Neighbour dumping her rubbish in communal garden...

[TheLastNigel]

We live in an old pub-our house is at the front in what would have been one half of it-neighbours 1 live in the adjoining half-there is an arch between through which neighbours ,2, 3, 4 and 5 access their houses and our communal car park (their houses are converted stables and the car park would have once been the yard). Neighbour 6 lives in a newer house the top of the yard.
Behind her house is a large communal garden shared between all the neighbours except number 6 who once would have had part of the communal garden but in 1985 (she has lived here a long while) fenced her 6th of the garden (took the bit that immediately backs on to her house) off. Possibly not legal but it was ages ago and it bothers no one-no one else's house could open direct to the garden-we have to go up a short path adjacent to neighbour 6's to access.

We all pay into a communal fund for the upkeep of communal areas-including neighbour 6. This covers exterior painting, any communal plumbing or drainage issues etc.
Some of this fund was recently put towards new fencing around the garden. What we had before was old, falling down and annoying the neighbours on either side.

After this I've been doing some gardening (no one else bothered before bar mowing the grass) and generally tidying up the garden because it was a bit wild before. I've undertaken to do this at my own cost, just because I quite like gardening and it seems a shame to have such a potentially nice garden go to waste-plus all the neighbours can then enjoy it more.

Neighbour 6 has been redecorating her house.
I came Home last week to find she had chucked a load of old carpet into the communal garden.
Yesterday she had thrown a rotting old bench out there, a broken washing line, some bits of painted timber and a rotten old chest of drawers.

This is annoying on two levels- one she'd been watching me all afternoon doing the gardening so is obviously aware I'm trying to pretty it up for everyone.
Two-who does she think is going to get rid of her rubbish?

Admittedly in the past no one cared about the garden too much-but for the last month I've been working on it and a couple of the other neighbours have removed some junk etc.

I don't want to annoy her-everyone else in the yard seems a bit nervous of her-but at the same time AIBU to be a bit pissed off?
And what to do?
She won't take it well if I challenge her about it I don't think. Do I just suck it up? I've organised a man to come and get rid of some other bits of old junk-maybe just pay him a bit more to take hers (I will claim this back out of the communal fund)?

You can't let her get away with it! She's got away with 'taking' some garden, ow she's abusing the remainder.
Speak with her and tell her she needs to arrange for it to be removed urgently. Tell her that you're trying to make the communal area nicer for everyone, so she shouldn't use it as a dumping ground.

I’d just knock on the door and say you have someone coming does she want her rubbish collecting at the same time and it’ll be so much, if she refuses you’ll arrange it and the communal fund will bill her for the cost.

Chuck it back into her 'garden'.

Cheeky mare.

If you pay someone to get rid of her shit then that will make you the biggest walkover, like seriously, wtf would you be thinking? Just knock in "Hi Mary, I'm working on the garden, what's the story with that rubbish?", it's that simple, if she says she's moving then great, if she says she needs to sort then give her the man with the vans number and say he might do her a deal, if she tells you mind your own business stick it back in her garden, DO NOT pay someone to rid of it though!!

Find some bits that would fit in a small parcel, one that you could fit in a postbox. Put couple of pence postage on and stick it in a postbox. When postman delivers if, it'll have postage charges outstanding. She won't know what it is, at least the first time, so will pay out of curiosity. She'll find that she's paying for her old flytipped crap to be delivered to her. Ideally, she won't be in and will have to trudge to the parcel office to pay. If you know she's away for a few days, you could send her a few recorded deliveries (although you'd have to pay for these and go to post office, potentially getting filmed). Again, the benefit here is that she'll have to trudge to the parcel office to collect it.

Maybe if you speak about it to all of your neighbours, and approach it together. Get rid of the junk this time as you already have something arranged, but spell out clearly that it is not to happen again - it will be chucked back in to her garden next time?

Cheeky mare - but then, she's got away with it for so long!

I'd put it back in her garden, then call round and explain politely that you'd done this as you were tidying the communal garden etc.

If she has the grace to look a bit shame-faced, I'd might ask if she wanted her rubbish collected alongside yours.

Actually I would just put it back into her garden The cheeky mare!!

So let me get this straight. She's commandeered some of the garden for her own personal (selfish) use, but still has decided to dump items in the part that the rest of you share???
What a CF!
I'd definitely say something to her and ask her to remove it. Otherwise I'd report her to the council for fly tipping.

Don't move it or else you'll just give her licence to continue this horrible behaviour going forwards.

I’d speak to her amicably at first, let her know you’re in the process of tidying it up. If she kicks up a fuss I’d chuck it back in her garden.

@PotsOfJoy you are a genius 😂 I’m going to remember that for any future revenge I need to undertake

Isn't this classed as flytipping? Its not her garden exclusively so surely has no right to dump things there.

I would just ask her when the Rubbish is going to be removed. Perhaps offer her the telephone number of someone to do it if she isn't taking it herself to a local recycling centre or arranging a bulk collection by the local council.

Also i think she's probably annoyed with you going there to use the garden if she watched you clearing it.

Who runs the Management Association which administers all the receipts and payments for communal matters? They should be dealing with this.

Cheeky mare.

I second asking where the rubbish is going
I would also advise her that as she sectioned off her “part” she has no rights to your communal garden so she needs to dump her junk in her own garden, not yours!!!

Yes dump it back in her garden,

I would get the support of the other neighbours too, far easier to intimidate one person than all of you

Throw it back in her garden and let her deal with it

How long has this been going on for? If it is a couple of days, I would assume that she has someone who is going to come around and clear it (like any normal, decent person would.....not that she really should have dumped it there in the first place). I would ask her when her rubbish-clearing company are coming as grass dies quite quickly when it is covered over.

If she fobs you off, report her for fly-tipping. Despicable behaviour.

i would be tempted to move it into her allocated parking spot, but that might be seen as confrontational..........

Dump it back on her garden!!!

I would knock on her door or put a note through, giving her a chance to organise proper removal. Then if she doesn't....within say 24 hours, report her for fly tipping.

Say "You were witnessed dumping your rubbish in the communal garden, it's also on video. Please remove it within 24 hours or you will be reported for fly-tipping and the evidence handed to the authorities"

Throw it back in her garden. Every. Single. Time.

Does she know there is a person coming to collect the junk already there? Maybe because she pays into the communal fund for the garden, she genuinely felt it made sense that she put her junk there to be collected along with everyone elses junk. Just a thought.

She has a bit of form for this-she had some decorating done last year and chucked all her old cupboards onto a pile of leaves and stuff that neighbour 2 was going to burn. She didn't ask or mention it-bit of an issue as her cupboards were plastic fronted so couldn't be burned. My OH took them to the tip in the end.

She doesn't know that junk is being collected.

We manage the committee between ourselves-she, neighbour 1 and my OH are 'board members' which you need for the legality of it but in practice doesn't mean much.
Neighbour 1 is the only one who might stand up to her out of the others but they are away until end of June.

I basically need to get a back bone don't I?
I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being overly precious-once I start putting the hard work in to something I start to feel a bit overprotective of it kind of, and wanted to make sure it wasn't just me doing that. We have 4 kids living in the yard who play in the garden so I'm not kidding myself that any of the plants will survive long after they've been battered by footballs etc.

Think I will try and catch her and ask if she wants her stuff taken away with the rest or if not she will have to put it out of the way so there are no mistakes and the junk man takes it along with the rest.
She often stays away however-goes to stay with her daughter. If she isn't back before the man comes I'm just going to send her stuff with him and if she asks say I assumed she wanted it disposed of.