Are my neighbours being unreasonable?

[PawsAndReflection]

Hello!

We've recently bought a new house and our neighbours at the end of our garden are looking to redo the outside of their house.

They came by today to ask for permission as the work would require scaffolding in our garden, and were surprised to find seating and an olive tree in the area.

They've asked if we can move the olive tree and seating in order for them to have the work done, but I'm a little concerned about moving such a big tree. Does anyone have experience with this?

They were making out that it really wasn't a big deal but I've been researching it and it seems not quite as simple as they're making out.

If you have free access to a legal helpline as part of your home insurance (most do cover this) then give them a call. I've found the legal helpline from my insurance incredibly helpful @PawsAndReflection .

You can then say to the neighbours "I've taken legal advice on this, and this is the situation...." without it costing you a penny.

Please make sure you protect the tree because they'll be the types to cut it down or poison it when you're out.

Seek legal advice. They sound utterly ridiculous and self absorbed.

We have been in this situation with needing access to neighbours land for rendering. We were very clear from the beginning we would cover all costs, put back as is and gave them a maximum timeframe. They still refused. Went and got a court order in the end.

Access is reasonable, they can work round. But no end date and expectation of you to cover costs absolutely not. And laughable. Say no to that. Set clear boundaries.

I would probably force them to get a court order to be honest as that will set boundaries for what you have to allow.

I think it’s perfectly acceptable to ask you to move the tree or pay the extra. How would you feel if you wanted to do work to your house but it would cost you extra because some cheeky neighbour had put a tree that close to your house?!

I would just say no unless they are willing to cover all costs.

I wouldn't let them put the scaffolding there full stop tbh

I’d be a bit cautious because if the work they want done is to preserve the property in any way and not just improvement, then if you refuse access for the scaffolding they could get a court order if the work is deemed necessary. It doesn’t sound like this is the case and I definitely wouldn’t be uprooting a tree to facilitate them. I think what it comes down to is what you can reasonably agree to in the spirit of maintaining a good relationship with your neighbours, and one eye on the future in case you want to do any work of your own which may impact them. They should be covering any costs and making sure your property is put back the way it was before the work began.

15 missed calls

Email back and say you have decided to say no to any scaffolding on your property.

If it's cosmetic why the fuck are they having it done - you can't even SEE it from their side

Please say yes to them. Enter negotiations with a view to the work being done next spring, so you can back out around Christmas time.

This is my heartfelt request so we’ve got months and months of utterly fabulous updates and gossip in case Strictly is a bit flat this year ‘cos of the ‘be kind’ shizzle or summat.

And cheeky enough to go for a court order to allow access which is probably what they will do. That might be a good solution - the court will decide the conditions of access so they won’t be able to get away with batshit demands.

lt's probably beside the point but I'd have thought that tree was planted far too close to the house. It will eventually damage the foundations. Given that they are difficult people you might be as well off moving the tree now to prevent future problems.

https://www.claims.co.uk/knowledge-base/neighbour-disputes/damage-caused-by-roots#:~:text=Where%20tree%20roots%20cause%20damage,encroaching%20on%20the%20neighbouring%20land.

Just seen the picture. At SOME point, that side of that house is going to need work doing to it.

So what will happen? Or even worse, they decide it just needs repainting and they paint it yellow because they like yellow?

Our garage wall is the garden wall for our neighbour. Luckily she's fab but in the next 12 months we will have to dismantle said garage as it's over 70 yrs old and really not safe. It's going to cause her disruption. I can't imagine how we would do it without her agreeing to it.

That tree isn't great tbh and the garden seating is old. IF it were me (you didn't plant it let's be honest), I would say yes but on the grounds of the tree being replaced like for like in a pot (be about £300+) and the cost of new wood for an identical seating area (say £300)

There should be absolutely no cost at all to you but you should be mindful it's not your wall and I can't see how you can simply refuse access to it full stop.

😂

They are even bigger cheeky fuckers than l thought. They are selfish and trying to take advantage of you actually. They sound dreadful. Oh and block their number as they are harassing you

cannot believe the cheek!!!

no way would i agree to the work - THEY pay the legal costs and any other costs not you!!

they cheeky fuckers!!

Builders will find another way.Cherry picker? Tower platform? 100% not your problem.

As they have become so unpleasant by accusing you in such an insulting way it should just be a straight refusal

If they can’t afford the scaffolding work around, they can’t afford the work - that’s not really your problem 🤷🏼‍♀️ allowing access for repairs/maintenance isn’t the same as allowing a structure to be built on your property.

I’d be hesitant to have scaffolding put up on our property for our neighbours to do work. It’s a huge stress and I’ve never had a good experience with scaffolders. We had our roof done (scaffolding only on our side) and they left it there for months afterwards, so long it blocked other essential repairs. They also smashed the poles into our aerial and phone line, taking them both out.

I would move the tree though. It’s not relevant to this issue but it shouldn’t be that close to a wall.

If the work is necessary and not just cosmetic, which from the photo looks as though it’s the case, the neighbours can apply for a court order to allow them access to OP’s property for the scaffolding. As a couple of other posters have suggested, I think that’s the best solution because the court will make it clear to the neighbours that they are responsible for all costs and making good afterwards.

Moving the olive tree(I presume in the ground?) and seating to accommodate their scaffolding. I think that is unreasonable

Err @Another2Cats painting an exterior wall can be essential if it protects the surface from water for example. In any case doing any kind of maintenance will be an improvement to the condition of the wall surface. Which they will very likely have to do at some point. I think some of the replies on this are mad - maybe your neighbour was too confrontational but equally they WILL need access to the wall at some point across the duration of your mortgage/time living there. Sounds like they came round to ask for access and it’s snowballed into something that risks going sour… I honestly would just be reasonable, ask to meet the contractor at your house to discuss what they want to do and what’s reasonable for you.
Its not a huge surface from your photo so if they’ve got a good contractor I can’t see it being more than max 2 weeks work even if they were to strip the render and redo, which I doubt is what they are even doing! If you don’t allow them reasonable access though, they can definitely pursue legal recourse and also you will then definitely be in for a much worse time when they do eventually have to strip the whole render and redo it. Why risk such a huge fall out over maybe 2 weeks worth of work honestly I just think you’re being melodramatic!

Were you informed of any neighbour dispute re the purchase? It sounds like this is not a new situation, given how quickly it has escalated. I’d be looking into this, perhaps someone can advise how. If they’ve turned it up to 11 at the outset and there’s no history, I’d be having very little to do with them. Short factual responses only. Are you a single woman, by any chance? Sometimes, people will only listen to the husband (thankfully they’re dying off).

Definitely time to put very strong boundaries up, or they’ll try to walk all over you on this. Even if you’re not usually like that, I’d put my strongest, most impenetrable game face on for this one.

Easy enough to reply then.

You’re not trying to make a fast buck, so you won’t grant any permission for the contractors to access or use your property.

Then ignore them and block their number for the love of everything!

My immediate neighbour and I are baffled too - we're the end terrace (him) and next door to end terrace (me) of a row of 4...

The house in question has a garage a few feet from the end terraces boundary, the house itself a good 30ft further away... both are showing clear signs of cracking/shifting and thats been the case the last 15 years at least.

Neighbour and I think that the property owner has claimed on his buildings insurance, they're trying to put the blame and thus the claim onto someone else... so they've paid for this big ole report..

But the report claims the damage is being done by a single tree that they state is in both nextdoors garden AND in my garden (the plan he has shows his garden, the one I was sent shows mine)... and there is no tree and there never has been! We cannot fathom out how they've done this survey and failed to see that this tree doesn't exist, you can see over our fences from the footpath behind the houses!

It's really weird and neighbour and I have decided we'll just email 'piss off' each time they send us a report and see what happens. This has been ongoing for almost 3 years now, and all that happens is we get another identical wholly fictional report about trees every so often.