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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To think my neighbour can drill a whole in my house to permanently hang a 15ft tarpaulin?

659 replies

Euro21widow · 18/06/2021 13:34

So, name changed as obviously outting as pretty sure this isn't a normal occurance!

My neighbour has drilled a hole in my (grade 2 listed) building so she can permanently hang a piece of tarpaulin about 15ft up (as high as my 1st floor roof) for "privacy". Surely she can't just do this? Where do I go from here? It blocks all the light out to my ground floor windows now. Have included (bad) diagram.

To think my neighbour can drill a whole in my house to permanently hang a 15ft tarpaulin?
To think my neighbour can drill a whole in my house to permanently hang a 15ft tarpaulin?
OP posts:
Grastenia · 18/06/2021 16:12

It is a criminal offence. It is given as an example in AML manuals and is subject to POCA. The lady may end up doing some community service and get a criminal record.

By the way - right to light? I do not think it exists in the UK.

SilverGoblin · 18/06/2021 16:12

Will admit I haven't read the full thread so apologies if already mentioned.

You need to be careful here.

A flat I used to rent long term had to be demolished because of a few careless drill holes.

Cosmetic work was needed to the exterior of the whole apartment block and the workers drilled a few holes to attach this and that to do with their scaffolding, nettting and banners etc. The holes were not massive.

High winds were a very regular problem in the area due to elevation, position, cross winds and such.

We had to live there while the works went on. You could hear the wind tearing at the scaffolding so hard that you could even feel the vibrations coming through the structure. A couple of storms were actually terrifying.

Anyway, the initial drilling cracked the bricks and wind stresses made that worse. The construction company filled the drill holes with blobs of mortar when they'd finished.

All good? Not quite. Over the next couple of years, the messed up bricks allowed water ingress that no bugger noticed. End result, fucked up building, too expensive to remedy by the time it was discovered and us having to move from a home and area we loved. The black mold that was present in the walls when they took it down was epic. On the day the removals men came, in our final check on the empty rooms, lit by a bright setting sun, we were shocked to see big black shadows under the wallpaper that were obviously black moor. We reckon we moved out just in time before it got though the wallpaper to invest our possessions with said mold.

Your absolutely bloody lovely neighbour might say she will lower it when the wind gets up but that's utter bollocks. She might be out or in bed asleep for a start when the wind gets going. Apart from that, wrestling with what is essentially a very heavy sail in high winds is extremely difficult and likely to result in injury to person and structure. If one end starts flailing in the wind, very dangerous.

PerhapsCarriageGreen · 18/06/2021 16:12

Yes, yes, yes to contacting the conservation officer and planning dept. One of our neighbours applied to erect a tarpaulin to protect their car from falling conkers - and had it refused straight away. It would have been completely removable and independent of the buildings. That was even before we became a conservation area!

FunMcCool · 18/06/2021 16:13

That’s ridiculous!

SilverGoblin · 18/06/2021 16:15

Mold not moor. Don't know why the hell autocorrect went there.

EvilPea · 18/06/2021 16:17

Just looking at those fines. Some of the demolition fines seem worth the risk.

Favourite one was the mp who said he didn’t know

randomlyLostInWales · 18/06/2021 16:18

I have taken some photos and filled in the planning breech form on the council website. She is insistent she is allowed to have it and I can't remove it without entering her garden so I guess my only option . Glad I am not just being petty!

I think thats a very sensible thing to do and not at all petty.

I was taken back when out none attached neighbours drilled holes into our house wall to attach a gate post for their path at side of house without saying anything to us. They were arseholes though and we decided the gate actually added to our security as people couldn't go down their path and jump over our back fence that fully enclosed our garden and try for accesses at back of our house.

With a listed house I image you have be very clear you didn't do this or give permission.

bigbaggyeyes · 18/06/2021 16:22

I'd have gone round and taken it down and left it on the floor, if she thinks she's entitled to attach things to your walk then why worry about stepping in her property. CF

lastcall · 18/06/2021 16:22

Council. Ask that it be removed, that she be fined, and that she be responsible for repair costs.

LadyEuphemia · 18/06/2021 16:24

@EvilPea my favourite was £5k fine for adding some window boxes! Shock

SchadenfreudePersonified · 18/06/2021 16:25

@MrsTulipTattsyrup

Damaging a listed building carries a potential unlimited fine and up to 6 months in prison.

If you want to go nuclear, contact the Planning Enforcement team at the local planning authority.

This!

How dare she - even if you lived in a modern shoebox with no particular architectural merit she couldn't just blithely drill a hole in YOUR wall!

Listed buildings are listed to prevent this sort of sh*t happening to them.

Take it further. It will need proper repair and it isn't up to you to pay for it.

MintMatchmaker · 18/06/2021 16:27

I’d report her for criminal damage.

LolaSmiles · 18/06/2021 16:28

10/10 for unreasonable neighbour there. What sort of idiot attaches a sail to someone else's listed building?

justanotherneighinparadise · 18/06/2021 16:35

When we called police for criminal damage, they refused to attend unless we could provide evidence that the neighbour had actually done it. Which we pointed out was ridiculous, unless plod was actually suggesting that Random Roger would come and drill a hole in our house wall and attach items for the neighbours.

Our situation was pretty volatile and the police attended because they could hear the screaming match in the background I think as the damage was being executed 🤦🏻‍♀️

Iwantcauliflowercheese · 18/06/2021 16:35

Phone your local borough council and ask for the conservation officer, who deals with listed buildings. If she has attached it to your house, it is a permanent structure. She would need permission from conservation to drill into your wall, and your permission What a CF

museumum · 18/06/2021 16:39

It's totally out of order for her to do that, but from what you say about light blocking are you implying that you have windows that look directly onto her garden at ground floor level? if so, that's horrendously intrusive on her privacy and would never be allowed in a modern build. Could you offer to put frosting on them or something? it must feel pretty weird your whole family looking directly onto her garden.

joystir59 · 18/06/2021 16:40

She may have lived their longer but she still can’t be drilling into someone else’s (grade 2!) building
There not their!

Lulola · 18/06/2021 16:42

Let us see a photo please. If she reads this she will know it’s about her anyway so there’s nothing to lose

ElsieMc · 18/06/2021 16:43

We had similar but drilling into a really old, beautiful high drystone wall we own. We are adjacent to a courtyard where people have second homes and one or two owners are very strange indeed. I walked past one day to find a huge wooden sign about three feet along attached to my wall with the name of his home "Fussyfart Cottage" and large arrows.

When he complained that he did not like my hedge (so intrusive from around 4 hours drive away) I pointed out he had attached signage to my wall without permission. I gave him a week to take it down, or I would and store the sign and charge him daily storage. He soon moved it. The difference is that I would have gone onto their land to remove it and have no qualms about it.

You need to stand up to this neighbour op. She has been used to undisturbed privacy and rather than be friendly she has immediately gone on the defensive. I am sorry for you but you must be firm with her. It doesnt sound like she is someone you could really be friendly with given her attitude so you have nothing to lose.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 18/06/2021 16:43

@Grastenia

It is a criminal offence. It is given as an example in AML manuals and is subject to POCA. The lady may end up doing some community service and get a criminal record.

By the way - right to light? I do not think it exists in the UK.

I am not a lawyer, but...

This is from wikpedia. Hopefully the Planning Dept will know.

To think my neighbour can drill a whole in my house to permanently hang a 15ft tarpaulin?
TatianaBis · 18/06/2021 16:45

You should telephone the planning department on Monday and report the breach in person to follow up on the email. Explain you think it could potentially damage your building if there is wind and rain.

They should get someone out ASAP.

She’s clearly barmy.

SirSamuelVimes · 18/06/2021 16:46

Shameless placemarking!

TatianaBis · 18/06/2021 16:47

@museumum

It's totally out of order for her to do that, but from what you say about light blocking are you implying that you have windows that look directly onto her garden at ground floor level? if so, that's horrendously intrusive on her privacy and would never be allowed in a modern build. Could you offer to put frosting on them or something? it must feel pretty weird your whole family looking directly onto her garden.
As those Windows have always been there then NDN bought a property knowing it was overlooked.
NeedNewKnees · 18/06/2021 16:50

Wait, she's not put up a sail to give herself shade?? (which would still be wrong)
She's draping a tarp across your side windows so you can't look out???

That's CF batshittery of ther highest order.

Yesitsbess · 18/06/2021 16:51

I need to know how these conversations came up! Did she come over to tell you what she was doing or did you just hear drilling and ask her?

It doesn't make any difference to the fact she's a CF, I'm both being nosey and wondering how she had the stones to tell you she would essentially be mutilating your property but that it was fine because she'd take it down when it was windy (she won't).