unreasonable neighbour - boundary lines

[Anonuser21]

Hi all not sure if this is right the topic but could use the advice

Some background
I brought a semi-detached house which belonged to my neighbour's mother who passed. Once everything was finalised I decided to rent out the property. Neighbour became very disappointed. We got along great up until that point, Not spoken to them since then. Without them, I never would have been able to purchase the property.

Issue
I have had to install a new boiler on the property which I moved from the airing cupboard to the garage to make the bathroom slightly bigger. The piping work comes out to my external wall, there is an alleyway separating both our houses - I have attached a photo to make it easier to understand.

Once the new boiler was installed neighbour sent me an email and was furious stating I exceeded boundary limits, have piping work removed as they encroach his property, and threatened legal action. I did consider this and looking at the map I had from my solicitor and as the alleyway is shared access I did not think it would cause any issues

I have yet to receive title deeds but solicitors confirmed the right of passage but no mention of any right to overhang onto the passage which I find ridiculous but did say the neighbour was being very unreasonable!!!

Anyone else had similar experiences with awkward neighbours?

in hindsight, I probably should have consulted with them before doing this work. I'm hoping to speak with him this week before this blows out of proportion.

thanks

What do you mean by “Without them, I never would have been able to purchase the property”, if you paid over the asking price?

@sunglassesonthetable I suspect the ndn feels misled by op into thinking they would be the neighbour rather than a stranger.

She explains in the post where she said she overpaid.

sunglassesonthetable I suspect the ndn feels misled by op into thinking they would be the neighbour rather than a stranger.

Hmm, or they just don't fancy the idea of a rental property next door?

Was this even a professional job? The white piping is going to damage the gutter over time. You are going to have to move it anyway.

@Anonuser21

you need to get a hold of your deeds & read them carefully. As another poster said, the single line of bricks might actually denote your boundary, so you might be ok (it did used to be quite common).

get your facts 109% sorted then go & talk to him, with a bottle of wine/chocolates/plant apology gift.

I would NOT have paid for that job though, it's awful!! If you've already paid I'd let it go but employ someone decent to do the job properly (whether the pipes stay in the alley or go through the roof)

WRT renting it out, I would have chosen the buyer not just on price, but also their personality/situation, with them buying my Mums house & being a neighbour. So if you 'did it up' (a bit upsetting anyway) then let it out, I'd be annoyed to (even though legally I'd have no right to be). I'd be understanding if it was unexpected (job loss etc) but pretty passed off if you knew you couldn't afford to live in it when buying, or should have known.

it's his mums house, you've installed but ugly pipes, changed stuff in the house & he's probably quite upset about it all. Be kind.

The neighbours thought they were selling their late mother's house for OP to live in, not to rent out. They now have tenants coming and going and don't know who's living there. They then find pipework going into their boundary and not only did OP not say they were going to rent out a property they have sentimental interest in, but they didn't even speak to them about something that was going to intrude into their own boundary. I can understand them feeling aggrieved if they've perhaps already refused to sell to other people who wanted to rent it out. In fairness I don't think OP has helped the situation but I can't see this relationship improving once problems arise with perspective tenants.

Erm.....

@InsanityOf2020 - it’s HIS alleyway, he can put HIS pipes wherever HE wants! OP however can’t because it’s NOT hers!

@InsanityOf2020 I think the neighbour owns the alleyway so probably not an issue as long as they are not blocking the access for OP

Whilst I totally agree on that OP has handled the pipe installation really badly and should have spoken to her NDN before it even happened, I can't get on board with calling her a CF for deciding to rent out her property.

We have no idea of the conversations between OP and NDN. There is a lot of projection. Did she mislead him or did he jump to conclusions? Who knows?

Interest rates have risen and energy prices have gone mad. Maybe OPs sums have come undone and as much as the NDN would like to have a say in what OP does with the house we all know he is pushing it as he sold it. For money. To OP.

However OP needs to get round there and make it right with NDN re the pipe.

The neighbours thought they were selling their late mother's house for OP to live in, not to rent out. They now have tenants coming and going and don't know who's living there

Once you sell a house you lose control over who lives there...thats kind of the whole point.

If they wanted to have control over who lived there they should have rented it out themselves.

That’s not true either. When it comes to boiler flies, there are regulations regarding distances to boundaries and openings.

*flues, not flies. 🙄

It would be interesting if one of the neighbours took a nasty tumble over the ridiculous trip hazard he's installed in HIS alley, where they're supposed to have clear access.

Great update op, nice to see a poster actually take on board the responses. Good luck resolving this.

That is a tight access alley. Workers coming through with large equipment could bang right into that pipe if they aren’t very careful. It’s not an every day kind of problem, but it’s one of those if it happens it will be bad situations .

Short-term rental as in Air BnB?

if that’s the case, I completely understand the neighbour. He was hoping for new owners that value the house as much as he /his family does, and instead there will be new people every couple of nights, who don’t care about the house and the neighbourhood.
i also don’t think that asking him nicely would have made him change his mind, if he knows about your plans, sorry.

Of course the OP is not legally obliged not to rent the property but some posters feel it crosses a moral line (if we're even allowed those any more these days)

@InsanityOf2020 Erm what? It's his alley, or did you miss the many times that's been stated?

Of course the OP is not legally obliged not to rent the property but some posters feel it crosses a moral line (if we're even allowed those any more these days)

it would cross a moral line if OP had been allowed to buy the house on the basis of living there herself. If that had been the criteria. But you don't know that. No one does. Pure speculation.

Reverse?

I think you are well within your rights to use the proper as you wish including as a short or long term rental. He forfeited the right to control that when he sold it. Don't feel apologetic.

It does look like you may have to move the pipes, though. Check with the council.

🤦‍♀️

Get the pipes re done to vent up and out. Easy fix. They look ugly as they are.

I'd be upset with pipes from a neighbour coming over my land. Especially if consent hadn't been sought.