LL came into my garden and removed my bird feeders

[goodoldsussexbythesea]

My landlady lives locally and often drives past my house. Early this morning, I was in my front garden, filling my bird feeders, and she pulled over and said that the advice from the RSPB is not to feed birds from feeders any more.

I told her that actually, the advice is not to feed them seeds and peanuts between May-October this year and I'm planning on following the advice so I was just using up the last of my seed now as it's not May yet.

She got really defensive and said "well, I just think it's important to follow the advice so I'd rather you didn't do it, please take the feeders down!!" which really annoyed me so I said, well it's not May yet so no, and anyway the advice is that you can feed them (small amounts of) mealworm and suet balls after May so I will be doing that, and she didn't say anything else, just drove off.

This really wound me up and I was annoyed for the rest of the day, took the kids out to a farm park and I arrived home an hour ago, and my feeders have gone out of my garden!!!

I checked my ring doorbell and she's bloody come into the garden, armed with a plastic carrier bag, removed my feeders and taken them away!!

I rang her three times back to back and she wouldn't pick up, so I whatsapped her and it immediately went to two blue ticks. I said - "Please return my bird feeders immediately, they are my property and you had no right to take them. I am following the advice but even if I was not, you still have no right to take my things."

After half an hour she replied "I am not currently allowing tenants to use bird feeders at my properties and have asked that they all be removed. I was passing so I removed yours for you, they are in safe keeping and will be returned in October"

My AIBU is not about who was in the right because I bloody well know I am, but whether or not I should call the police. I spoke to my neighbour about it and she said I shouldn't and that I should just replace them and remove the cost from the rent. She says she's obviously nuts and I shouldn't risk falling out with her

YABU - Don't call police, replace and charge her or do something else
YANBU - Call the police, report her for theft, and give them the doorbell footage.

And possibly end up being evicted?

Threaten the police if not returned by tomorrow as got it on film, then look for somewhere new to live ready for when your contract runs out. Can't be doing people like this.

I am also growing sunflowers, they are doing well. I also have a huge variety of flowers and plants that attract pollinators and other insects the birds can eat. Gardening and wildlife watching are huge hobbies of mine and something I can do cheaply. I left my abusive husband two years ago and doing this has improved my mental health massively. My NDN is a good friend and we garden together, and water each others plants. We had a good thing going on, with the birds nesting in her garden and feeding in mine. It made me so happy.

Now she's taken something I loved, paid money for and can't afford to replace and it's hugely upset and angered me.

I don't need advice about how to feed birds or what plants to grow. I only asked for what to do about my property being taken without my consent

I would not let this go.

She does not have the right to enter your property and remove your belongings without your permission.

I think you should send her an email or WhatsApp message stating that you want them returned within a timeframe, say 48 hours, and if she doesn’t do this, you’ll be taking it further. Tell her if they are not returned, you’ll be contacting the local council’s private sector rental team (every council has one) to have this incident logged and to provide you with legal advice about your next steps.

I’d be furious.

Yep. They'll climb them to get the food!

We put enough food out onto the ground for the birds to eat it all, so there isn't any left to attract rats. At the moment we're getting a massive gang of starlings in, eating loads (and dicking about in the bird bath!).

She has overstepped the mark. She should not be checking up on you all the time. I think the phrase is quiet enjoyment.

I have her address on my tenancy agreement, I am tempted to leave the kids with NDN, go around to her house, knock on her door and politely but firmly ask for my stuff back.

Some of the advice on here is wild, stopping rent, posting on FB, tie wrapping them on… We rent a few properties out which are rural and near farms, we have it in the contract people can’t feed birds due to encouraging vermin.

She shouldn’t have taken your bird feeders OP but she did ask you to stop and I can only assume it’s to not encourage vermin. Rats/mice are literally everywhere, just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not in the vicinity.

I'm not controlling anything. I'm simply telling her I don't need or want her advice.

If you make an issue out of this, she’ll end the tenancy and eventually , you’ll have to move. It may not be fair, but you need to decide whether this is worth it.

I’m curious why you’d be so upset about rats going into the garden of a property you don’t even live in? Rats are everywhere, and plenty of people feed birds without creating a rat infestation. If you have such niche rules presumably you put them in the tenancy agreement now?

Attach window bird feeders to your upstairs windows and put mealworms, etc in there. Can't see her attempting to remove them! My mum gets a variety of birds at her window feeders

We rent a few properties out which are rural and near farms, we have it in the contract people can’t feed birds due to encouraging vermin.
OK, but it's not in my contract

She shouldn’t have taken your bird feeders OP but she did ask you to stop
But she doesn't have any right to ask me to stop.

and I can only assume it’s to not encourage vermin.
Why are you assuming anything? I clearly laid out the conversation where she says why she thinks I shouldn't have them. It was nothing to do with vermin.

That would be giving her a legitimate reason to evict he op.

Renters' rights bill. No she won't.

Because I don’t want a rat issue on a property I own that may end up costing me money to sort out. I’d have thought that is fairly obvious. It can also impact the neighbours. Yes, I put in it in the tenancy agreement, but sometimes people break the rules.

I would demand my personal property back immediately, she has absolutely no bloody right! I wouldn’t put them back out though, at the risk of her becoming nasty over tenancy.

Its not acceptable to have a ll taking your property. Its only a feeder... but her arrogance is outrageous.

I'd contact shelter for advice on how to deal with this tactically, with the changes in renters rights in mind.

@goodoldsussexbythesea there's no point arguing with posters who go off on a tangent about something that matters to them (e.g. bird food attracting vermin) but is irrelevant to your thread. Ignore them and they'll get bored and talk shit on someone else's thread.

I feel really outraged on your behalf, how DARE your LL steal your belongings because she doesn't like them! Do you have an agent who manages the house who you can complain to or does your LL do everything? I would put it in writing that you want them returned. How far you go is up to you - it would be difficult but not impossible for her to evict you I think, but maybe not worth risking.

It’s obviously nothing to do with vermin since she said she’d give them back in October. It’s frankly bizarre behaviour by someone who is not cut out to be a landlord.

@goodoldsussexbythesea she should not have come into the property without notice, in this non/emergency situation, and she is likely in breach of the tenancy by interfering with your right to quiet enjoyment. Don’t do anything mad, but I would send a formal letter to that effect (find a template online if it helps) and ask that she return your property by X date. If she ignores or refuses, you can contact the council for advice.

Honestly people that let their property and then think they can behave like this ‘or you’ll be evicted’ is why landlords have such a dismal reputation.

She has no right to enter your property at all landlord or not. And what she has done is steal do I would give her warning that u have footage of her entering the garden and stealing your items and if they are not returned by x time the police will be involved. Then fuck her over with a new house. Wtf does she think she is!? It’s not about who is right or wrong it’s about your rights. How fucking dare she.

Is it worth getting on the wrong side of your landlord though… She still has 4 days to serve you a Section 21 notice.

Plenty of people do this without causing a problem so it seems hypersensitive. But if it’s in the tenancy then fair enough.

Would you enter the property without agreement and confiscate a tenant’s property based on a misunderstanding about RSPB rules? (Ie the actual topic of the thread)?

This.