To break into my new neighbours house *THREAD 3: The Final Conundrum*

[Catsos]

I’m really not trying to drag this out 😩 but I seriously need some advice following on from my posts this weekend where my cat (who has a reputation for breaking cat-flaps in the neighbourhood) broke into my new neighbours vacant house while it is being renovated.

Here is the original post if anyone needs more context:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4881905-to-break-into-new-neighbours-house-serious-question-not-trolling

After not being able to get back out the cat-flap he was stuck in there for 48 hours over the bank holiday weekend and then finally released by the builder after various rescue attempts by me.

During that period however some damage occurred to my new neighbours property. I had hoped they would take it all in good spirits as fellow cat owners and we’d laugh about it and be new cat bessie mates but they we’re absolutely seething!!

They have proposed that I pay £1,600!!! for the following:

£800 to replace the rug my cat wee’d on

£400 to replace an area of laminate flooring as apparently the wee has gone into the underlay

I offered to pay £100 for professional rug cleaning, but the wife (who seems very neurotic) says her cats will still be able to smell my cats urine and they don’t want that to stress their cats out when they move them into the new home

£150 for repainting areas of muddy foot prints on the walls where my cat scratched to get out
(again I offered to just wipe them off but the wife insists it is repainted)

£50 to repaint window sils where the crabsticks & icecubes I dropped through the window has damaged the paint

£200 for a new bathroom window vent as I pushed thinly slice honey roasted ham through it

AIBU to think they are being very over the top? I could personally clean/repaint all of these things myself. Should I refuse to pay this amount? I don’t even have this amount available anyway, I would need to get an overdraft.

I wouldn’t want to live next door to them. Are they saying the rug is brand new? I doubt it. They wouldn’t leave it there when they haven’t finished renovating yet. They’re just trying it on

Not just any honey roasted ham…… but M&S ham….

This is really awful!!! I feel bad for your cats.

They are at least part responsible for any damage to their property. They left the cat flap unsecured so a cat could get in but left it secured in such a way that once in it couldn’t get out again. They sound like they will be bad neighbours 🙁 I know me and my wife would just have been thankful the cat was ok (but probably taken you up on the offer of getting the rug cleaned)

They sound like they will be bad neighbours 🙁

Why? Because they don’t want their property damaged? OP is the bad neighbour here. Openly admits her cat breaks cat flaps to get into houses, throws food into someone else’s house and “forgets” to remove it, causes damage and refuses to pay (she was quite open about not paying even before speaking to them).

If this is real in anyway (and it’s highly doubtful) then I would much rather Have the neighbours beside me than the OP and her wayward cat

I thought that the neighbours' cat flap was set to inward only and that the OP's cat had worked out how to bypass the chip. Why would that count as failing to secure their property, as some posters have suggested? Millions of people do the same every day when they are going out and the cat is not in the house when they leave. I know that a tiny window was partially open but, again, I don't think this is failing to secure the property given that the window was not large enough to let an intruder in.

If I were the neighbours, I wouldn't be keen on claiming on my house insurance. It's not just the rise in premiums, insurers now ask if you have claimed in the past few years when you are looking for a cheaper quote.

I think they are going to see how much they can get of you,rent rug doctors and any damage have a look,if if that get a builder in.,But I can tell you one thing, it want be as expensive as they are quoting you...

They didn't leave the cat flap unsecured. The cat broke it.

It's perfectly possible for a flap to get wedged so that it won't push the other way to let the cat out once it has forced its way in. In this case, the cat broke the hinges.

That's what house insurance is for. I wouldn't pay it, I think they're being extremely cheeky.
Could you look into your house insurance see if you have some sort of cover or at least legal cover?
It's not as if you didn't try to get the cat out & you didn't try everything to get hold of them so that your cat could be freed.

Are you serious ?

" Jengnr · Today 15:51
Oh what a surprise. You knew your cat gets into houses and refused to do anything to stop it and once it causes damage you don’t want to rectify it.

Not sure why you have a pet, since you’re unwilling to take any responsibility for it."
If you know nothing about cats why post on this thread.

Someone has pointed out that in law you are not responsible for you cats actions and I believe this is correct. I would offer to do any scrubbing of floors/carpets/etc and offer what you can afford but say that they share responsibility for unsecured cat flap. What is the point in house insurance if you do not use it when you need it? No you cannot keep your cat in but need to inform all your neighbours of their ability to break cat flaps. I have an aggressive ginger tom in my area who is always crashing against my flap & so far it has held up.
Wish you luck

How did it go?

Oh dear. Unfortuntely I think you're probably on the hook for the vent (if it can't be cleaned) and the catflap (if you damaged it trying to open it), as those things are you, not the cat. I think I would offer a reasonable amount for those, following quotes.

@Catsos I suggest you make a post on reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceUK and see if you can get any advice.

Thank you @PinkB87 I didn’t know that.

I’m going to spend my evening brushing up on cat law and then speak to them again.

I don’t think i’m entirely at fault, I think it is more a 50/50 fault and my only real responsibility is the crabsticks & ham but I would happily clean this up.

OP, I had this exact problem once. Although I didn't have a clue who owned the house, I only knew that it was vacant and being renovated by builders who were only there occasionally. I ended up having to call a locksmith to 'break in', and this had to be witnessed by police officers, who also had to attend 🙈 quite an ordeal just to rescue my dopey cat.

Your post made me laugh I must admit. Partly because I did exactly the same in terms of posting ham and ice cubes through the letterbox. I particularly love your detail of it being honey roast ham.

It's a shame your post has seemingly attracted a lot of grumpy old cat-haters. The demand from your neighbours is, of course, absolutely ludicrous. Especially as you offered to pay for professional cleaning of their rug.

At the end of the day, you had to ensure your cat was kept alive, and if that means causing a bit of water damage to someone's precious walls or windowsills then so be it. Any decent person like yourself would offer to make amends and clean this up afterwards, which you have offered. Their demand for £1600 is outrageous and they are just using this as an opportunity to rinse you for whatever they can. I'd suggest offering again to clean and repaint their walls, and/or get the rug professionally cleaned. And get this all in writing. If they're still unhappy let them take you to small claims.

And then you have to register a neighbour dispute when selling.

If I had 10 houses on my shortlist when house hunting, I'd probably cross off the one with a neighbour dispute.

What makes you think you're exactly half to blame for this situation, and not more?

Not very well. The wife claims to have already ordered a new rug from John Lewis so she says it’s past the point of me paying for a clean. I don’t really feel like that’s fair though, it was her decision to order a new one without even letting me try and fix the problem with a professional clean :(

I honestly don’t think you are to blame here. They left the cat flap open so any animal could have made it inside, a fox perhaps!

Had the cat flap been secured there would be no damage.

I would pay the excess on their home insurance as a good will gesture, but my goodwill would stop there. Cheeky beyond belief!

Cat piss absolutely stinks, I'd want a new rug too, plus the damage you did with the ham and fish. The cats a menace and you should pay up.

Omg so glad there is a 3rd thread. The honey roast ham and the search tabs have got me tearing up. 😂 But it is rubbish they are asking for so much money. Did you discuss the possibility that their cat flap is installed the wrong way with them? This needs to go on judge judy or something i think so we can determine who is liable for what. 😂

Because @PinkB87 said owners are not legally responsible for the actions of their cats (unlike dogs)
So by that logic I am only responsible for the damage I did - which is the crabsticks and ham.