AIBU?
Neighbour does not like the look of my garden - threatening to sue
craxmum · 29/07/2018 10:03
A new neighbour has moved in last month (we are sharing a wall in a semi-detached property). She seems to have a major issue with the way my garden looks (just paid me a visit at 7am on Sunday to inform me that she hasn't slept properly since she had a party last night and her guests were apparently "aghast"). First thing she did after moving in was decking and astroturfing her back garden fence to fence (the bits that weren't already covered in concrete).
She did mention it a couple of times before, but I never thought it bothers her that much. Now she made a vague threat of suing me for damage to her assets, as apparently her house value and enjoyment of her property is impacted. I mean, she bought it a couple of weeks ago (at the normal market value as far as I can see from the open sources), surely she made the decision with full awareness of what my garden looks like? She added a couple of personal insults (about me being foreign etc) as well.
My garden is a bit informal allotment style. We grow berries, tomatoes, courgettes, peppers, beans, herbs - stuff like that, also have a couple of dwarf fruit trees. Sunflowers all over the place at the moment. I have two small children (3 and 5), they absolutely love it and they have their own little experimentation areas. There is a bit of lawn, but with two dogs it is not in great shape - trimmed, but with some bald patches. There is an occasional weed or two, or maybe ten. Plenty of butterflies and bees. A composter (of a posh type, fully closed and maintained, not leftovers rotting in a bin). There is a water butt and sometimes watering cans / other gardening equipment lying around. I mean, it is by no means perfect, and can sometimes be messy and looks quite rustic, but I absolutely cannot see what I can do to comfort her apart from ripping all vegetation out and paving over.
AIBU?
onalongsabbatical · 29/07/2018 10:06
God, your garden sounds gorgeous and she sounds completely bonkers. To paraphrase, you don't have a garden problem, you have a neighbour problem. I think I'd be inclined to ignore her unless anything gets worse. Of course she can't sue you she's be laughed out of the solicitor's office I imagine.
Friendofsadgirl · 29/07/2018 10:11
My NDN has had a broken wardrobe, rusty bbq, old slabs, a broken chair, and various other rubbish lying in their very overgrown garden for nearly a year. They have been sitting out in the sun, surrounded by it all. It's none of my business even though I hate to see it
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