Legal advice regarding satellite dish install

gizmoleeds

Poppy9 wrote:

They spoil the original symetrey of houses. Luckily where I live people pride themselves on good taste;) and my road doesn't have one dish on the front or side of the house spoiling the appearance.

Are you sure that is not due to the direction the houses face??

I only recently noticed how many houses have dishes while travelling on the bus. I can't say they spoil the look of the buildings - and what would be wrong with one, shared dish on the roof? Or, discretely at ground level (which is possible).

Poppy9

gizmoleeds wrote:

Are you sure that is not due to the direction the houses face??

Uumh don't know Street consists of about 200 houses mostly 1950's detached and semi's. Now the back of my house faces South West - so that means that opposite neighbours front of houses face South West. Which way do they have to face. I can't see any on the front or side of houses at all and from my back garden can't see any on the rear of the immediate neighbours.

bunking_off

gizmoleeds wrote:

Why not poll all the residents to see if they object. If a majority don't then give the guy your full support.

Before anyone leaps on me, I'd firstly say that I have got a dish on my house so they don't bother me either way.

However, I think, unfortunately gizmoleeds is correct apart from one word...it shouldn't be a majority being happy, rather there must be no objections at all. I'd also highlight that it's not the residents, it's the owners of the properties in question that matters...if they're flats some are likely to be rented out.

If there's a restrictive covenant on the leasehold, the management company will probably be obliged to enforce it. At the very least, they are not in a position - without the consent of all parties that benefit from the covenant - to give anyone permission to over-ride it. Were they to do so, if I was a bloody minded resident that didn't like said dish, I'd probably sue the management company for giving permission.

I'm not familiar with the regulation cited. However, I would highlight that it appears to be a "Communication", which I don't believe is anything more than a press release. To have legal standing it'd be part of a Directive. Suggest you seek legal advice rather than relying on the word of people on a website like this.

Babu

I have checked with the Law society to see if they can find any solictors that can give advice on this particular point and although they have put me in touch with a number of local solicitor firms none can give me any further advice on this issue. They are all saying that if the lease does not allow the installation of a dish then the tenant has no right to install a dish.

I just wanted to find out if anyone had come across this European directive.

Poppy9

Try Cherie Blair

gizmoleeds

Babu wrote:

I just wanted to find out if anyone had come across this European directive.

EU directives themselves are not laws - they are instructions that all member states must themselves pass a law within a set framework. So, unless there is a UK law or a European Convention on Human Rights provision you shouldn't worry.

(Although why I'm now helping you I don't know - I feel really sorry for this poor German guy, being picked on just because he wants a bit of 'Koronation Strasse' or whatever German people watch to remind him of home)

Loobeylou

robowen wrote:

Maybe they do.... to you !

To everyone else...they're no different to a tv aerial.

What a sweeping statement. Yes I do personally believe dishes on buildings look a mess, but if you read some of the rest of this thread you will realise I am not the only one who has this opinion.

v0n

Luckily enough for the guy your lease has unreasonable clause which can be overthrown in any court the same way as lease contract banning courtains in windows or displaying flags during olimpics. The German guy has every right to TV in his own language, especially that most channels over there are Free To View and require no special subscription or license. Your lease can't really stop him in a long run and all he has to obey is building regulations. His dish cannot be bigger than 90cm, can't be on load bearing wall and can not obstruct view or light of any neighbour.
What's more if the flat has balcony facing in right direction (south, south-east) he can hang as many dishes as he can fit inside balcony the same way any of you can hang your knickers or St. George's Cross within boundaries of your flat.

I wish I could hear how the rest of the tennants argued their disaproval of the dish on communal block and perhaps then I would finally understand what the hell is wrong with people in some parts of this country.

Loobeylou

I understand this German chap is a tenant. So with this in mind, is this issue down to him, or is it down to the actual owner of the flat?

Babu

Actually the flat owner has just passed everything to the management company.

v0n, as gizmoleeds says the directive is not actually law. As it stands the tenant requires the landlord's consent to install a dish - this is from the Deputy Prime Minister's website. The reason that the residents/owners have stated that they will not allow the installation of a satellite dish is because we already have access to cable TV.