view, and the neighbour will do his best to put them off buying. 

@Grizebeck's suggestion is excellent.  Just bite the bullet, and do it!

Grizebeck

@GDB2222 and @Section62 thanks appreciated
Fee wise its really just the fees charged by the County Court
I very much doubt the Defendant would even try and defend this going on the posts by the OP
The time it takes to enact depends on the court. Some courts are very quick with this kind of application.
In addition it is possible that this may be constitute a private nuisance. Which is a Tort.
https://wiglaw.co.uk/the-law-of-private-nuisance/
https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2014/13.html

“A nuisance can be defined, albeit in general terms, as an action (or sometimes a failure to act) on the part of a defendant, which is not otherwise authorised, and which causes an interference with the claimant’s reasonable enjoyment of his land, or to use a slightly different formulation, which unduly interferes with the claimant’s enjoyment of his land.”

Bailey1980

deannagone said:

Even if you did complain and the complaints succeeded in getting the police to act,this would all take years.  The Police move very slowly, particularly if they aren't keen on moving forward.  It sounds like you need action sooner than I suspect going with getting the police to take on the work part of this would take.  If you look at other people's stories of neighbour action/getting to a position where the courts will take forceful action to stop a behaviour.., it takes a long time (if done through the police)..

Grizebeck is offering an alternative to that.  But you'd still need to look into what that would mean, and how quick you could be in a position to force change on the neighbour and at what financial and emotional cost..

However, if you want the neighbour's actions to change, and selling the house to anyone who would take it as things stand would incur a huge loss of money to you - you have to do something that you haven't done so far to change this.  Otherwise you stay in the position you are in right now.

GDB2222 said:

"However, if you want the neighbour's actions to change, and selling the house to anyone who would take it as things stand would incur a huge loss of money to you - you have to do something that you haven't done so far to change this.  Otherwise you stay in the position you are in right now."

I entirely agree. The OP seems to be hoping for a solution that doesn't involve the neighbour. But, since the neighbour is the problem, it's pretty much impossible not to involve them. 

The OP can sell fairly cheaply at auction, but even then almost all buyers will want to view, and the neighbour will do his best to put them off buying. 

@Grizebeck's suggestion is excellent.  Just bite the bullet, and do it!

Thank you all. I am just terrified of doing the wrong thing especially as family, friends and the police have told us to let it go and not to pursue it any further /pursue any other action. 

I am just in a mess questioning the right choice and my own sanity and I'm worried about how we will be able to capture CCTV footage of future incidents as we are needing to cancel the internet in a bid to get some money to fund temp accommodation /pay friends and famly rent/expenses for putting us up and the CCTv cameras we have up are all wi-fi dependent and I'm struggling to find ones that don't use wi-fi because without cameras we won't be able to prove breach of an injunction. 

I do appreciate everyone's advice and help; it's just a very difficult and draining situation.  

Bailey1980

Section62 said:

Bailey1980 said:

Grizebeck said:

@Bailey1980
Those are legal costs and your a litigant in person. So forget any of that.
The injunction is your best option through this.
The injunction is there to protect you.
I am going to be blunt. Your saying your scared it will antagonise them etc but if you don't grab the bull by the horns then your not going to get any where with this
You can moan about the police etc not doing anything but you have a civil option at tour disposal. Quick. Relatively cheap and straightforward. I've offered to assist you.
So what's stopping you ?

And we really appreciate the offer I guess we are trying to figure out what the right thing to do is as friends, family & police have told us not to take any action - civil or otherwise; especially the police as they have said they won't do anything to help us in future if we take any action 

I suspect they really mean they wouldn't do very much in future if you personally did something antagonistic and/or criminal first.

If your interpretation is correct - that the police are advising you not to get an injunction - then that would be a matter for a high-level complaint about the police conduct.

The courts have the power to grant you relief via an injunction.  The police effectively impinging on the powers of the Court by attempting to dissuade you from seeking that relief is a really serious matter - people who have a justifiable need to ask the Court for help shouldn't be subject to any kind of 'threat' as regards the consequences of doing so... not least if the 'threat' comes from those who are supposed to know and uphold the law.

But complaints like this should wait until after you've dealt with the issue at hand - Grizebeck is giving sound advice, pay attention to that.

honestly we have lost all faith and trust in the legal system/law/police because of all of this and the way we have been treated. 

Mildreds_Earrings

Hello there @Bailey1980 I completely understand your frustration, as I have 'been there' and although it may be difficult for others to understand, the Police certainly did NOT want to take action against my 6 foot male neighbour from hell who repeatedly harrassed me (lone female at the time) because he had 'not carried out his threats yet' and 'he will blow out of steam sooner or later luv'. I honestly don't think people realise this is the Police stance, until this actually happens to them. You end up completely overwhelmed, unable to think or even function properly (I was off sick with stress) until I had a complete breakdown. I would drive around aimlessly in my car because I couldn't bear to be at home 'waiting'  for the harassment to start again and eventually sold my beautiful home by accepting a quick sale and £10k loss. 

I wanted to say that whilst I sympathise with you greatly, I must agree with those who have said you MUST take action, even if that means selling to an auction, selling to a buy your home now scheme or part-exchange with shared ownership. I realise this means a financial loss but you and your partner's mental health is worth more than money. I could not afford the financial hit of losing £10k but I was free of the physical and mental anguish of dealing with a bad neighbour. 

If you absolutely cannot sell at a loss via the means mentioned above, then you will have to accept @Grizebeck generous offer to help you obtain a restraining order against your vile neighbours.

These are your options and I sincerely hope you find the mental strength to make the right decision for you and your family. 

All the best. 

ThisIsWeird

Bailey1980 said:

I am just in a mess questioning the right choice and my own sanity and I'm worried about how we will be able to capture CCTV footage of future incidents as we are needing to cancel the internet in a bid to get some money to fund temp accommodation /pay friends and famly rent/expenses for putting us up and the CCTv cameras we have up are all wi-fi dependent and I'm struggling to find ones that don't use wi-fi because without cameras we won't be able to prove breach of an injunction.

Do your cameras have (micro)SD card slots? If so, they will hopefully record on these in a 'loop', so once the card is full, it'll begin to record over it. A 64GB card should give around a week's recording. If an incident occurs, you'll likely have to remove the card to download the captured content.

But, really better if you also have constant WiFi capture so you can also monitor it remotely. Even using this method, it'll need to be recording all the time.

homersimpson246

Having read the whole thread the whole thing is absolutley dreadful and I really feel for you.   I think from whats been said the injunction sounds like the best course of action, as mentioned above unless the person is totally insane this will almost certainly stop them harrassing you.

I've unfortunatly had cause to deal with the Police twice, once for a problem neighbour (he ended up in prison and we then had issues with his scumbag family) and once for the death of a family member in a collision.  Both times the Police were totally useless and the only way I got the right result was to make them understand that doing their job was going to be easier than not doing it.  Their main aim in life is to deflect people away so they can go back to sitting around doing nothing.

As mentioned above, get onto your local MP, contact anyone and everyone you can, make formal complaints, name officers personally and state exactly what they said.