Cheeky neighbours and their wet washing - Part 2.

[QueenofmyPrinces]

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)

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!!

IN POLISH

Cześć Sąsiedzi. Uszkodzenie naszego ogrodzenia jest spowodowane tym, że nie jest on przystosowany do utrzymania masy Twojej linii myjącej. Ponownie usunąłem linię myjącą, aby zapobiec dalszym uszkodzeniom i poprosimy cię, abyś nie kontynuował wiązania linii z naszym ogrodzeniem. Skontaktowałem się również z właścicielem, aby zapłacić za uszkodzenie i naprawić nasze ogrodzenie, a także poprosić o dostarczenie Państwu, ich lokatorom, odpowiednio zainstalowanego suszarni (tj. Skoncentrowanych metalowych słupków zaprojektowanych do przyjęcia ciężaru linii myjącej). W międzyczasie możesz kupić obrotowy wieszak na ubrania i zainstalować go z metalowym kolcem wbity w ziemię i poprosić właściciela o zwrot kosztów? Sąsiedzi

IN ARABIC

مرحبا الجيران. الأضرار التي لحقت بسياجنا هي لأنها غير مصممة لتصل إلى وزن خط الغسيل الخاص بك. لقد قمت بإزالة خط الغسيل الخاص بك مرة أخرى لمنع حدوث المزيد من الضرر ، وسوف أطلب منك عدم الاستمرار في ربط خط إلى سياجنا. اتصلت أيضًا بصاحب العقار لطلب دفع تكاليف الأضرار وإصلاح السور الخاص بنا وطلب أن يزودوك ، مستأجرين ، بمرفق تجفيف مثبت بشكل صحيح (أي مراكز معدنية مركزة مصممة لتخفيف وزن خط الغسيل). في هذه الأثناء ربما يمكنك شراء جهاز دوّار للملابس وتثبيته بعلبة معدنية مطروقة في الأرض وتطلب من مالك العقار تعويضك؟ في جميع الظروف ، يرجى عدم الاستمرار في استخدام سياجنا لتجفيف ملابسك ، مع أطيب التمنيات الجيران

Anyway you get the idea

translate.google.co.uk

OP, as a landlord myself I'd be very upset to hear a tenant had caused such damage (especially if I got a repair bill as a result!). Pursue this relentlessly with the letting agent.....

Also, I'd be very surprised if the Landlord knows how many people are there - I'd bet any money it's formally 1 couple/child on the agreement and 'visitors are here' whenever the inspections take place.....

You do need to tell the landlord, that amount of wear and tear from all those people to a 3 bed house would be horrific - if they dry clothes inside in wet weather can you imagine the damp?

The council is your friend with that many people in one house.

Couple of years ago my neighbor attached a washing line to my fence post.

I undid it and went straight round to explain they couldn't attach anything like that to my fence post, as it woudl damage it.

I did this before the damage was caused! Why didn't you go round the first day the line appeared?

I wouldn't use Google translate, it often makes no sense! If you know what language they use you'd be better off asking on here for someone to translate I think.

That many people in a 3 bed property is surely classed as overcrowding?
I doubt they are 'one' family, most likely two families.
I'd be complaining about that to the LL and council on top of the wanton damage.

Go to the court and get a small claims form. Make a claim for the cost of repairing the damage. If they don’t file a defence (which I doubt they will) file for summary judgement which should be granted. You can then get a hourly order for the damages. It’s unlokely that they’ll pay it without being pursued but you will have the satisfaction.

I would go absolutely crazy! And the LL has a duty to sort this. He can't just shrug his shoulders and ignore it

Our NDN's fence blew over, it was half up half down and damaging my shrubs. The neighbour concerned who is lovely told his LL. Nothing happened. He told the Agent. Nothing happened. I got onto the Managing Agent and said I wanted it sorted immediately because it was damaging my garden and they sorted it.

Are you complaining to the LL direct or an Agent?

I wouldn't use Google translate, it often makes no sense! If you know what language they use you'd be better off asking on here for someone to translate I think.

They are African but I don’t know what Country they are from or what specific language they speak.

When they first started using the washing line they tied it around one of the smaller fence panels (which are about 2 inches wide) as opposed to the main fence post and surprise, surprise, the weight of that caused the panel and surrounding panels to come away from the main frame of the fence.

That was when we first told them not to do it and so instead they moved their line to being tied to the main post.

We have told them many times to stop doing it and they take the line down but as soon as they have another load of washing they want drying they just tie the line back onto our fence panel again.

I’m completely missing the point here but are they still hanging washing out in this cold weather?! Can’t imagine it ever getting dry! Good luck sorting it all out, what a pain!

What are witchy trinkets?

They haven’t been putting their washing out on a regular basis now for about a month due to the weather, but on the odd day of sunshine they are hanging some out.

I’m just pissed off about the note and wondering what’s suddenly made them send it. It just seems very random.

The note is probably because they want you to fix the fence post so that they can continue hanging their washing on it.

Have you cut a full line and let the washing fall onto the ground?

CFs think you are responsible for supplying their drying fence? Nice try!!!!

Have you cut a full line and let the washing fall onto the ground?

No, there was no washing on the line when we cut them down. Both washing lines are lying pathetically across their lawn....

I’m wondering how quickly they will tie them back up again....

If they sent you a note in English, then send them one back in English. If they can't read it then they can get it translated. Failing that knock on their door and have a normal neighbourly conversation.

You need to inconvenience them by having to rewash the stuff. Cut a full line at the first opportunity.

In response to their request I might just send back a note saying: “No.”

That’s easy enough to understand.

Crikey, just talk to them like normal people who have neighbours do. All this demonising them and thinly veiled racism towards them ( oooh they don't speak my language, live in overcrowded conditions, dry their clothes in unfamiliar ways!) . Then all these suggestions of unkind and ridiculous ways to make them realise that you don't want them to dry their washing on your fence (trinkets! waterpistols! cutting the line while their washing is still on it). So unkind and un neighbourly. Can't you just talk to them normally? Or failing that send them a normal decent letter like the one on the last page?

cuspish - me and my husband have already spoken to them at least 3-4 times and it makes no difference.