How’s this for a whole new level of cheeky fuckery - someone has token our allotment!

[YaMuvva]

Moved into our new house in January. Bought off a lovely lady who was a widow and something of a popular figure in the street (relevant).

We were pleasantly surprised to find that in the deeds it came with a garage across the road (which we’d seen at the viewing but it wasn’t clear it belonged to the house) and an allotment plot. We’ve actually been on an allotment waiting list for years so it was nice news.

We’ve already had aggro with the garage - when we got the keys we went to open it and found that it was rammed full of full boxes! I called previous owner directly as she gave us her number (as assumed they were hers) and she said she allowed our next door neighbour for years to use it. He was most put out when we told him to clear his stuff as we needed to use it. This was 3 months ago, and only last week did he finally clear it out, and only did so when we had to get shitty with him and say if he didn’t clear the garage we would do it for him (don’t want to get off an a bad foot with the neighbours but he was taking the piss).

Anyway we have never checked out the allotment before now (it’s not far about a 10 min walk from here) just because of time constraints and illnesses and crappy weather but decided to finally today go and find it as the sun is shining here.

Anyway, when we got there we looked on the sheet of paper we’d been given and found the plot - and a person sitting next to a full and lush patch sitting on a chair having a cuppa! There is also a shed full of tools coffee cups newspapers etc in it too . We asked the person if we’d got it wrong as we are new owners of number 8 on X Street and thought this was our new allotment.

Apparently she is our neighbour down the road (never yet met her) and yes whilst it is the allotment belonging to number 8, the previous owner (a “very dear friend” of hers apparently) let her use it, she’s been using it for 10 years.

My DH, still stinging from the garage debacle, said well I’m afraid your very dear friend doesn’t live in no 8 any more we do and we are reclaiming the allotment, thank you for looking after it but it is OURS to enjoy.

She bloody said no! And that she’s cultivated this patch for several years, she grows all her veggies here and it’s her sanctuary so if we want it we will ‘have to fight for it’! She also said she paid for the shed.

DH said that’s fine, expect a fight then, and we shuffled away in shock. I then rang the old owner and she said “Oh yes it’s Barbara’s plot really she was good to take it off my hands and it would be awful to take it off her”. To be clear - the plot has NOT been sold to Barbara.

I just can’t believe the piss takery of this. DH thinks we should just go and take down the shed, leave it at her front door and dig up everything and chuck it all in a bin.

I feel like the neighbours just took the piss out of the old owner and think they genuinely have a claim to the stuff she was kind enough to let them borrow.

Ooh I did not know this thank you! And people say MN isn’t helpful, how wrong they are

You have my sympathy - similar thing happened to us. My was the first house sold in 10 years, the neighbours had totally taken the piss out of the previous owner, including taking down part of the fence separating our houses and letting their kids use our garden as an extension of theirs, tipping her cigarette ash and butts into our garden as the previous owner “ didnt mind”. Referred to my garden as “our garden” meaning hers and mine. We went down the kindness route but then their CFuckery knew no bounds so that was a mistake on our part, we should have nipped it in the bud.

I’m just here for the veg 🥕

I know and it was foolish on our part and a stark lesson!

We do!

read the links I posted and measure the size of the plot

Under what law or legal process do you think she would gain ownership?

The previous owner provided her with permission, so not adverse possession, and OP has already opposed her use of it.

No fault eviction under the allotment act (either 1922or 1950) gives a full years notice between certain dates.
29th September and 8th March thereabouts.

Its on Stockport allotment society website but is often included in tenancys.if she wants to argue she has no tenancy then she can be asked to leave and give short notice.

Not that I could see, it seems like every seperated square of land was chocca

Ring the insurers and explain. They might want you to use a preferred lawyer from their panel rather than your conveyancers.

I'd get a letter sent to Babs quick telling her to vacate.

<sniggers>

also check the soil quality and tell her you have done that in case she trys to ruin it on way out (diesel, poos etc)

Could you install a security camera on the allotment? She's hardly going to feel like it's her sanctuary anymore if she's potentially being watched. I feel bad for her but at the end of the day, it's your property and she needs to vacate it. A camera would also let you know if she's up to anything.

It's her sanctuary and she'll fight you?

What a cheeky mare!

Good idea

Yes we have a soil testing kit we will be taking down tomorrow

Of course she should have drawn up a legal contract. If you want to give someone land, that it the only way you can legally transfer any rights in it. It would be madness not to.

this 100%.

Of course if I was Barbara I would try and stay, and I might even bluster my way saying - I've been here for 10 years and hope the OP lets me stay.

But she KNEW the house was being sold and that the allotment was no longer hers.

I’d be taking chairs down there and sit having a cup of tea in her sanctuary as often as possible.

Contact your local council and get them to deal with it....... hopefully to minimise any more neighbours disputes but the CFer on your allotment needs to be dealt with by the council because she's ASBO fodder for blowing up like her rear end was on fire.

A strongly worded letter from the council makes most people back down.

Thank you everyone I’ve been given really helpful advice here today and feel loads better now.

Its DH I feel sorry for, he’s always wanted an allotment space and was so excited after being laid up and seriously ill for so long. Out we came out the house with his little testing kit in his hand, excited to see our new toy like a pair of giddy children only to 15 minutes later to be walking home with our tail between our legs, confused looks on our deflated faces having been dressed down and kicked off our own land 😂

Why in god's name should OP bend over backwards??

Barbara is in the wrong. She could have made the previous owner a cash offer & instead chose to chance it and fight OP.

Get that solicitor's letter going and give her two weeks to remove the shed and pot up any plants she wishes to take.

If the other allotment owners are so keen to assist her, let them offer sections of their plot. Don't jeopardize your property value and ownership stake to appease some adversarial, entitled stranger.

That's really interesting. Can you rent those? Like in the same way you can hire a mini digger for a day or so.

I agree with a PP who suggested that you let her finish off the growing and harvesting season this year, and do a hand over back to you in the autumn when you can then decide what you want to plant. That would seem like enough of a compromise, particularly if you got your solicitor to write to that effect.

See @HappiestSleeping 's more recent post. You can get an app now on your phone which'll do this. I am out of date!