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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Shed dispute

162 replies

runnerblade95 · 19/03/2022 11:55

Sorry if this is a long thread, bear with me! I’m a permanent council tenant who has recently moved into a new flat. Our communal garden is fenced off with 6 sheds facing our block which has 6 flats in it.

A tenant from another block, also fenced in on their side, is using my shed and has been using my shed for months maybe even years before I moved in. I called the council and someone from the neighbourhood team told me that they do not get involved in disputes regarding sheds and that basically it’s nothing to do with them.

They asked me are the sheds visible from where you are. I said yes and that I can see them from my window and that there are 6, presumably, for the 6 tenants that live in my block. The advisor then replied well then to me that sounds like 1 of the 6 is your shed. I advise you to put a note on the shed door stating that you’ve just moved in and that this is your shed and to give enough notice for them to move their items into their own shed. Which should be situated in their fenced off communal premises.

I followed the advisor’s advice and did this with the note on the shed, only to be met with confrontation and aggression. I did exactly what the council told me to do, to no avail.

What the other tenant did let slip is that he used to be very good friends with the previous tenant of my flat and that when they moved out, that they gave him the keys Hmm

Surely, that is not allowed?

So my question is, AIBU to be upset by this and if so, does anyone have any advice as to how I should approach this matter?

OP posts:
sueelleker · 19/03/2022 14:22

Exactly my point. Yes, the person who is using the shed does have to enter my communal garden through the gate to access the shed. The shed belonged to the previous tenant of my flat with whom he said he was very good friends with and who gave him the shed keys when he moved out hmm like, what the hell?
And if he'd given his friend a key to the flat, would that entitle him to come in whenever he wanted too? Previous agreements are nothing to do with you.
You could put his stuff in bin bags in the garden when you change the locks, so it doesn't get damaged by the weather.

namejustforthis · 19/03/2022 14:28

@sueelleker

Exactly my point. Yes, the person who is using the shed does have to enter my communal garden through the gate to access the shed. The shed belonged to the previous tenant of my flat with whom he said he was very good friends with and who gave him the shed keys when he moved out hmm like, what the hell? And if he'd given his friend a key to the flat, would that entitle him to come in whenever he wanted too? Previous agreements are nothing to do with you. You could put his stuff in bin bags in the garden when you change the locks, so it doesn't get damaged by the weather.
No it wouldn't as the previous legal agreement giving them rights has ended and OP will have a new agreement saying she now rents the property.

With the shed however the OP doesn't have an agreement that it is now her renting it and the other person presumably so far hasn't been told legally they can't use / access it so it's not the same.

RosiePosieDozy · 19/03/2022 14:31

No, that's not right at all. This person should have taken his rightful shed in his communal garden and not started using this one and trespassing in someone else's garden.

Maybe contact the councillor. This man shouldn't bully you into submission.

Leftbutcameback · 19/03/2022 14:37

How do you know the previous tenant owned the shed OP? Did they tell you?

It sounds like the only evidence you have that it is "your shed" is from a neighbour? Unless I've missed something.

Leftbutcameback · 19/03/2022 14:39

Lots of assumptions going on on this thread about sheds being rented etc. It's possible they are occupied effectively under licence (ie informally). This would make particular sense of what the council don't get involved in shed disputes.

Toottooot · 19/03/2022 14:52

‘Log’ it wi 101 min ken.

Leftbutcameback · 19/03/2022 14:53

If you do have better evidence that it is your shed I would agree about giving notice then changing the padlock and removing items. Very unlikely to keep anything sentimental in a shed as they are so insecure.

RealBecca · 19/03/2022 14:54

I would remove their lock, take their stuff out and put your own on, and put up a ring camera. Shift the burden on to them to prove they have the right to be there.

whenwilliwillibefamous · 19/03/2022 15:00

OP what happens if you ask the tenancy liaison officer how you can sort yourself a shed, as you would like one?
Then they can either come back with,
"You have one, it's X", and you can get back to them saying someone else has appropriated it, and what should you do to get it back,
Or,
They say, "fill in this form/go on this list", in which case - do that.
I sympathize, it sounds like they are not being professional or helpful. It must be very stressful.

rocksonrocks · 19/03/2022 15:02

Yes, the person who is using the shed does have to enter my communal garden through the gate to access the shed.

How is it a communal garden if it’s “yours”?

BeanStew22 · 19/03/2022 15:10

@DDivaStar

Its nice you don't want to remove their stuff but realistically it doesn't sound like they're going to do it willingly.

What do you expect the councillor to do ?

If you want this sorted you are going to have to sort it yourself I am afraid

The person using your shed should have taken it up with his neighbors but has gone sideways to use yours instead. You need to nip it in the bud or live with it

tara66 · 19/03/2022 15:55

Can you find out the names of the councillors specifically for your area? There will probably be both Labour and Conservative Councillors - say 3 for each party for your area. Where I am both parties are very keen to help with individual local issues. Both parties send out email news letters every month to tell residents how they have helped residents with matters brought to their attention. This is for all residents not just those in council property.

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 19/03/2022 15:57

Surely it's either a shed that she's paying to rent - like garages are usually offered FCFS at extra cost, whether you're a tenant or not - or it's a private shed that has been situated on land that he doesn't have a right of access to? Ergo, the complaint isn't necessarily that 'he is using my shed' but that 'he has appropriated land that is in the exclusive right of the immediate tenants by putting his shed on it' - and thus is preventing the tenants from using that land.

How ridiculous to think that you can keep using the land when you move on, just by giving the key to your friend instead of back to the landowner or new tenant (or moving your shed to your own land).

Then again, there have been numerous MN threads where people have bought property and friends of the previous owners, who used to let them park there, insist that they still have the right to keep on parking there.

I'm also reminded of a thread from a while back where the grandson of a couple of council/HA tenants was utterly convinced that he would INHERIT their flat when they died - not even the right to take over the tenancy, but that the council would actually hand over full ownership of the council's flat to him by virtue of the fact that his grandparents had previously rented it from them!! I can't remember how/if that one was resolved at all (but I highly doubt the grandson will get the news he's banking on).

WeBuiltThisBuffetOnSausageRoll · 19/03/2022 15:58

Sorry, got confused and mixed up the pronouns a bit there - not that it really matters in principle.

JudgeRindersMinder · 19/03/2022 15:59

@Wootothewho

Give her a weeks notice to remove their stuff then change the lock
Absolutely this
BlokeHereInPeace · 19/03/2022 16:35

Ex councillor here.

Going to www.writetothem.com/ and putting in your postcode is the best way to find your councillor. You are looking for your borough or district councillor probably, not parish or town. Possibly county, if there is no borough or district.

The truth is that housing officers have plenty of things to do and who has the rights to a shed is some way down the list. As others have said, don't just chuck stuff out, change the locks etc - whilst the shed doesn't belong to the old tenant's friend it doesn't belong to you either.

Hope it turns out ok.

Heronwatcher · 19/03/2022 16:40

Sorry OP I am not sure that the shed is yours. For you to claim ownership you do need something to say it is. If you can’t find anything in the tenancy agreement then you need something from the previous tenant to say that the shed goes with the flat or similar. Once you’ve got conclusive proof it’s yours then you have a choice- either you stand up for yourself and tell the other person it’s yours and unless they remove their stuff you will, or if you’re too scared of them/ the consequences you don’t bother. You can try again with the housing office but I don’t think they are going to sort this out for you sadly. In fact if you’re too scared to do act probably not much point working out whether it’s yours or not.

Nothappyatwork · 19/03/2022 16:45

So having lived in a council flat myself and the shed is absolutely part of the arrangement they are all numbered I believe and you should’ve been given keys to it when you were giving keys to the flat.
You need to go back to the council and explain that you don’t have keys, they need to re-trace their steps and discover that the keys to the shed hasn’t been returned by the original tenant so actually they didn’t offer the council vacant possession on the day that they moved out because some of the property is actually still full of someone else’s shit… probably best you pretend to know absolutely nothing about any kind of dispute or the fact that you know who stuff is in there. They need to then come round and empty the shed what they do with the stuff is on their conscience not yours. Once it’s empty you require keys.

Mayvis · 19/03/2022 16:55

We have just moved out of a HA flat with numbered shed allocated. It was listed in our tenancy agreement as being ours and it also had to be completely cleared when we moved out which then HA then checked when they did their end of tenancy checks. I’m sure that if the shed is yours, it would have had to be cleared and checked before you signed your tenancy.

(We have moved into a HA house now which had a shed in the viewing video but they ripped it out before we moved in because they didn’t want to be liable for any issues with it. Now we need to buy a new one Hmm )

Xenia · 19/03/2022 16:58

The starting point is does she have rights to the shed. If the other man is using someone's shed illegally that is nothing to do with this tenant unless her contract or council records says she gets the shed.

PansyParkinson57 · 19/03/2022 17:07

I work for a housing association. If you are sure this is your shed. Report the theft of they keys to the police, get a crime reference. then call repairs, give them the crime reference and ask for a lock change.

Amici · 19/03/2022 17:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Isittimeformynapyet · 19/03/2022 17:32

Congratulations on your first post. It can take a while to work out how this forum works! This thread is about a shed (!?)

I'd scrolled to the end to suggest that OP has had all the answers and suggestions that could possibly exist to her initial question and that this thread has served its purpose.

Have a browse around. There's a forum on "relationships" that you could post in. It's quite daunting joining a forum for the first time! x

Mumof2bears · 19/03/2022 17:37

@Amici , you need to start your own thread for this rather than commenting on an existing thread.

4thtimethecharm · 19/03/2022 17:40

I think you should follow @namejustforthis' advise, OP. It is clearly coming from an informed perspective.

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