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.

Do not mention dementia! Trust me you do not want to raise issues of cognitive competence or functioning memory.

Thats awful I’m so sorry you had to deal with that!
These are the worst kinds of people because they believe no logic or sense or truth can ever override their need to be right.

Yes I have. I see you're down the disco💋

Don’t worry as much as that poster was posting on good faith I’d NEVER say “Ooh I wonder if she has dementia” about anyone

No just that neighbourly tiffs can turn into murder! As I’m sure you’ve read about in the daily fail from time to time.

Of course I hope that doesn’t happen.

But there are some very odd people out there.

my DM had a very odd neighbour. She handled him with kid gloves.

boundaries were an issue but they never fell out.

when she died last month he wanted to come to her funeral.

they had become old mates in a way.

I hope you and babs sort things out.

It really is and it works so often which is why people do it again.

It doesn't

If I never challenged anyone who was wrong for the completely irrational fear of being murdered, I wouldn’t be able to leave the house or converse with another human.

Anyone who doesn’t approach a situation because they think they are going to be the 0.00003% of people who die over a relatively small issue, they need therapy.

Weird. I don’t think Barbara is a seafaring gardener either.

So.. you’ve had the free use of a piece of land for ten years. You’re planning to stay there and hope the new owners won’t notice but when they do, give them a hard time while sitting on their land belligerently drinking tea? And then if they do eventually cultivate their own land you’re going to indulge in a little criminal damage - and they’re the bad ones? Ok. You sound nice.

That’s why she moved isn’t it. They were cheeky fuckers taking the absolute piss out of her and she had to get away.

No just that neighbourly tiffs can turn into murder!

And if it does, OP should be able to bury the body on HER allotment 😉

Thank you! Testing, Testing, Testing!

SUCCESS!

Oh RTFT! OP has stated multiple times that they discovered the allotment during CONVEYANCING!

Good heavens, the responses on this thread. YANBU OP and hope it is quickly resolved.

"Adverse possession" and "Actually allotments can only be rented from the council." are the new "Cancel the cheque".

Also, I suspect 'Barbara' would have had less sympathetic responses if the OP had named her 'Margot'. (Good Life reference for you there.)

Also the number of posters saying "yes it's your land that you legally own but can't you Be Kind and give it to Barbara as she has some lovely courgette plants due to flower any moment". 😳

Incorrect. Adverse possession does not apply when the person using the land was doing so WITH PERMISSION FROM THE OWNER OF THE LAND!!!!

Hi Sorry. I don't want to get in trouble all. I'm taking myself offwith you__

Do you happen to remember the name of that thread please so I can search for it? 🙏

That's not always the case. One of my mum's friends got an allotment with her house. The allotments were only accross the road from her house.

Another friend had their garden out the back but separate to their house. They had to go out into the backstreet and their garden gate was opposite.

In fact, we have more rights than those in some US states, eg California.

I'm in California. If someone is on my property without my permission, I can call the police and they will be removed. Been there, done that.

There are different laws if it's an issue of legal tenancy. But even then the law usually supports the property owner.

FFS, sounds like "Have some compassion" is the new "Be Kind".

No!

The OP and her DH OWN a patch of garden that doesn't happen to adjoin their house. It is still THEIRS. THEY get to use it. Not someone else who was chummy with the former owner.

Her MH is irrelevant.
Her age is irrelevant.
Her being a HER is irrelevant.
Whether she has enough room to garden on her own land is irrelevant.

All that is relevant is that the land is the OP's.

Op, go down the legal route, get her off. I wouldn't give her time to harvest, harvest time is half a year away!

But when you do gain possession do get put in a decent fence and maybe a couple of outdoor cameras if you can. Just in case she tries some mischief.

This! Especially the fence and cameras as from what the OP has described in Barbara/Camilla’s attitude. I doubt she’ll take her veg eviction lying down.

Why on earth would she think the new owners of the land (she obviously knew the land had been sold), complete strangers to her, would let her have it just because, is breathtaking in it’s cheeky fuckery!

I imagine the whole street will know about it soon enough, you just need to firmly say we were not informed the previous owner had allowed someone to use it and we bought the property so we could use it ourselves. The arrangement the previous owner had is nothing to do with us . No right thinking person would think you are in the wrong.

You must stand your ground OP, starting off with a written request to remove herself and her belongings from the land immediately as you have not given permission for her to use it. Obviously the legal firm will want you to use them but that could get out of hand with costs very quickly. She has no legal leg to stand on so I wouldn’t worry too much about her taking legal action and assuming there are no restrictive covenants, I’d fence it off, lock it and film it as soon as you can. Unless she has proof she paid for the shed she can whistle for it.

You can’t give her any leeway because that type of person will just abuse it and there’s no way I’d share the land, she’d make it miserable so you didn’t use it which is not what your DH needs.

She’s lucky she got the use of it for free as long as she did!

Yes, legal redress is needed.

Surely the solicitor should have done all that was required?

I recently sold a house in Scotland and was astonished that my solicitor had to order a Coal Report (which I paid for as the vendor).

The solicitor did all this. OP knew about the garage and allotment before they bought. The seller stated they were providing vacant possession.

Solicitors don’t normally do more than this when you buy a house, do they? When you buy a house it is generally occupied by people and possessions until the day you exchange, but you don’t ask for a detailed plan on how people are going to make sure they get out on time. You make sure the contract assures you of vacant possession then deal with the situation if the seller does not provide what they promised.