Dogs in the shared garden.

[Neversurprised1975]

My mum shares a back garden with 1 other neighbour, it’s a small slabbed area. Neighbour has a dog, there has been issues and relations have broken down over the lack of cleaning and lack of control.

Neighbours boyfriend has now moved in and he also has a dog, so now 2 dogs in the shared area which has become their toilet area.

Maybe it’s just me but surely if you only have a shared area you really shouldn’t expect neighbours to live with your choices?

Mum owns and neighbour rents from private landlord. My mum has brought the issues up with landlord but she’s also not bothered?

My mum is sick of standing in puddles of dog pee and only goes out the back if necessary now as both dogs are free in the garden.

I'd give notice and leave....this something you can't win

Just seen your mum owes not rent talk to land lord

Could your Mum complain to the freeholder?

Sorry, should add, she is in Scotland and a home owner.

She has spoken with the landlord and she isn’t bothered, she has also been in discussions with our local Council and again they aren’t bothered.

She used to use the space mainly for a washing line and to sit in for a bit in the summer but that’s no longer possible.

I just feel for her as it is like her home is no longer hers.

I'd be surprised if there were puddles of dog pee but I'd object to dog poo or them being outside unsupervised. Can a compromise be made? They're not going to get rid of their dogs.

She doesn’t expect them to get rid of the dogs, only just to stop using a shared space as a toilet area for dogs.

Well they're going to use it as a toilet, but they need to pick up.

I wonder if there’s some kind of law about this? It’s not just their garden it’s a shared one so leaving dog poo in it seems unfair and anti-social.

I’m quite new in my building and went down to my shared garden for the first time the other day and was glad to see it was very clean, because I know some dog owners in our building do go there but I assume they don’t let their dog toilet there or if they do they clean it up afterwards.

if the dogs jump at her or anything when they roam free they would be considered out of control and can be reported.

Dogs are only required to be “under control” in a public place. On private property, unless they cause injury, nothing can happen. They also (it appears from what OP has said) that they are picking up the poo but not cleaning up pee (who wipes pee off paving? Unfortunately, this is a huge downside of a shared garden - it’s why the vast majority of people either refuse one or only have one with strict rules in place. If those rules aren’t in place then there’s nothing OP can legally do about it - the neighbours have as much right to have their dogs there as so have a chair, washing line or BBQ.

Not aware of rules, there were never issues until the dogs came along.

My mum used to hose down the slabs as they aren’t even so often the urine would sit. She doesn’t do it now as I guess she is if the mindset “why should I clean after neighbours dogs”

There is at times poo left, I think as a PP had said, shared garden is the issue if not everyone is on the same wavelength.

As others have said, you need to move there is no solution to this, sharing a garden can be hell.

But it's also their garden and if they're picking up poo I don't see an issue? Is it large enough that there could be a small fence erected so each has an area?

Just leave the gates open that will stop them abandoning the dogs in the garden.

Oh no, couldn’t do that, it’s not the poor dogs fault.

Perhaps a fence is something she could look into.

This was my thought

I'm another vote for keep leaving gates open.

Out of interest - how long is it acceptable for dog 💩 to be left in a shared garden before cleaning it?

The three seconds it takes to bend over and pick it up

im crazy dog person but no way would I leave dog poop in a shared garden

Is it truly shared? Our first flat had a shared garden but when we got the plans it was actually split 50:50 down the middle, just no fence. Downstairs changed hands around the same time, & the new owner occupiers put up a fence (at their expense) along the boundary with out agreement.

*with our agreement as they had dogs

Don't MN & BF

That's no longer the case. Dogs must be under control at all times, whether in public or on private property.

From the government website:

It’s against the law to let a dog be dangerously out of control anywhere, such as:
in a public place
in a private place, for example a neighbour’s house or garden
in the owner’s home

www.gov.uk/control-dog-public

Yes, deeds have been checked and is completely shared unfortunately.

Could your mum buy a bottle of lion pee dog deterrent and spray it around? Or could she unilaterally put up some fencing?

The neighnours are being horribly inconsiderate. Dog pee reeks if left to fester.

She needs to keep on bothering the landlord, who is turning a blind eye to a nuisance.

So, the law states that they have to have their dogs under control. The fact that it's a private garden is irrelevant there.

However, saying that, nothing you describe says "out of control dogs" to me. It's normal for dogs to be loose in their own space and for them to use that space to go to the toilet.

Unless they're being aggressive, jumping up or behaving in a dangerous way, you'd be hard pressed to get anyone to do anything. The owners should clear up the poo and use a hose to wash away the wee, though.