Neighbour painting shared wall - it looks awful!

[Whitehousenotbrick]

I live in a mid terrace cottage with 1 property either side. Neighbours A are a friendly couple who we don’t see/hear much of but are always pleasant when we do. Neighbour B is always having blazing rows or loud dramatic conversations, has a string of visitors who often park over our drive, smokes weed which we can always smell and is generally inconsiderate and unpleasant.

B has a group of lads doing some work on their house and garden - they usually roll a joint before they start then I have to put up with that plus their music and banter all day. However I’ve come home tonight to find they have started to paint the back of the house right up to where it adjoins mine. It looks awful but I guess there’s nothing I can do about that - my main concern is that I don’t want any paint on my side or any other part of the work to affect my property.

Where do I stand on this? I can’t afford to get involved with legal stuff and I don’t want to in case I need to sell but I’m really concerned about it. I have texted neighbour and said so but not sure if I can/should do anything else.

Have they actually got any paint over your side yet? Or affected any part of your property?

Not so far but they’ve only done a small area and the line between the 2 properties isn’t very straight. I think it looks dreadful but if it’s not touching my house I guess I haven’t a leg to stand on

So basically, they are painting their house?

They can’t paint over your boundary, but apart from that - correct, you don’t have a leg to stand on.

Also, what have your neighbours on the other side got to do with this? Why the need to even mention them?

I think you need to be very careful here. You’re clearly letting your dislike of your neighbour and her mates cloud your judgement. Up til now, they haven’t done anything to damage your property. It might not look very nice, but that’s out of your control. So why have you felt the need to text her and tell her that you don’t want them to damage your property at any point in the future? For someone who is trying to avoid any neighbourly disputes, you seem to be going out of your way to create one.

They painted their house. You don’t like them.

You don’t want confrontation but text bout something that hasn’t happened.

Can’t see this going well.

Are they having other work done that’s likely to affect your property?

If they’re just painting their house then there’s nothing you can do and I would really try and stay out of any communication or conflict unless and until there’s actually something that’s done to justify it. Texting to tell them you hate the way they painted their wall for example won’t be well-received. Nor will pre-emptively scolding them for damage or intrusions not yet in existence (and which may well never be in existence!)

Yes my dislike definitely clouds my judgement because I’ve spent years putting up with their unreasonable behaviour.

I mentioned the other neighbours to illustrate that it’s not because we live in a terrace that we hear each other’s noise - it’s because one set are considerate and the others aren’t.

But none of this has anything to do with the rights of any homeowner to paint their home?

Look, you’ve got an arsehole for a neighbour. I sympathise because all of my neighbours are like that. If you’d posted and said ‘this bloody woman is driving me mad, I need to vent’ I think you’d be getting very different responses. But her behaviour is largely irrelevant to what you’re complaining about now. You say that not having to declare a neighbour dispute is important to you, then you go and do something equivalent to rolling out the red carpet for a neighbour dispute. If she’s the arsehole you say she is, exactly what reaction do you think she’s going to give you when, for the first time ever, she’s done nothing wrong? You’re going looking for trouble.

You could go and define the boundary line on the building with heavy duty masking tape in the hopes that if they do a sloppy job it will be protected… but it would be a massive faff.

@Whothefuckdoesthat yes I think I’ve probably overreacted but it was the last straw after being woken up by another row last night 🤦🏻 My text was very polite so I’ll just have to hope it doesn’t make things worse.

Get a life, your nose is to busy minding other people business, you literally described what underpants your neighbours wearing

That suggestion is as ridiculous as what she is complaining her neighbour is doing

Hard to see what your complaint is really. They're painting their own house and haven't done anything wrong yet.

🤣🤣

Can you get a roll or 2 of masking tap to put down on the boundary line to your house...a wide one, so that they can paint up and on it.....when paints dry just peel the tape off.....Nice neat line and nothing over your side. Tell them your doing it to help them keep a straight line and in turn protecting your place. Wish them a good day and just go inside n shut Yr door.

If you live in a conservation area, you could check with the council what the rules are for decorating the outside of your house.

Noisy antisocial neighbours are a complete pain in the arse so you have my sympathy. Thankfully, I moved house and my nearest neighbour is several fields away now.

Hm, the word twat to comes to mind when I read posts like yours. 🤔

I’m not sure the fact you’re annoyed about last night is really justification for getting up in their business , when they’ve done nothing wrong.

I wouldn't like this... my neighbours smoke weed same set up as you one side fine... it got on my nerves so much so I knocked and said its bothering me and kids rooms reek as windows open sue to weather etc and said not saying not to do it but can they please do it in a different area to reduce it... they was fine with this thanked me for knocking and not doing stuff behind back and being upfront etc... I was very nervous about knocking but worth it

You're getting a hard time OP but if my neighbours did a really shit job of painting their house so it devalued mine, I'd be upset too, regardless of whether they're allowed to or not. If it's not that bad a job, though, maybe you can borrow some of the paint and just neaten it up after?

I live on a terraced street with really considerate neighbours, though, and we tend to consult each other before doing stuff like this.

I think the only way to look at this is that they're willing to decorate/make improvements, rather than living in a shabby house. Having said that, why does it look awful?

Obviously they should only paint up to the party wall. If you're concerned about any paint drops falling on your property's ground, then it might be worth putting down old sheets/towels/plastic (whatever you use for decorating).

I would look into fake flower trellis put one either side of your garden it will blend the different colours and not be so prominent

So it's not a "shared wall", it's the outside of their house and they aren't painting the bit that goes onto yours?

I'm not sure what you're really complaining about, other than the fact you have unpleasant neighbours. None of it has anything to do with them painting their house.

I sympathis with the dickhead neighbour part of your post. I don't really understand what any other issue is besides your not liking them.