Batshit Neighbours - how would you respond to this message?

[carolinesfrog]

This message is from the neighbours of a rental property my Mum has.

Neighbours HATE the tenants, who are perfectly lovely people. Neighbours like to complain a lot. Neighbours have sent this message.

How would you reply?!

Why on earth would a tenant not be allowed to work from home? Your post is even more batshit than the neighbour

Working from home could be

dog grooming
fixing cars / valeting
massage/spa

With a stream of constant visitors

there are laws in place for a reason

Why on earth would a tenant not be allowed to work from home?

They can - after all countless people WFH now - but there's a difference between this and actually running a business if it's the type which involves permits, inconvenience for the neighbours and so on

Working from home is not the same as operating a business from home, though.

Nobody is going to have an issue with someone sitting at a desk and working remotely from the spare room, but you do need planning permission to operate a business that involves customers coming to your house on a regular basis.

For example - you can't operate a dog-grooming salon, a doggy daycare, a hairdressing salon etc. out of your living room unless you have the appropriate permission and insurance in place.

But I'm a dog walker and I run my business from home - as in, that's where I do all my paperwork, store the stock for the treat side of my business, make up parcels etc. - but nobody comes to my house and my "office" is just the dining room table and a few boxes in the spare room.

I work from home, running my small business. Because I am proving a service, with patients coming to me (physical therapy), I needed permission from:

1. My mortgage provider
2. My home insurance
3. My local council - who performed a site visit, and had my intentions on their local portal (incase neighbours wanted to oppose). They looked at potential disturbances and hindrances I may cause to my neighbours, as well as the internal inspection. I passed this, and have to pay for a yearly licence, which comes with requirements I must meet. If I fail to meet them, my licence can be removed
4. No changes to my liability insurance, but had to let them know
5. I work inside the house, and was also assessed for business rates. I don't meet it, as it's a single room, but if I move my practice to a room in my garden, then I will - and will need an upgraded licence and inspection

Councils differ, but people shouldn't assume you can do what you like at home and sod the neighbours.

Letting agent wading in….

Firstly, a standard assured short hold tenancy agreement should include a clause standing the tenant cannot run a business from the house.

If your tenant wanted to run a business from home they should have sought consent from you so that you can check the position with the mortgage provider and insurer. Also bear in mind that depending on the percentage usage of the property for the business this can affect rates.

Working from the home and running a business from home are two different things in the eyes of the council and HMRC.

As for the neighbour. I have plenty of neighbours that hate that the house next door is rented. It’s a snobbery thing and it grinds my gears! My grandfather owns a property in a cul de sac if busybodies who are totally the same about the tenants in his.

You need to handle this exactly as we do when it comes to this type of thing. Ask the neighbour to go and speak to the tenant directly. This is not your place to get involved (other than assuring yourself of the above matters). What would they do if the people were the homeowners and not tenants? People who cannot go and talk to their neighbour directly are the ones with the issue and are simply looking to cause trouble for people because they perceive that they can as they don’t ‘own’ the home they live in, it’s preposterous.

I literally had a neighbour the other day complain a bunch was still on the path outside the tenants house. Like, seriously, knock on their door if it’s really causing you such upset (it’s not a way that person would have walked and would not have affected them in any way the bin being left out). They then went on to say the people must live like pigs (they don’t, they are clean, tidy and lovely). I used to live in the house next door and I literally said to my husband ‘who knew we used to live amongst such obnoxious people’

I'd be inclined to go round and take photos of both drives, all cars including the neighbours and the crazy cage thing they've put out. That way you have some evidence if this all escalates when they inevitably find a ding on their car.

I'd hope since last May this would have been sorted...

You do need to inform your insurance company if you are running a business from home. Some will cover you, some won't, especially if you have customers coming to the house.

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