to think my neighbour should not be able to attach a structure to our house without asking...or actually at all?

[bigmouthstrikesagain]

But he has.

It is a wooden structure very basic clearly for storage but he has drilled into and attached it to our wall which is the boundary between our house and his property. So he has joined our formally detatched houses.

Shurely shome mishtake!? He is a nice young man with a nice young family so I am surprised, and not v happy. Willing to be reasonable but we do not want anything attached to our house so there will need to be action on his part.

Anyone got a similar issue/ wisdom/ experience to share?

Absolutely.
If you say summer they'll see it as a permanent thing. Come summer they will have no time to take it down due to summer holidays, then it will be start of school, half term, Xmas etc.

Just put a note through their letterbox asking if neighbour missed you when he came round . Say you're anxious to discuss the situation as you're worried their illegal shed thing might have damaged your wall. Mention you're amazed they even put it up without asking and that legally it has to go.

For all you know it might actually invalidate your house insurance.

It needs to go now!

OP don't wait. Act now. I suspect that he might drop the 'nice young man' act when you do, but that's that.

Also, one in which the OP's new neighbour informed her she would be closing off the shared passageway way between their 2 terraces and then sent her the legal docs for her to sign, which noted that it had already been agreed verbally

I keep checking Property/DIY for this one YaMaYaMa.

The OP has dealt with it well after realising her neighbour was an over-entitled cow. But I fear her neighbour will be back with some other crackpot scheme.

Obviously when I say 'fear' I also mean I love good cheeky bastard thread like you

Doesn't mean I don't feel sorry for the innocent people living next door to these cheeky bastards.

I'd be asking it was down by the weekend. Summer is ridiculous. I think the longer you leave it up, the more protracted this will become. They are taking the piss.

Ooh, marking my spot.

I don't think it will cause the imminent collapse of your house tbh, but I would regard it as somewhat cheeky, and think you should tell them so.

But be nice; neighbourhood disputes can be horrible and stressful, and can escalate from the mildest of transgressions.

It needs checking to see how it's attached - there are all sorts of issues with weatherproofing so if the wall is damaged or it could cause water damage anywhere, then it needs to be gone before the proper winter weather settles in.

I still think it could affect your house insurance. You really need to be firm about this.

By the time summer comes they'll be very comfortable using the shed, it'll be full of stuff and it'll be much harder to get them to remove it. If you let it lie for months you won't be able to be insistent later (why does it matter if it's there another week if it's already been there months...and another week...and another week). What Hamster said sounds perfect, if they don't answer the door to have it said to them, put it in a letter.

If they were really lovely people who just hadn't considered the impact on you they'd have been round with a grovelling apology by now. The fact that they're just ignoring you (and possibly writing anonymous hedge-trimming letters) shows they are cheeky sods, definitely not lovely neighbours!

And yy to everyone who has mentioned house insurance - not only possible damage to your walls but if they're storing paint or gas for a bbq in there, there could be all sorts of fire risks for you.

mrslevy that thread was months ago.

I am just wondering something. If you have a detached house, and your wall is on the boundary, how do you get into your garden?

Has the house been extended right up to the border?

I have nothing sensible to contribute, I am just shamelessly marking my place because i'm a nosy cow and love a good neighbour problems thread...

To answer your q Q - Our house is on a corner plot the boundary between us and the neighbour is marked partly by house wall and continued with fence and hedge to the pavement then t'other side of our house we have gate to our back garden etc.

It's still there?! I thought you'd have been round and ripped it down with your bare hands by now.

Maybe I am a tad intolerant... possibly.

I know clam. But I had a nuisance neighbour too and it took five years of harassment, tons of threatening legal letters from her and 3 failed court summons also from her before she realised she wasn't going to win and sold up out of pique.

She caused so much anxiety that for at least a year after she sold up I expected that she'd rise again like Michael Myers.

Even today when a large blonde with a certain accent goes past my door I twitch the curtains.

Completely agree that this needs to be dealt with and be removed now as in this weekend.

I'm honestly outraged on your behalf.

If your dear neighbour refuses to engage then a polite but firm hand delivered letter next door must be sent clearly setting out the position and giving him 7 days from the date of the letter to remove the structure. This prevents any "confusion".

I must say though, I had forgotton about this thread so fair cheered up my Friday lunchtime to see it's resurrection!

Don't give them until summer, as summer will come and go and it just won't happen. It needs to go and you wall needs to be repaired by professionals (paid for by them preferably!) as they've been so bloody stupid in the first place.

What idiots.

I'm with Shroudofhamsters, especially on the start thinking like a cheeky person bit of advice.

Polite but firm. Come on, unless you want this still to be there indefinately toughen up and tell them so.

I don't particularly like confrontation but we had a not dissimilar situation with our neighbours who put a gate in that gave them access over our drive. We went round and politely explained why it must go, they apologised and took it down. This is how reasonable people who have genuinely done something and not thought about the consequences behave.

Someone who has had it spelt out that you are not happy but is ignoring you and possibly sending you anonymous notes about your hedge is NOT a good neighbour. The is absolutely no reason why it needs to be left until the summer - ask them to take it down this weekend, or if you want to give a little more time give them a fortnight, but do NOT give them until the summer when damage could have been done - like someone has already said water may well get in through the holes they have drilled into the wall. More than that, when water freezes it EXPANDS - this could therefore also cause cracks in your wall over the winter.

Sort it out now - as long as you are polite then if neighbourly relations suffer it will be because they are unreasonable a*holes not because you have, quite reasonably, asked them to remove this from your house

Go round tonight OP. Go on, go on, go on, go on, go on.

It has to go before the end of the month, never mind next summer. As Maryz says, the holes they have made will channel water into your wall, and if we have another really cold winter, that water will freeze, expand and fracture your bricks, doing far more damage than they have done already.

Bigmouth - you need to take heart from the fact that the Mumsnet Massive are right behind you, and insist that the shed comes down now and the wall is returned to its previous condition.

Agree with those in the get it down now camp. Can I also start muttering about dry rot and insurance claims? No idea of that's true but they probably won't know either

What on earth is the point of waiting until summer? That just gives them reason to believe it can't be that much of a problem to you and gives potential damp problems in your wall time to develop. If there has been damage done, it needs fixing NOW.

Ok MN - thank you there will be a visit next door this weekend and we will ask to see what actually has been done to attach this storage shed and then take it from there.

UPDATE

The man came over about an hour ago - talked to DH (I was doing bedtime) anyway the neighbour was all apologies - he hadn't thought through his actions just put up the storage as it was needed and it will down within the month. The holes filled in and put right. I am content with that as prior to this all our interactions have been very positive and if it doesn't hapen then we will send the boys round obv.

I am now enjoying a glass of Malbec and hoping the episode can be put behind us and all be harmonious in neighbourhood relations once more (once we cut back our hedge - but I am no longer planning to cut it into the shape of a massive cock).

Now that is sorted anyone want to check out my sartorial issues thread as I think I have the dress sorted now but your honest opinions are valuable and I am putting pics on my profile for your amusement.