Council put up sign on my house

[FrustratedAndFuming]

Hi - we have a house and there is a council block and its car park next door. Our house's exterior wall is the "boundary". It's our wall and then you hit the tarmac of the council property car park.

I got home today and the council have drilled a "permit holders only" sign on to the side of our house.

Can they do this?!

Also, it's a small entrance to the car park and they've erected two massive sign posts either side of the entrance, maybe 12 feet tall, which seems huge overkill. One would have been fine. It's a heck of an eyesore but not on our land. Worth complaining about this too or would that just be an on-going ballache we won't win any time soon?

If you own your wall, they can't put the sign up without your permission. Ask them to remove it and make good.

if you're feeling accommodating you could let it stay in return for some "rent"!

No, I don't think anyone can affix anything to your property without your permission. Get in touch with the planning department at the council and ask them.

Meanwhile... get busy with a screwdriver

I think perhaps they should have applied for planning permission to erect large signs, and since you are immediately next door, you should have been informed of the application and given time to object. As for the one they fixed to your wall - I'd be bloody furious about that.

I wonder if they have mistakenly assumed that your house is also council property.

IANAL.

Gut instinct - since it’s your wall, then unless there is something in the deeds which gives them the right to attach a sign to it, then no, they can’t.

However….. if your wall needs pointing/rendering or whatever - whoever is doing that work would need to access it from the car park. There may be an agreement in place (I think it’s called an easement) which gives you the right of access to do that. But if there isn’t, then you are relying on their goodwill to allow access when necessary to maintain your wall. If that involves taking some spaces out of use, they might refuse.

Is it a case of you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours, perhaps?

Re the signs by the entrance, unless they materially block visibility for getting in and out of your drive (if you have one), I don’t think you’ve got much hope there.

You might want to approach your councillor about it, otherwise I suspect at the council you’ll be passed around departments (parks, highways, legal, planning etc)

IDK, our council alley-gated the back lanes round here and a neighbour in the next street objected to the post on one side of one of them being affixed to the side wall of her house. She must have lost, because the wall got drilled and the very chunky post got attached.

Thank you, All.

I am spitting feathers at this!

The sheer cheek and hypocrisy.

You could always take it down and put up your own using the holes they have drilled.

“This wall is private property, no notices to be affixed.”

I agree, @PuzzledObserver . My fear is that if I complain, they take it down...and then replace with an even bigger monstrosity on a sign post.

Imagine if you’d done that to their property?! I would definitely complain. And put a time restriction on it too for good measure!

They should have asked your permission.
But, to be practical, I can't see it affecting your property.
I'd negotiate a rent. Won't be much, £50-100 p.a.?

Isn't doing this sort of thing to someone else's property a crime?
I would contact the police and have them tell the council to put it down and repair any hole damage.

Exactly this, be wary of causing yourself a bigger problem.

To be honest whilst they should have asked permission, I don't think I could manage to care to much about this. Is it the wall of your actual house or a wall around a garden?

@ABugWife - it's out actual home, not the garden wall

That is very annoying, I would rather that though than another massive post I think.

Get anal with them ask whose permission was sought before damaging your wall personally I wouldn't give a stuff about the sign but it's the not asking that's a huge issue here what if they decide to attach something larger? Or paint it build something attached to it they clearly don't know they don't own it

I would remove it without a doubt.
Then ask them to repair the damage the holes they drilled fixing the sign.