Dreadful Neighbbours

[Cass1234]

I have owned a first floor flat for 15 years. I am disabled, mixed race and have Chronic Kidney Disease. About 5 years ago a woman moved in to the flat downstairs. Since she moved in she has had lodgers usually nasty obnoxious men who try to intimidate people.

These people regularly take my car parking spaces (1.5) which I own. I need space to be able to get myself in and out of the car because of my disability. The men park on the pavement outside my home if they can't get in my space. I then simply cannot get up my path as I need more room to move.
Recently they put large rough stones right up to my path. If I had fallen I would have been badly hurt.
Several years ago she got one of her lodgers to move my fence and her back gate to make her garden bigger. I now have real difficulty moving my bin up and down my alley because of this.
I have repeatedly put polite notes through her letter box asking her to reinstate the fence and her gate to the original place. There is now an old pallet where the fence was. I have yet to receive a reply to any of my polite notes. it is clearly marked on my deeds that I own 1.5 car parking spaces and also the side alley. My deeds state that she is allowed access to the alley. It says nothing about her lodgers.
The latest lodger decided recently to wash his large old banger by running a very long pipe down my alley and flooding my alley with very slippery soapy water from front to back. I believe this was done intentionally to try and intimidate me. I could have so easily had an accident.
The incident the following week where one of them wedged my bin outside my front door (the only way in and out of my property) and I came down stairs to visit the doctor because I was ill and could not get out of my door. The way the bin was wedged if there had been a fire I would be dead now as I simply could not move the bin. Someone passing actually moved the bin for me.
This woman winds these men up and they come around drunk (drugs?) late at night banging on my door.

I have tried the Police they have been to her home 4 or 5 times now and told her to leave me alone. Even the TV repair man who came to my home recently was verbally abused by these people.
I have sent a solicitors letter to her which she never bothered to reply to. I am now wondering if the best thing would be to pay a surveyor and then take the matter to the County Court to claim damages and compensation.
Anyone got any advice for me? I am sick and tired of this woman and her Lodgers.

Oh bless you, they sound awful. Please see if the disability groups mentioned previously can assist, especially tell them that you need an advocate in maintaining your rights over disability friendly access to and from your home.

Hi Op

You definitely need to get someone knowledge about housing neighbour disputes law and rights ,

Have you tried citizens Advice bureau, in the past?

We're they any use /beneficial at all?

What about trying a local political Councillor to speak up on your behalf, about your issues , to relevant Agency/Authority,

Also get in touch with A local MP, aswell to support be your Ally in this shit situation,
They can do very similar kind of role as Political Councillor,
Thinking about it, they can do more than that potentially too.

The more people on your side who have your back, fighting your case,

The better emotionally it will be , Obviously be and less isolated you will feel,

So will feel more stronger emotionally to deal with Crap people like this ,
that you have unfortunately had misfortune to come across

I think your Next door neighbours and mates

Sound like bunch of Arseholes /Head cases really...

I suffer with health problems too

Rumertoid Athritis Athritis and OestoAthritis

This would be one of my nightmare situations to deal with every day..

Hi Goodread
thank you for your message. I will tell you a dreadful thing my other neighbours know exactly what is going on but choose to ignore it. Well they might be next if they speak up. So best let her get on with it. No one sees anything, no one hears anything.
I did try Citizens Advice and they sent me a leaflet which was not a great deal of help. I saw a demonstration of the local Fire Station. A helpful lady there said she would come and show me how to climb out of my home after the bin debacle. I don't think she understood I would have a very hard time climbing up on chair never mind anything higher. What can you say.

At least some of these incidents sound like they full under the category of a disability hate crime so you may be able to get support from Stop Hate

Hi Old Boots
I have just looked on the website that you suggested and they don't seem to operate in my area. I will give them a ring on Monday to see if they have any information that would help me.
thank you for your advice.

honestly, you sound like you have some kind of victim complex. Targeting you with slippy water, come on.

Hi thank you for your message.
As a disable person I can and do slip very easily and indeed on occasion fall. The last time I fell cracked my collar bone. I have no wish to repeat the process.
If someone pours soapy water on your own private property why would you think they would do that? They do indeed have their own path so why go next door? I have had years of this woman and her obnoxious lodgers. I wonder how you would feel if you neighbours came and poured soapy water up and down the length of you own path. Believe me anyone with a disability would know exactly what I am saying.

So you read the rest of it did you? Or just decided to pick out the one thing that possibly might have been done thoughtlessly rather than deliberately and decided that the OP had a victim complex as she thought it might have been deliberate? Maybe it wasn't deliberate, but other things were so she can't really be blamed for thinking that this also might have been deliberate.

They have done the following:

1. Taking the car parking spaces regularly meaning OP (who is disabled) has difficulties getting in and out of the car.
2. Parking on the pavement meaning that she has difficulty walking up the path to her home, due to her disability
3. Put stones right up to the path (not sure what this is about - difficult to visualize)
4. They moved her fence and gate, taking part of her property basically, making it more difficult for her to get her bin up and down the alley.
5. They wedged a bin outside her door and she was unable to get out of her home without help from a passer-by, because she is disabled.
6. The men come around late at night banging on the door
7. The person who came to repair her TV was verbally abused by them.

They are harrassing the OP. How dare you say she has a victim complex.

Multiple lodgers and ‘this woman’ has persuaded them all to victimise you. That doesn’t sound very likely, does it?

They put some stones in my path.. what does that even mean?

They parked on the pavement…

and now your neighbours are in on it as well 🤔

@dhilez are you the neighbour? A disabled woman is unable to move safely outside of her own home and is being intimidated by neighbours. How is that ok?

This 👏 👏 👏 💐

Take a step back and consider the ops words.

I have no doubt she feels victimised, does all this sound realistic? Or does it sound like someone picked on for no reason.

It's still really disheartening and shameful to read posts like yours trying to discredit someone's suffering.
You have no idea how hard life is for someone in the ops situation and how abysmally often people bully people with disabilities.
It's disgusting and abelist to refuse to accept the op at her word and instead of scrolling by you attack them.

The what might have happened bits are irrelevant.

What you can do is send a letter before action.

Dear fuckwit neighbour.
On X date for some unknown reason you decided to move your fence and gate onto my property without permission. I am not notifying you in writing to give you 28 days to move your fence back to the correct position and reinstate the boundary. If you fail to do this, I will take the matter to court*.

Regarding the car parking space, could you not just install a bollard with a lock?

*you could instead say you will get 3 quotes to have the work done and take her to court for the cost.

I think you need to speak to a solicitor, she has stolen some of your land! The parking thing is difficult and also needs to be dealt with as a civil matter but that coupled with the fence moving and flytipping on your property might actually male it easier to deal with. Go and see a solicitor and get some legal advice.

Does the vile woman rent hers?
If so, she may be in breach of her tenancy agreement if she's sub-letting to the lodgers.
Could be grounds for evicting her, although these days that's not a short process.

5,6,7 are definitely directly to the op as a person the rest is just Arsehole yob neighbours in general thinking they in the place.

You need to make sure you keep a very detailed record, I’d get cameras multiple because I wouldn’t put it past them to damage one so use one to keep an eye on the other. Keep on at the police for every step, get a new legal council and make aware to the leaseholder fully the issues and hopefully there is some kind of way you could sue them for breach if they don’t force the issue but legal should help you find out if that is possible.

Does she own or rent? If she rents find the landlords details.

Hi Dhilez
I don't wish to sound like a victim but I have had enough. Even the Human Right Act states I am entitled to quiet enjoyment of my own home. I know we are not in the EU anymore. However I do feel that the Human Rights Act still hold good in terms of lawful action.
Tell me if you were one of the other neighbours who lived here would you take on this woman and her belligerent drunken lodgers? I fully understand why they don't see or hear anything.
Even the TV repair man who was verbally abused by them when he came to my home. He had only come to fix the TV. He could see why the other neighbours didn't see or hear anything.
As to the Lodgers the woman takes them in one as a time. Typically yobs. Who appear to pay in kind I believe. You can see their predicament can't you?
I came in one night and one of the Lodgers in a drunken state was actually vomiting in my bin. Normal decent people don't do things like this.
I moreover have been told by several people that the departures of Lodgers have not on several occasions been amicable. Mercifully I have been spared that entertainment having been away from home at the times.
Stones? They are big rough jagged rockery stones placed right up to my path. As I have said I am not very steady on my feet. Imagine if I fell on them.
Water ever decided to run a long hose pipe down next doors path to wash your car? Sloping soapy water all over my path.

Ps their path is not adjacent to my own path. there is no need or necessity for this action.
Know anyone who has helped themselves to their neighbours land? Decent people don't do things like this. How would you feel if your neighbour did this?
I know there is always can be a difference of opinion. I have just had enough now and was looking for some advice.
I posted on here looking for some advice. I have had enough and am about to take some kind of legal action. I as I have stated am merely looking for advice.
Ask yourself if you think you would do something like that to someone who lived next door.
Who knows maybe she will win the lottery and move in next door to you.
Have a nice life.

Hi Tiptoe
I am going to speak to a lawyer in the week. As I have said I am unwilling to put up with anymore.
Thank you for your advice.

Hi ChickenD
I am going to take your advice prior to talking to a lawyer. I will send my letter by recorded so I know she has it.
Thank you for your advice.
PS everything I have said is true this has been going on for several years now.

Hi @Cass1234

So sorry to read this, it's shocking that some people are so cruel and nasty. Everyone deserves the right to feel safe and comfortable in their home.

I agree with others, keep a diary of every single little thing that happens, keep on at the police, talk to your solicitor again and in all honestly, I think I'd have to move.

Sending love to you OP x

Until you have been victimised because some people love nothing more than to bully people weaker than them then you need to stop with your comments.

Get the fence moved back to where it was. Concreted in. Have a big friend or family member stay with you for the duration.

Get bollards installed on your parking area. Buy a cctv camera set. Eufy on amazon will do the job.

Or
Move.
Be honest say the neighbour was against you as ur disabled. It won’t put everyone off.

Or rent it out to big burly men and move elsewhere.

For the doubters- Life is too short to suffer this way imagined or not it doesnt matter anyway. Her neighbours are clearly scummy.

As you get older you may benefit from a ground floor property anyway. Good luck!

Hi Elm
I have lived here for 15 years prior to this woman and her lodgers I had 2 sets of very decent neighbours. I don't want to move. I certainly don't want to be forced out by Yobs.
The CCTV is going in on Monday and is to be constantly monitored. Apparently they will go through to the Police if there is any funny stuff going on.
So I shall see how this goes on.
Thank you for your advice. Best Wishes