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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

My neighbour wants me to take my shed down

117 replies

emma071981 · 02/07/2018 09:49

The previous owners pur a metal shed on the side of my property over 13 years ago. I have taken the majority of it down and just lefy the framework and roof so I have access through my side gate and still have somewhere to store my daughters bike. The neighbour has came around this morning saying she is getting her house painted and i need to take the roof down so her decorator can paint her facia boards. Do I need to take it down?

My neighbour wants me to take my shed down

OP posts:

BrendasUmbrella · 02/07/2018 12:31

Well, yes, Smashed, I don't see this mysterious 2 cm gap the OP mentioned where a painter could get his brush in to paint every inch of the neighbour's wall.

Fascias only, he's not painting the walls.

HollyBollyBooBoo · 02/07/2018 12:32

Why would you want to piss off your neighbour? It's clearly going to to stop her painting the house, no way should you recommend someone stands on it (what if they fell through and were seriously injured?).

Plus its so ugly - for that reason alone you should take it down!

CammieKennaway · 02/07/2018 12:43

A good painter would be able to erect a mini scaffold over that.
My uncle lives in an area where all of the houses have similar roofs like that over shared passageways and it doesn't effect the houses or facias being painted.
To be honest, when my facias were replaced, the workers erected a mini scaffold anyway for H&S reasons (plus can you imagine how many times the poor sod would be up and down the ladder otherwise, instead of just walking along the platform?)

Clutterbugsmum · 02/07/2018 12:49

Don't be stupid Hollybolly, the look of the shed is a complete non issue. The shed was there when the neighbour bought the property, it's not a shared ally way.

OP allowing access does not mean she has to take down her shed, it's down to the neighbour to pay extra for whatever extra is needed for her decorator to do his job.

And looking at those pictures it doesn't look wide enough to get ladders up safely anyway.

fuzzyduck1 · 02/07/2018 12:51

Unless you’ve got a party wall agreement then no you don’t have to do anything you don’t even have to let them on your land to do the painting.

Does there roof come out further than the wall? Is the guttering proud of the wall? Both are invasion on your property and you can request them to alter them not to come out further than the wall.

That said for yours and their sanity just take the shed down I’m guessing they will want to paint the pebbledash as well.

mummytippy · 02/07/2018 12:53

The neighbour just wants it down so it makes the job easier and importantly cheaper! All you should need to know is she's having paintwork done.

fuzzyduck1 · 02/07/2018 12:53

What they doing painting the facia? Clad it in plastic

FatSally · 02/07/2018 12:55

What if the next job they're doing is she wants to re dash the walls? Or have wall ties replaced? Neither of those could be done around that thing and if they took it to court I'd bet my last penny you'd be told to remove it, incurring a shit load of costs in the process.

I would pre-empt future problems and take it down now. Save up and get a shed or bike holder instead.

mummytippy · 02/07/2018 12:55

Fuzzyduck is right. This happened to my parents and their neighbour was a builder. He had gutters etc overhang onto my parents drive and they had a motorhome which was difficult enough to park as it was!

littlemissdynamite · 02/07/2018 12:56

@Emma0711981

If it's on your land and not attached to hers (though it looks like it is,) then as long as you allow access into your alleyway, you don't need to remove the structure.

However, having said that, I think you should coz it's HIDEOUS.

akkakk · 02/07/2018 13:00

if they took it to court I'd bet my last penny you'd be told to remove it, incurring a shit load of costs in the process.

really?! - on what legal basis would the OP be told to remove a permanent structure on her property to facilitate someone else?

If the structure is a) not legal or b) attached to the neighbour's property without permission, then there may be an issue - but assuming (from the OP's comments) that it is both legal and not touching the neighbour's property then no - she will not be told to remove it by any court - there is no legal basis for anyone to tell their neighbour to remove legal structures to suit them...

LIZS · 02/07/2018 13:02

The roof section looks attached to the wall, otherwise would water not run down into it. Normally you can be required to allow access for maintenance with notice and it is not reasonable to expect them to stand on a structure but make sure they mean to use ladders not scaffolding.

Cailleach1 · 02/07/2018 13:09

It is completely irrelevant whether one person thinks it is lovely or another thinks it is dreadful. The question is whether the neighbour has a right to tell the op to remove the shed from her own property to allow easier access for maintenance work on the neighbouring property. Did she tell the op that she would put it back and make good afterwards?

I don't know if the party wall act applies here. If it does, the neighbour would have to make it good afterwards at their expense. I didn't think the access to neighbouring properties issue is for a cosmetic job. There is a process to obtain access if permission isn't given and it is necessary. A legal route, I think. I'd imagine neighbour would have to make good afterwards as well.

The problem which may arise if if the neighbour's property becomes damp and the shed is deemed to be the cause. Their insurance may be able to claim off your insurance. Now the sides are taken off, I'd hope air flow will clear up the area.

Cailleach1 · 02/07/2018 13:13

We have neighbour's guttering overhanging onto our property. A chartered surveyor told us we could have them removed. Say, if we wanted to extend. It wouldn't be a good idea, though. Prefer the rainwater being collected. They don't automatically own the land below the guttering.

SilverySurfer · 02/07/2018 13:25

I couldn't agree more, SmashedMug now I've taken a better look.

The bottom line is, OP, do you want to have a good relationship with your neighbour or when the time comes for you to move, do you want to have to divulge problem relationship with neighbour which may result in your house not selling for a very long time?

The roof is fugly, it looks as close to their wall as can be without actually touching, if in fact it doesn't touch and you could replace it with a better roof when the work on ndn's house is finished.

akkakk · 02/07/2018 13:35

do you want to have to divulge problem relationship with neighbour which may result in your house not selling for a very long time?

this seems to have become the go-to reason for suggesting that people just give into unreasonable neighbours... the legislation for this is designed for more serious issues than this...

if the OP wishes to keep her shed, then she is allowed to - that is not a neighbour dispute...

OP's neighbour: Can you take down your shed so that I can paint my fascia boards
OP: no thank you, I wish to keep it - but am happy to work with you to have scaffolding put up so that the fascia boards can be painted...

that is hardly the stuff of a neighbour dispute and most certainly does not need to be reported... along with conversations about whether the OP should share her last Rolo with the neighbour ;)

It is quite possible that the neighbour saw OP removing the rest of the shed, and assumed (wrongly) that the roof was also due to come down - in which case their request makes sense... but it is up to the OP - if she wants to keep it (and on the basis that it is legal etc.) then that is the OP's choice...

some of the comments on here verge on the ridiculous - do people really believe that someone should remove permanent structures on their land just because a neighbour asks them to, should the neighbour also choose model and colour of car the OP drives / the curtains she has up & her children's names - so demeaning for the neighbourhood to hear OP shouting for Jane to come in for tea - Persephone would have a much better tone to it...

MindBodyChocolate · 02/07/2018 13:41

Please don’t suggest or let the decorator put the ladder on top of your rickety old ‘shed’. It’s an accident waiting to happen and you could be in trouble if it does.

Also, speaking as a lawyer, please do not get bogged down in the intricacies of property law or the party wall act. Speak to your neighbour like adults and work out a sensible compromise. Why ppl get embroiled in these neighbour disputes is beyond me.

BossPeeBeePee · 02/07/2018 13:44

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Imchlibob · 02/07/2018 14:03

Except that you aren't allowed to erect anything within 1m of a boundary without a party wall agreement which sets down in writing how any damage to the other property and how access to both properties for repairs and maintenance will be managed. It seemed obvious from the op that this was not the kind of structure where a party wall agreement was likely to be in place.

akkakk · 02/07/2018 14:12

Except that you aren't allowed to erect anything within 1m of a boundary without a party wall agreement

really?!
as I quoted above - party wall is when you are on the boundary / excavations within a distance of the boundary...

permitted development allows you to build anything you like within certain constraints - if you are within 2m of the boundary, then there is a height limit and a floor space limit - otherwise go ahead...

you can pop a shed in under c. 2.4m high - right next to your boundary (not on...) without any form of permission, as long as it doesn't cover more than 50% of your garden / isn't in front of the house / etc.

I see no reason why a party wall agreement is needed for a shed which is not on the OP's boundary...

bettytaghetti · 02/07/2018 14:48

I could be wrong (often am!) but I suspect the neighbour's house is on the left of the picture. The leading goes into the brickwork of the house on the right, so I presume that is the OP's house, in which case I would recommend you don't remove it Emma.

A previous owner of our house had built a glorified lean-to on the side of our house and had joined up with the side of the neighbour's coach house (I got told off by the previous owner by referring to her garage!). This had been removed at some point and there is a line left in the brickwork of next door's garage coach house that looks like it has been cut through with an angle grinder, I presume where the leading went into.

bettytaghetti · 02/07/2018 14:50

All the decorator needs to do is build a scaffold tower either side with boards between the 2 over the roof of the shed, but I suspect he doesn't want the expense. Tough!

HollyBollyBooBoo · 02/07/2018 15:05

Don't be stupid Clutter it's my opinion and therefore perfectly valid.

walchesterweasel · 02/07/2018 15:50

Some people are being very rude about OP's home. The structure serves a useful purpose and is on her own land. The neighbour can ask for access but take it down ? I can't imagine anyone agreeing to that. Would it be possible to fix some narrow channel gutter along the edge to stop the supposed damp?

littlemissdynamite · 02/07/2018 18:20

Some people are being very rude about OP's home.

No, no @walchesterweasal people are not being rude about the OP's home. Just the ugly lean-to shed. I reckon (as a pp said,) the neighbour is trying to get the monstrosity taken down.

Let's be honest, it may be 'useful' but it's ugly to look at.

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