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Original poster

Cheeky neighbours and their wet washing - Part 2.

165 replies

QueenofmyPrinces · 01/01/2019 12:57

I posted a few months ago about one of our neighbours using our adjoining garden fence (which is about 7ft high) to hang their wet washing on and how I was fed up of being faced with their wet clothes hanging over into our garden each day or picking up their pants and trousers when the wind blew them off the fence and onto our lawn.

We tried numerous strategies:

  • Repeatedly pushing the clothes back over their own side of the fence therefore them landing on their garden.
  • My son taking his water gun to the sides of the clothes that were hanging down over our side of the fence.
  • Keeping any of the clothes that blew off the fence and landed into our garden.

They seemed to get the hint and invested in a clothes line but rather than buy a rotary line they just bought a cord and tied one end to the fence post that belonged to their house, pulled it diagonally across their garden and then tied the other end to the final post of our adjoining fence. They then pegged all their clothes onto it including their wet towels which obviously were very weighty.

Unsurprisingly the repeated use of this clothes line with heavy items caused the adjoining fence post to buckle and separate from the other fence posts. Once this original weakness had occurred it obviously got worse and worse as they continued to hang up their wet washing.

As it stands now the end post of our garden fence is heavily leaning over into their garden and the weight of that is causing the end third of our fence to bend inwards over their garden too.

(A diagram can be provided if this doesn’t make sense) Grin

Anyway - yesterday, one of the neighbours had the bloody cheek to put a letter though our letterbox to complain about our fence impeding over into their garden and therefore could we please replace our fence!!!!!

My husband couldn’t believe it! I was at work thankfully because I would have hit the roof. My temper isn’t quite as calm as my DH’s.

I mean what the hell?!

We don’t quite know how to respond because all I want to do is to tell them to piss off and if anything they should be the ones to replace the fence!!!

I’m off out for lunch in an hour and I really hope I bump into one of them as I walk to my car so I can tell them what I think of their suggestion!!

OP posts:
AWishForWingsThatWork · 01/01/2019 14:59

YIkes! I would be sending them a registered letter, copying in the landlord, telling them they have damaged your fence even though you've repeatedly asked them to stop using it for their laundry, and they will have to replace your fence post. Tell them you have gotten quotes, and it will cost X£. If payment isn't forthcoming, you will be taking them to small claims court for damages.

eddielizzard · 01/01/2019 15:08

Yes, I'd be cutting the rope each and every time. You have to be vigilant - doing it once won't work. You have to make them get sick of it and find another solution.

Meanwhile I would get a quote and send it off to the landlord, together with any photo documentation you might have. Bypass them. They're obviously complete twits.

Bluesmartiesarebest · 01/01/2019 15:10

Start a bonfire every time they hang washing out.

BlueEyedBengal · 01/01/2019 15:13

Yes you need to get an estimate and send that recorded to the landlord. And also send a letter recorded to the tenants saying why the landlord will be dealing with it and asking them not to carry on damaging the fence. Then before you do that get the council to come and inspect the damage before they have a chance to remove the line and a stern letter of them combined with yours should do the trick. At least you will have an idea of the council of what to do.

Tistheseason17 · 01/01/2019 15:13

I'd write to their landlord requesting payment for the replacement fence panel - take photos of the washing line tied to it as evidence. Also, advise that it is your post and he needs to advise tenants to not attach anything to it in future.He owns the property and will be liable. He will hopefully have something in the tenancy agreement to cover recouping the cost from his tenants.

If no joy, then as PP says, keep cutting!! I would

BerylStreep · 01/01/2019 15:35

I thought most tenancy agreements had clauses about not being nuisances to neighbours.

Do you know who the landlord is?

YoThePussy · 01/01/2019 15:40

Agree with wearing them down and cutting the washing line,

We used to have a neighbour who decided to attach trellis to one end of our fence with string. He then grew Russian Vine on it which as it does spread onto our shed and broke the roof. I cut the string every time he replaced it and removed the Russian Vine by tearing it down. The trellis didn’t last very long at all!

UnicornSlaughters · 01/01/2019 15:41

Photos of the full washing line and photos of the damage to your fence to the landlord with a bill for the damage caused. Threaten to pursue in the Small Claims Court if necessary.

WhenOneDoorClosesAnotherOpens · 01/01/2019 15:45

Do NOT put your fence back up OP. They will only damage it again. I say this from experience.

Document everything because as pp said, this will likely only get worse.

ZenNudist · 01/01/2019 16:40

It must have been very shoddily put up to not be able to take the weight of a washing line. You could always ask the landlord to contribute towards fixing it.

Osirus · 02/01/2019 23:28

Your fence posts must be like sticks - they shouldn’t buckle under the weight of washing. You could swing a couple of fully grown men from ours Grin.

You will need to replace the fence if you want it to look nice. I would send a note back saying it will be replaced when they have erected a rotary clothes line.

And make sure you use decent fence posts!

janet44 · 02/01/2019 23:33

This reply has been deleted

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Lalliella · 02/01/2019 23:37

Eh janet what on earth are you on about? Are you on glue?

LavaLampLover · 02/01/2019 23:37

Build a wall with a flat top instead, and put antivandal paint on that.

notapizzaeater · 02/01/2019 23:42

Entitled ? Wtf Janet ? I'd be bloody furious that they've damaged the fence

purplerainbows · 02/01/2019 23:43

I think @janet44 is the neighbour!

BabyNameBook · 02/01/2019 23:43

Wankers, cut the rope and holes in their clothes

BabyNameBook · 02/01/2019 23:44

Damn it, Janet! Stop hanging your washing so inconsiderately!

Fluffyears · 02/01/2019 23:45

Our posts have held washing for years. Can you post a picture?

FrankieChips · 02/01/2019 23:47

If they are renting then it’s the landlord that would have to arrange for the fence to be fixed. If it’s seen as wear and tear then he would fix it. If the tenants caused it they would have money taken from their deposit. They are chancers. You don’t happen to have any photos of the washing line being used?

PickAChew · 02/01/2019 23:50

Fix and top with iron curtain style barbed wire.

PositivelyPERF · 03/01/2019 00:20

The neighbours should throw the wet washing at your face.

Stop acting so entitled

Yes, OP. Stop acting so entitled. FFS, you’d think you owned the fence or something. 😉😁

At least you now know what a wanker your neighbour —Janet— is.

Original poster
QueenofmyPrinces · 03/01/2019 06:46

Our posts have held washing for years. Can you post a picture?

The problem is how much washing they hang on because the post just can’t take the weight. It was fine at first but over time it led the fence post to start to lean and then once that weakness had occurred it just got worst.

There are 6 adults and 2 children in the house. Four of the adults are men and it’s their clothes that are the problem because it’s jeans and hoodies that are being hung up which as you know get very heavy when they’re wet and throw in wet and heavy towels too and the strain on the washing rope (and so the fence) is too much. Their rope hangs down so much due to the weight of their washing they the bottoms of the jeans are practically touching their lawn.

On one occasion there were 12 pairs of jeans, 8 hoodies and 5 big towels draped on the line and then our fence was being used too because they had the children’s clothes and people’s underwear hanging over it.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t put so much washing on the line at one time but as you can imagine, there’s a lot of washing to be done in a big household and they just cram as much stuff on to the line as they can. Also, it’s because they cram so much stuff on to it that none of the clothes are actually pegged out properly so nothing dries and therefore it can just hang out there for days still wet so it’s just constant pressure on the fence post.

They actually have two washing lines, each one running diagonally across their garden so four fence posts in total are being used.

The top fence post, the one nearest to our house is finw but it’s the fence post and the fence at the bottom of the garden that’s knackered.

The cord that is tied to the post near the house though isn’t used for heavy items as the other end of the rope is tied to their garden gate which is also wooden, so I think they know they could damage the gate by doing so. That line is typically used for the children’s and women’s clothes.

OP posts:
Eliza9917 · 03/01/2019 08:17

I'd cut the line every time they hung stuff out there.

Or, if feeling a bit less blatant, I'd untie it each year.and tell the the weight is causing it if they said anything.

JustJoinedRightNow · 03/01/2019 08:32

Cut it so it looks frayed and feign surprise and say well the weight of the washing is clearly snapping your line, and pulling the fence over!