Neighbours erected scaffolding in my garden

[17leftfeet]

Next door is being renovated and apparently the wall ties need sorting out

I have no idea who owns the property as its been bought as a doer uper

The scaffolder knocked in my door at 8.30am and asked if they could run some scaffold on my side of the garden wall to do the work which I agreed to

I then went to work and when I got home there were scaffold poles blocking the steps to the top tier of my garden where my shed is and the trampoline

There is a plank laid across my lawn supporting a pole which runs diagonally across my garden and my flower bed had been trampled, one of my bushes broken and all my summer bulbs that were starting to come up have been flattened

Now admittedly my garden wasn't exactly tidy but that's because I have a bad back and the gardener is booked for next week

This was all done a week ago and they haven't even started the work

I know I have to allow them access to do the work but how long is it reasonable for them to have the scaffold up and do I have any recourse for the fact they have damaged the garden, the children haven't been able to play out in the garden or get to their bikes during the school holidays and I'm going to have to cancel the gardener so my garden is going to be awful in the summer as pruning etc won't get done?

I know I have to allow them access to do the work Not necessarily , have they requested a party wall agreement or formally asked for access in writing . If scaffolding is on your property you can ask for their liability insurance and insist h & s regs etc be adhered to. The local council planning application (or land registry) will have details of the new owner and any caveats on the permission. If you complain the planners/building control can stop the work.

The people whose property backs onto DS's garden wanted to put a small section of scaffolding at the bottom of his garden. It was there for three weeks; the builders gave him £100 to let them do this, and he asked for an agreement in writing that they would put right any damage (though they didn't cause any).

it's not actually a party wall, I'm at the end of a terrace and they are the start of the next one

my garden wall is the boundary and there is approximately 1 ft on their side before the start of the building so they couldn't put up scaffolding without being on my side

I'm not sure the work requires planning permission as its essential maintenance?

I don't want to be a pain in the bum neighbour as I would need to access their property if I needed to maintain my end wall but neither do I want to not be able to use my garden for an extended period of time

will the land registry release details to me?

oh and it was a verbal request from the scaffolders, I've had nothing in writing

You'd have to pay about £5 to get the title deeds of next door . Make sure you use the landregistry.gov site to avoid additional charges. However if you go onto your council's website you may find a planning application for the address which would list applicant but it could simply need buildings regulations. You can call the planning department for advice anyway.

I would have told the scaffolders no they can't put it up until the owner contacts me and I have an agreement in writing for any damage caused. You don't have to let them onto your land, tell them to poke it.

Bit late for that now!

I was caught off guard when I was getting ready for work

Contact the scaffolders and tell them they'll have to take it down unless they now agree to your terms. Work out what you want those terms to be, and get it in writing.

When we had to put scaffolding up on one of our neighbours flower beds it took our builders ages to finish the job and take it down. It was supposed to be 6 weeks but was closer to 3 months.

The builders were supposed to make right their damage but they didn't, so DH and I gave our neighbours 500 to replace the damaged plants and pay for their gardener to put it right. She had very expensive gardeners if I remember, 60 a hour.

A small price to pay for good neighbourhood relationships.

Speak to your neighbours now and get some idea what their plans are, let them know that you expect your garden to be put right. I am surprised that they haven't already spoken to you. I did all the asking on behalf of my builders as it was my house, my street, my neighbours etc. But then we took the plans into each of the neighbours to look at and talk through before it even went into planning.