What Are Our Rights Regarding Neighbour's Polluting Wood Fired Hot Tub?

fallen121

Advice please on wood fired hot tub. Next door is an Airbnb and have installed one for guests right by boundary wall of our property. When running it spews smoke into our house.

Our daughter is asthmatic. Her bedroom window right by the low chimney. Ought to mention here this is a cottage so bedroom windows are ground floor so pretty much level with the fairly short chimney. Owner refuses to engage or respond to complaints. Ignored letters from the Council as well. Why should he? He’s making 60 grand a year.

Recording particulate levels of 700 against a legal limit of 20.

Environmental health not interested.  Pointed us at local council. Went to local council who asked us to keep a log so they could send officers out to observe but trouble was property had hardly any bookings the three weeks were supposed to keep the log. So local council closed the case and now refuse to engage. Clearly not interested as it’s not a regular activity occurring at a specific time so hard to constitute a nuisance. Then when we complained told us to seek legal advice.

Solicitor says no laws being broken. Going around in circles.

Particulate levels in house even with windows closed and air filters running full pelt unbearable. Everything smells of smoke. Feeling a bit suicidal actually.

Even the asthma society whilst sympathetic couldn’t help.

Local MP contacted the council but they say without evidence of regular planned activity they won’t progress. The fact that most of the activity occurs after they've shut the office and gone home for the day doesn't help as we can't exactly phone and report something in progress. 

How can you predict if an Airbnb renter will use a hot tub and when? What do you do when local jobsworths who aren't really interested constantly say its nothing to do with them and point you at bodies you've already been turned away from?

TELLIT01

Not really advisible but, as no help is forthcoming from the relevant authorities, maybe some kind of direct action is required.  Maybe a bird can be persuaded to build its nest in the chimney, or to let you have its old nest?

fallen121

TELLIT01 said:

Not really advisible but, as no help is forthcoming from the relevant authorities, maybe some kind of direct action is required.  Maybe a bird can be persuaded to build its nest in the chimney, or to let you have its old nest?

It's a great idea but he has cameras trained on the hot tub and they appear to be recording. That kind of creeps me out because 1) I'm sure there was a family with kids running around last week 2) It's a 140 degree camera so presumably can see into our property as well but we tried contacting the ICO about invasion of privacy as there are no warning signs or anything and got the brush off from them as well.

red_boots2

Get a friend to book it for a night then have them leave a bad review about the 'horrible neighbour' who kept harassing them?

Alternatively put a water butt your side, they get incredibly smelly with stagnant water!

kimwp

I feel for you. Reminds me of a (former) friend who continued to have many outdoor fires (including for his wood fired hot tub) through COVID despite pleas to the public to not have them as they affected COVID patients (he lived close to the hospital). Also ignore hosepipe bans to keep his grass green. Some people are just selfish.

Okell

I'm going to ask the forum team to move this to House buying, renting & selling — MoneySavingExpert Forum

Seems to be more of a property rights/nuisance issue rather than consumer rights...

RHemmings

red_boots2 said:

Alternatively put a water butt your side, they get incredibly smelly with stagnant water!

Fill the water butt with comfrey and nettle leaves so that the butt is absolutely full of leaves, and then fill with water and leave. After about two weeks the plant material will have decomposed creating a very strong and effective plant food. And by crikey it will absolutely reek. 

If you use the plant food, please dilute it about 10:1. 

saajan_12

fallen121 said:

Advice please on wood fired hot tub. Next door is an Airbnb and have installed one for guests right by boundary wall of our property. When running it spews smoke into our house.

Our daughter is asthmatic. Her bedroom window right by the low chimney. Ought to mention here this is a cottage so bedroom windows are ground floor so pretty much level with the fairly short chimney. Owner refuses to engage or respond to complaints. Ignored letters from the Council as well. Why should he? He’s making 60 grand a year.

Recording particulate levels of 700 against a legal limit of 20.

Environmental health not interested.  Pointed us at local council. Went to local council who asked us to keep a log so they could send officers out to observe but trouble was property had hardly any bookings the three weeks were supposed to keep the log. So local council closed the case and now refuse to engage. Clearly not interested as it’s not a regular activity occurring at a specific time so hard to constitute a nuisance. Then when we complained told us to seek legal advice.

Solicitor says no laws being broken. Going around in circles.

Particulate levels in house even with windows closed and air filters running full pelt unbearable. Everything smells of smoke. Feeling a bit suicidal actually.

Even the asthma society whilst sympathetic couldn’t help.

Local MP contacted the council but they say without evidence of regular planned activity they won’t progress. The fact that most of the activity occurs after they've shut the office and gone home for the day doesn't help as we can't exactly phone and report something in progress. 

How can you predict if an Airbnb renter will use a hot tub and when? What do you do when local jobsworths who aren't really interested constantly say its nothing to do with them and point you at bodies you've already been turned away from?

Where is this legal limit - presumably that's the law that's being broken? 
Unless the 'limit' is just a guidance or only applies to commercial property etc.I'd look for the details on that, and if applicable to this situation then send a cease & desist letter from a solicitor. 

If not applicable, then there's not that can be done beyond continuing to complain to the Council, or moving. 

QrizB

It's a long time since I was taught tort law at school but this sounds rather like private nuisance?

https://wiglaw.co.uk/the-law-of-private-nuisance/

(I'm not a lawyer, it was an A level course at a local college.)

Herzlos

I'd speak to the fire brigade about the hazard, as well as making a scene whenever one of the guests fires it up. Tell them you're sorry but the owner refuses to do anything about the fact it's illegal and unsafe and if you want to comment on how little it gets cleaned or how uncomfortable you'd be about him watching the camera they'd struggle to dispute it. A few ruined stays will get him to change his tune pretty quickly. 

Can you put any kind of physical barrier in the way? The more obnoxious the better. 

I wouldn't go so far as to try and direct any rain flow towards it to prevent the wood burning properly. 

Given it's damaging stuff within the house, I'd be sending him a money claim online for the costs to clean and replace anything his hot tub is damaging. You'd need to start with a Letter Before Action giving him 2 weeks to pay up and prevent further damage, and then file a small claims action for the running cost of the restoration work. Cleaning smoke out of houses is *expensive*. 

Have you complained to Airbnb yet?

user1977

QrizB said:

It's a long time since I was taught tort law at school but this sounds rather like private nuisance?

https://wiglaw.co.uk/the-law-of-private-nuisance/

(I'm not a lawyer, it was an A level course at a local college.)

Indeed - OP, has your solicitor come to the view that it doesn't even amount to a nuisance?