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Neighbour Dispute Over A Garage

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Comments

  • GDB2222
    GDB2222 Posts: 25,704 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    janeybh said:
    Thanks for all your replies. The neighbour states the garage is on his deeds although I haven’t seen them. I had a contract with the previous owner but that ended when he sold up. Can the new owner break into the garage, is this criminal damage ?


    This question makes no sense to me. You have said that the contract has now ended. Therefore, you have no right to occupy the site, and you need to remove all your belongings from the site ASAP.

    It's most unlikely the owner of the land would be prosecuted. He has a duty as a bailee for your goods, but you would have to take him to court to enforce that.

    I don't know what else is in the garage, but you should have removed your car already. If you haven't, why not do it by say 11AM today? And, agree a date (within the next 10 days) with the new owner by which you will have removed everything else. 

    If you reckon you can sell the garage to someone else, why don't you test the market and find out how much it's worth?  If it has very little resale value, then I suggest you simply abandon it and let the new owner benefit. And, in future, don't spend money on a garage without a long-term lease for the land it's built on.


    No reliance should be placed on the above! Absolutely none, do you hear?
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 17,503 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    janeybh said:
    Thanks for all your replies. The neighbour states the garage is on his deeds although I haven’t seen them. I had a contract with the previous owner but that ended when he sold up. Can the new owner break into the garage, is this criminal damage ?

    Criminal damage means...

    A person who without lawful excuse destroys or damages any property belonging to another intending to destroy or damage any such property...

    Link: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/48/section/1

    So if the neighbour reasonably believes the garage is their property, it cannot be criminal damage.

    Or if the neighbour believes that they have a lawful excuse for breaking into the garage, that wouldn't be criminal damage either.

    And, in any case, I doubt the police would be keen to get involved in a case like this.



  • Did the previous owner give you any notice that they were selling the land?

    Is the new owner preventing you from removing your belongings in any way?
    Never take a stranger's advice. Never let a friend fool you twice.
  • user1977
    user1977 Posts: 16,671 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Sixth Anniversary Photogenic Name Dropper
    janeybh said:
    I had a contract with the previous owner but that ended when he sold up.
    You seem very certain of this, but also rather vague about what the agreement actually says. Does it explicitly say that it ends when the owner sells the property?
  • Section62
    Section62 Posts: 8,637 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Third Anniversary Name Dropper
    user1977 said:
    janeybh said:
    I had a contract with the previous owner but that ended when he sold up.
    You seem very certain of this, but also rather vague about what the agreement actually says. Does it explicitly say that it ends when the owner sells the property?
    ^This

    There's been lots of speculation in this thread, but without knowing exactly what the agreement says it is impossible to say who currently owns the garage and what rights (if any) the OP has to either a) keep (using) it on the land and/or b) their right to remove it to a different place.
  • I had a contract with the previous owner but that ended when he sold up.

    For goodness sake! Remove your car. Remove your other possessions. Remove your garage.

    And get on with your life.
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