Jun
08
My neighbour refuses to let me on their private drive to repair my house, I cannot do them now – ANY HELP?
By
Have written a letter asking permission, they did not reply. They have been like this for over 3 years. I have a leak into my lounge from the window and cannot repair it without going on their road. I will not cause an obstruction to them and it will not effect them at all as they can’t see me from their house. To force them to give me permission it seems that I have to take them to court – I know that the court would give me permission but, as they know, it will cost me money I cannot get back – it does not seem fair. Does anybody have a solution for me that does not cost me a lot of money?
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21 Comments
June 10th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
You have a legal right of entry to their property to maintain your own , just do it !!
June 10th, 2010 at 2:38 pm
apparently you have a legal right to repair your property so I reckon if you contact your council they will help free of charge,if not go to the C. A. B where they will inform you of how to go about it.
June 10th, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Yes you have a legal right of access for maintenance purposes. Just advise them your going to do it and when. Any issues call the cops on there unreasonable asses.
I think this would come under emergency repair as water is ingressing to the property so you can just go ahead and do it, tell them to get tae fek.
June 12th, 2010 at 4:46 pm
wreck there property
June 15th, 2010 at 11:24 pm
take them to court anyways… and sue them for the court fees… you can do that and chances are a judge would rule in your favor.
June 16th, 2010 at 5:55 am
Just do it. Let them call the cops. The cops won’t do anything to you. You’ll be fine.
June 19th, 2010 at 2:42 am
You don’t need to take them to court – probably a solicitors letter would do the job, you might even be able to get this for free if you have a local community legal advice service – check with the Citizens Advice Bureau.
June 19th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Why do you need to go onto their property? Why not hire a worker to do it and have them set up a scaffold. Property always requires minimum setbacks from the road and from neighboring property, so there has to be some room there for a worker to set up scaffolding. Or, are you saying you can’t walk on the side of your house without stepping on their property?
You do not, contrary to what some have posted here, have a right to go on someone else’s property “to maintain your own.” You need to get their permission. Why not walk up to their door with a nice cake or bottle of wine and introduce yourself and explain your situation.
June 21st, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Its difficult to give advise without knowing where you live IE which country, however if you are a UK resident, it would be likely that your deeds would show that you have a right of way for maintenance purposes, unless you have extended your property up to the boundary without consent for access being succoured.
June 24th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
Are they just weird like that to everyone?? Maybe they are illiterate & cannot read or write. Do your repairs at 3 in the morning? Or call police and have them go physically ask for permission.
June 25th, 2010 at 11:28 am
You have a thing called Party Wall Agreement.
Keep copies of all correspondence, keep on writing and have them delivered ”Recorded Delivery”.
Keep a record of what the disrepair is costing you in lost equity.
Initially there will be a cost to you, however you can sue, and you will win.
Best of luck with an idiot of a neighbour.
June 25th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Go to your towns planning/zoning office and speak with the Code Enforcement Officer. It’s possible your neighbors deed has a maintenance easement, and they either don’t know or don’t care.
Either way, these people might be able to guide or even assist you with rightful access. At no charge!
We deal with this all the time in my older town with often undersized lots, or lots whose buildings that overhang the neighbors.
June 26th, 2010 at 2:09 am
try and find out when they go on holiday this year then fix it while there away and they want know about it then .have you upset them why are they being so nasty to you as it will not take long to fix peop;e are so selfish sometimes over silly little things .hope you get it fixed soon my thoughts are with you all .
June 28th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Hi your best bet is to look at your deeds this is very likely to have a clause that state that you are required to let your neighbour on to your land to allow repairs to his or her premises. If this is the case it is very likely that your neighbours deeds have the same clause as the houses are likely to have been built at a similar time or the land bought from the same vendor.
If you haven’t got a copy of your deeds these may be with the building society of the solicitor who sold the property and you should be able to obtain a copy for little cost.
I suspect that if the above clause is in your deeds that showing a copy to your neighbour should do the trick. If your neighbour fails to respond I suspect a solicitor would deal with this for you for little money and in any case if your neighbour still wont let you on hos land you should be able to claim damages from him for the continuing damage to your house to which he is contributing with his actions. If you are in the UK make an appointment with the citizens advice bureau and this will further advise for free.
Good luck
July 1st, 2010 at 10:28 pm
Buy them a 12 pack,and start being friendly! or make your own road! Good things are always going to come your way! So jump on it!! Ya!
July 5th, 2010 at 2:24 am
Go see them in person. Be very polite and explain what you want. Offer to give them a hold-harmless agreement and some modest payment. DO NOT tell them about any legal action or get mad if they refuse. I doubt that you can force them to give you access with the legal system. It is their property and they don’t have to let you use it. Face to face and be nice.
July 8th, 2010 at 4:39 am
You are fortunate to have a lot of good advice on this site but the best has got to be to contact your local council and your citizens advice bureau – after that it may mean a recourse to law but as you have tried for three years your neighbours attitude will be seen to have been unreasonable and they would probably have to stand the costs of any legal advice or littigation. Try aother POLITE note to them to this effect – they may actually be quiet reserved people who don’t want to become involved with their neighbours.
July 11th, 2010 at 4:00 am
What miserable neighbours you have! Just do the job – they will have to respond then, wont they?
July 14th, 2010 at 5:03 am
I do sympathise with you. We have a similar problem with one of our neighbours. We recently had the house insulated from outside and they would not allow the workmen to put a ladder on their land so that one side of the house could be insulated. We phoned the police who said that we could not go onto the property. Consequently our house was not completely insulated.
July 16th, 2010 at 4:58 pm
id write them a polite letter explaining that on ‘next tuesday’ or whatever you’d be very grateful if they wouldnt mind you coming round to gain access to repair your home as you have water coming in that is damaging you home , then just get your ass round there and get on with it and do it, they are unlikely to challenge you, sounds like they just wierd, they’ll probably go out for the day when your repairing, or if they call the cops, they’ll get laughed at, whichever way, always make a friend and be seen to be reasonable at all times
July 18th, 2010 at 2:56 am
People dont talk anymore. Always writing letters of demand. It’s a sick society. Why should they write back? It will put them at risk if they use the wrong words!
The law is different on this depending on where you live. You could take the legal approach but then you make an enemy and it will cost both parties a bucket load of grief and money.
In Sydney, Australia we have these Occupational Health and Safety laws that dictate how builders must make a safe environment for people engaged in construction work. One thing that has developed from this is a safety harness and roof clipping devices that help prevent injury from falling from the roof.
It occurs to me that you could lower someone over the side of the building, or hook them up from above and let them climb out of the window to perform any repairs necessary, so long as you do so with appropriate safety devices in place.
Then just to make sure they are not your firends. .. make sure you leave your garbage bin near the boundary on their side of your yard… and eat lots of prawns with all the money you will save in legal fees..
Or you could wait for them to go away and just get it done then.. and if they complain about your tresspass, let them spend money in bringing an action against you….. they will have to prove some measure of loss for damages though and that ought to be difficult moer likely that they are smart enough not to bother …but if they do …. you present in evidence the letter you sent and the lack of reply either way and you argue that silence reflects indifference but not strong opposition.