To complain to the owner of the holiday let?

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We live next door to a holiday let, never something we expected as the holiday let in question is a semi on an estate not the usual type of accommodation people visiting the area would go for, think more little cottages on the river!!

Anyway it's been used as a holiday let since last year and wasn't really an issue as it was rather overpriced and therefore didn't attract many guests. This year however the price per week was reduced therefore it has been booked out most of the summer.

Anyway we have had numerous issues with the holidaymakers parking behind our drive, allowing their children to play on our driveway and front garden and general total disregard to the fact this is a residential area not a holiday resort!

I am thinking about contacting the owner of the house and complaining about the above, but to be honest I don't know what they are suppose to do. It's obviously the holidaymakers who are the issue.

The guests who are there at the moment have been a particular pain in the arse so I am more annoyed than usual about it!

Should I just suck it up for the rest of the summer or should I speak to the owner?

When people rent a cottage for a week they are entitled to treat it as their home. If they have kids, the kids will play in the garden. Don't you have a fence to keep them off yours?

They play in OUR front garden - I don't have an issue if they play in the garden belonging to the house!

The front garden isn't very big so would look weird fenced in plus I think the covenants of the houses don't allow fences in the front garden

I would speak to the owners to drop them a line: please note this is a residential area, be considerate to neighbors etc. Even in a holiday resort you'd still maintain some boundaries, unless Magaluf or similar.

You know what you should do: speak to the owner calmly and politely and with a memorandum of the issues. Can you also come up with some suggestions about what the owner could do eg:

• pay for a fence so kids can't play on your driveway and front garden
• paying for bollards or marking so they know where they can or can't park
• reminding them about noise and limiting hours of being in his garden
• putting it in his terms and conditions

You may be on an estate but clearly it is a holiday area or gives access to one. There are plenty of people renting in Padstow on the housing estates above the town. Totally understand a need for a cheap holiday (haven't been on one for five years) but that shouldn't impinge on people who live nearby.

Do keep a record and photos. It could get worse and you'll want ammunition.

Sympathies.

IT sounds as if it's now a commercial property rather than straightforward residential? Might be worth checking.

I would appeal to them to ask their guests to be respectful of the neighbours but it will clearly vary and people on holiday do behave in a more relaxed way than when at home working.

I wouldn't like it either.

I think I'd definitely have a word with the owners. I wouldn't go in all guns blazing but just bring it up as a niggle. You'd think they'd stipulate to holidaymakers that it's a residential area and to be respectful etc. but maybe not?

Owner should make it clear where the boundaries are, I would be pissed off too! Do they need permission to use it as a holiday let from the the council (business rates / change of useable etc) or anything that you could use as leverage in your complaint?

If you don't tell the owner they won't know so won't be able to do anything about it. It might not solve all problems but more details about which garden is theirs, where to park etc might eliminate some of the problems.

Are the boundaries between the 2 properties clear? Perhaps the holiday makers think the owner owns both properties so they can use both? I would politely approach the owner in the first instance and explain the problems you have been having - perhaps he can make it clearer in the information he provides to his guests that his property is only the one house (and garden).

We've just returned from a holiday let where the Welcome Pack (notes from the owners) explicitly told us the front garden was not for kids to play in, no ball games etc, neighbours' right of way etc. Lots of detail basically saying don't dawdle at the front of the house. We respected it, there was a back garden and we didn't want to piss anyone off.
Contact the owners directly or through the agents if there is one. Let them know the problems (any photos of guests' inconsiderate parking?) and get them to sort it out.

I have no intention of going in all guns blazing, after all most guests don't really cause any issues. It's just the odd few that seem to take the piss and treat it is as own personal Butlins resort with no regard to those of us who live nearby you actually have to work in the morning!

The ones there at the moment should be gone in a day or two and hopefully the next ones won't be as problematic.

I'd just be tempted to drop a polite note or email to them, saying how lovely it is that the house is being let much more but you've had a few issues regarding parking and gardens. Can you both think of some ideas to try and fix them.... sort of thing. It's your home at the end of the day, and little problems are far easier to fix than ones left to fester and grow.

Could you make a clear diagram of the immediate area with their house and the neighbouring ones shown and outline the boundaries, then send it to the owner and ask if they could incorporate it in the pre-arrival info they send to holidaymakers? If your request is pleasantly phrased they probably wouldn't have an issue with including it along with please put bins out on a Wednesday type stuff.

Speak to or message the owner. I imagine that there must be some sort of information pack in the house and it wouldn't be unreasonable to ask that a note is included asking guests to be respectful to neighbours. If things are really bad there's no reason at all why you shouldn't contact the owner whilst the guests are there. I am ashamed to say that someone had to do this about us not so long ago and we were mortified!

Several of us were staying in what we thought was a cottage in the middle of nowhere for a girly walking weekend. The weather was good, it had a top of the range hot tub in the garden and after a few too many bottles of wine, as you do, we were going through our repertoire of songs on top note late into the night. We had no idea that there were neighbours within listening distance, and they thought nothing of contacting the owner who paid us a visit the next morning to ask us to be a little quieter in future.

One of my relatives lives in Cornwall on a small estate just outside a popular village and they are having similar problems to you too. When they bought their house they thought it was far enough outside the town to ever be attractive to holidaymakers, but the houses to let are bigger than a lot of the cottages in the centre so have proved popular with visitors and the road is far busier than they ever thought it would be.

My friend has a holiday let and I know she would rather hear from you about the problems you are sometimes experiencing so that she could try to do something about it.

Thanks all, I have emailed the company that advertises the house and asked them for either the owners contact details or if they can pass a message on for me!