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.

Is it possible that Barbara was a bit shocked and went on the defensive when you showed up on 'her' plot? I'd let her calm down and process for a couple of days and then go for another chat with her.

How big is the plot? And just how established is it? Is it possible to allow her to rent/maintain a small section of it and she share her produce with your family? It sounds like she's green-fingered, her skills could be useful. Of course you don't have to do this, but if it could work for you both it's worth considering.

https://search-property-information.service.gov.uk/search/map-search/find-by-map

Here you go. Stick a pin in and it will give you the property address

Don’t be ridiculous it’s their property. If someone had been gardening in their garden for the previous owner you wouldn’t say, “just let them stay an extra year” The woman KNEW it had been sold. She’s squatting which is a vile thing to do to previous owner who can expect repercussions for not ensuring the property was vacant.

This is crazy. It’s simple it’s yours she moves off it. It’s the same as if she was in your house. You bought it, she goes. Either voluntary or by legal eviction.

Eek that is a difficult one! It is legally yours to reclaim but I can understand the frustration of someone who has used it for 10 years and why they are reluctant to just walk away. The previous home owner, should have informed them and you.

Then you sue the previous owner for the costs of doing so.

If Barbra wanted it she should have bought it.

Exactly

@YaMuvva even if you do own it as the other person has all their stuff planted it would only be reasonable to give them a date to be off like 4 months time . It’s hardly her fault and she’s likely put in loads of work .

“Oh yes it’s Barbara’s plot really she was good to take it off my hands “

If the vendor really had given Barbara the impression that she was taking it off her hands, then it’s not that outrageous that Barbara would assume that she was now in charge of allotment, especially as her ‘dear friend’ had sold her house without telling her that the she would need to vacate. She clearly wasn’t given notice in advance.

I do agree that it is the solicitors and vendor who are at fault here, but can’t see that Barbara has been an extreme CF.

This is what I was thinking too.
Mind you, you've pissed off garage man and now Barbara, so good luck with your neighbourly relations! Not that you shouldn't claim them both. Obviously.

@YaMuvva You have done the right thing and gone back to your solicitor, so next actions may be dependant upon the information they supply.

I do not think it is strange for an "allotment" to form part of property title documents, there are many clauses for some properties which are not often seen, I expect this may be one of them.

The garage issue I think can be deemed sorted now as it is empty and you can use it as you choose.

Not all allotments are council owned and rented, plots of land may have been purchased and have covenants on to only be used as allotments by the owners, or the land may be available to the owner as an allotment in perpetuity.

Firstly, possibly after hearing from your solicitor, I would write to the lady currently using the land, outlining the situation. I would say you can understand her dismay and of course you would prefer to come to a mutual agreed timescale for her to stop using it. You would prefer to discuss this face to face and would like to meet at the allotment on such a such day time, where we maybe could have a cup of tea, get to know each other and work out the timescales. Hopefully go along (take cake) and it can be sorted without any fuss.

If it goes well, write again detailing the discussions and giving the date you have agreed you will regain use of it.

If this does not happen, then at least you will have tried and be seen to be reasonable, you can then either get your solicitor to write a letter, or you write a more formal letter ensuring you give the lady notice to remove everything.

As to the shed, I would offer for her to remove it, or maybe to keep the peace offer to purchase it at a reasonable cost.

You have to live in this new house with these surrounding neighbours and have quite rightly identified you do not wish to upset them, sometimes the "kill them with kindness" actions achieve the correct outcomes and prove to be better in the long run.

Your conveyancing solicitor should have sorted all of this out during the sale process. You need to go back to them asap.

Sorry, just seen you already did this. I hadn't refreshed the page.

Its not unusual in some parts of the country for extra "garden" to be away from the property and to have been used for a veg garden most people think of this as an allotment even if technically it isn't in terms of being rented from someone.

It is highly relevant that the vendor was apparently a longstanding and much loved member of the community.

Of course you have the right to reclaim your property and should do so, but calmly, tactfully and with understanding as to how the vendor said “it’s Barbara’s plot really”.

Unless you are very non-social people who never want any contact with your street or allotment neighbours. Allotments are often close friendly communities who look after each others patches in holiday etc, it would be a shame to work alone in stony silence for the next 10 years because your DH has trashed her shed and left it in her doorstep. (I know he probably wouldn’t really do that… but try for an amicable way to resolve this)

Eh? This weekend I walked past allotments in a dry, sandy soiled area of the country and this was exactly the scene! (People were sitting in shorts in the beach, too, and swimming in the sea)

Another vote for this 👆

I was defo on my allotment this weekend gone, sat and thinking about what to do next.

If I'd had a cuppa with me I'd have been drinking it

she didn’t piss about for months but she did say no you don’t get your land it’s mine, so every indication she will! Pretty serious cheek.

My garden isn’t waterlogged. You do know the country is quite big, yes?

Why are some people SO desperate to label a thread as fake?! It's like they think they are a detective.

Anyway, what a mess OP. Definitely speak to solicitors etc. it sounds to me that the plot of land is literally just that, land, not a genuine council owned allotment.

This. The other alternative is to go down there and change the lock on the shed and install cctv and report anybody on it to the police and show them the deeds

I think only wilful ignorance of the legal position could possibly explain Barbara behavior.

If she hadn't bought the property or had some sort of legal agreement in place she was clearly in wrong - and IME older people tend to encountered legal stuff more than younger people having lived longer.

She knew house was being sold and must have realised it would impact her unless she believed she had a legally binding rental agreement or owned the land - she chose to keep quite and try and profit at OP expense unless there is some odd situation OP is unaware of that gives her some rights.

"Being in charge of land " is utter drivel and frankly most older people I know aren't daft and understand difference between legal and informal arrangements Old lady does not mean stupid or ignorant despite what MN poster try to claim.