Neighbour's aerial against my chimney on my roof - no authorisation given by me

[RatDesPaquerettes]

My neighbour's TV aerial has been affixed to my chimney on my roof. My house is end-terraced and the chimney is on the road side, not in between my house and my neighbour's.

This was probably done some time ago (months/or a few years possibly). My neighbour never asked me whether or not I was ok with the installation.

This has only come to my attention recently when the wires which criss-cross my roof have come loose (because of the high winds we had recently) and one now hangs in front of one of my windows.

I have not yet talked to my neighbours about it. Ideally, I would want the aerial to be removed from my roof and installed on theirs, as my roof looks like a mess of wires and I don't want the current problem to reoccur in the future. (Not an easy task as they no longer have any chimneys on their roof to affix the aerial to).

At the minimum, I would want them to get the loose wire sorted.

My relationship with my neighbours is ok, although not particularly warm. I suspect they will balk at either option (moving the aerial or getting the wire fixed).

Where do I stand legally if I request that they move their aerial to their roof? Am I within my rights to ask for this to happen?

In the meantime, if there was an incident (e.g. their aerial fell and damaged my roof or a car parked on the road next to the house), who would have responsibility for paying for the damages incurred?

Thanks for any advice you can give me on this!

Yes. That ^^.

:)

TheAnarchist, the wires very definitely go to the neighbour's house so I could not plead ignorance really.

I might have a go with some long clippers though.

you must ask them in writing to remove it immediately.
it could have an effect on your buildings/home insurance.
if they don't take it down, do it yourself (or get it done and bill him).

I would be tempted to say to them that it needs repaired after the high winds recently and that rather than them repair it in situ that at the same time you would like it removed from your chimney. That way if they don't repair and move it you have made it clear you want it moved and give them a date by which you want this done.

Is that right, MousyMouse?

Should I just have a quiet word though, first? I don't want the situation to get heated up quickly if they are prepared to sort it out.

Do what Mousy says and say it invalidates your insurance (or that it's just your house and you can't just stick crap onto the homes of others). I would knock first though and then say you'll have to put it in writting through a solicitor if it's not resolved straight away for insurance purposes.

Slalom, I was thinking to say something along the lines you suggest, rather than come down on them in a confrontational way.

Ideally, I would like to know whether what they have done is illegal or not though, as if need be, I could use that argument if they seem reluctant to proceed with the aerial move.

Well... I have just contacted my insurance and the person on the phone said that if the neighbour's aerial did any damage to anything (my roof, somebody else's car), it would be the neighbour's responsibility. That is a bit of a relief.

I tried to contact my solicitors to find out about the legality of installing an aerial on somebody else's property and they said to 'please come in for an appointment and that will be £80 + VAT'. < Gulp >

We've just had our chimney repaired as it was starting to fall down. The chimney repair guy advised us not to reattach the aerial to the chimney. He said aerials on chimneys put more wind strain on the chimney and shorten their lifespan. I'd get it taken down asap.

Can you get it down yourselves? If so, how about informing your neighbours it's coming down on x date, thereby being nice and giving them time to think about alternatives.

Thanks, UnMember,

I think my chimney is still ok (fingers crossed!), although I may not say that to my neighbours. I may use your argument though and mention that there is enough wind strain from my own aerial and that I do not want to add to it.

No, I am not going up there - way too high for me or my friends!

I would much prefer if they arranged the move by decent professionals... and paid for it themselves!

Unless an agreement was made with you to do the work they have no rights to do this. There are certain rights to access neighbours property to do works that are essential but that doesn't cover this kind of works (tv is not an essential no matter what DS says)
In terms of reaffixing cables that's relatively easy and shouldn't be too expensive (guy came out and did ours for £10, when the wind made it loose) but as it's not yours i'd recommend asking them to have it removed. Blame it on insurance or something else vague to avoid personality issues and as long as you do it politely its probably gonna be ok. If that doesn't work formal letter giving them 14days to sort it or you will get it removed for them and forward them the bill (unlikely to be paid but I guess that they'd rather keep the signal so will sort it themselves)

Thanks a lot, wonkylegs.

I just can't believe the cheek of some people (neighbours and workmen, here). I would never do something like that, and I cannot believe people do.

I will have to concoct a story of some sort to make it more palatable to them.

pffff... I hate doing this. Why can't people be reasonable in the first place!

hey, by the way, wonkilegs, have you got a legal backgraound?

I was just thinking that when I talk to my neighbour, it might sound more impressive if I say 'I have checked this with an eminent solicitor' rather than 'My Mumsnet mate, wonkilegs, says that it is not right'.

background, even

Sorry I hadn't check back til now. I'm not legal as such I'm an architect so I know basics of construction/property law but that's my limit. I'm pretty familiar with the basics re:party wall act which tends to cover work affecting a neighbour. I also know a bit about covenants, easements and wayleaves which are the processes by which you have a right to do work on anothers property I.e to let utility companies do work on a property their cables / pipes cross under. These are expensive things to set up and you would know if one existed on your property as it would come up when you purchased it, one won't have been set up for a tv aerial and if it had you would know about it.

Thanks, wonkylegs. Your input is much appreciated.

Now, I am just bracing myself to have the conversation with my neighbours in the next few days...

You might just want to check the deeds to your house before you approach your neighbour as they could be entitled to use your chimney for their aerial. You seem unsure about how long the aerial has been there for so could it pre-date your purchase? If not, then they have been unbelievably cheeky and shouldn't have any entitlement whatsoever (there is a way of establishing an easement by uniterrupted use but it isn't easy and takes a few years).

If it's been there for 12 years I think they might have adverse posession.

How old does it look? Maybe the former owners gave their permission. If it's there by permission you can revoke that permission at any time.

Thanks, suburbandweller. I do not have easy access to the deeds. I have just checked the survey report I got at the time I acquired the property and there is no mention of any aerial being affixed to the chimney. The survey also does not mention the wires flapping about on the roof and considering how detailed it is, I think the surveyor would have highlighted them.

I have been here 20 years. The current neighbours have been here a few years (up to 10).

I think I probably end up paying to get their aerial removed. I will notify them of my intentions first though.

you can look up the deeds here for a small fee

Thanks, Mousy. I will look into it.

It wouldn't be adverse possession - they can't possess your chimney by virtue of their aerial being on it. They could have an easement established by uninterrupted use or "enjoyment" though. Seems unlikely in the circumstances you describe but woth bearing in mind.

Good luck anyway - they should be able to put the aerial in their loftspace if they don't have a chimney of their own, or they can install freesat/sky if the property isn't listed (or cable if you have it in your area). They do have options, your chimney isn't the only way they can watch tv!

Thanks, suburban. It seems to me that they have Sky so it might be a non-issue to take the aerial down.

Still building up the courage to go and talk to them...

You might not be that bothered but I thought I would give you all an update.

It has been sorted. I talked to my neighbours and they were not aware that their aerial was on my chimney. That must have been done by previous owners of their house. To ease matters, I offered to split costs: I paid to have their aerial and associated wires taken down and my loose wires tightened and they paid to have a small aerial affixed to their wall.

Thankfully, the cost was not too much of an issue for me. Anyway, I am just glad it is all sorted, especially as I have had some roof issues in the past too.