does neighbour have to allow scaffolders through her house?

[Smoomins]

We are the top half of the house in a row of terraced houses. We need our exterior windowsills repaired and repainted and also our gutters cleaned out.

Downstairs has the section of garden nearer the house, we have the other section.

I guess scaffolders would have to go through her house with the poles. I know she does have to allow access for maintenance but I can't think she'd be happy with tradesmen traipsing through her house! How do we approach this?

Surely they'd access via your garden?

all the garden touching the house is hers @ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn we have steps down to the further section of garden.

How do you access your section of garden?

Sorry it's a maisonette I wasn't super clear

We have steps down from the first floor @Chicchicchicchiclana that go over her garden to reach our garden

There is also the issue of putting the scaffolding on her land then.
Scaffolding can go over the top of the house - but it costs.
I'm assuming there is no back alley and access to the garden directly from there is impossible? What do you back onto?

They might have to walk into your house, through it, and then into her garden.

Will the poles fit through a house? As they obviously are long and don’t bend!

Gutters should be shared - like the roof they're not solely your responsibility. I think she does have to allow access for maintenance. Is it share of freehold? It should be in the paperwork.

we back onto other gardens @DancesWithDaffodils , also a terraced street

@Clymene we know, we thought we would offer to pay for that part as we need our windows doing anyway and she would bear the brunt of the scaffolding really. It is share of freehold.

I think that as you are instigating the work then that the scaffolders will need to come through your property if there's no other access.

I think you’ll need to check the leasehold but also be reasonable about the fact it’s a pandemic, so she might not want anyone going through the house right now.

Could they bring it up and through your house and then across your garden into hers?

Do you definitely need scaffolding for that?

You want someone else to pay for scaffold your making them have in their garden?

They use different scaffolding if needed to carry through houses, costs more!!!

Does it really need scaffolding, sounds like a job for a ladder?

Does it really need scaffolding, sounds like a job for a ladder?

This. Unless by windows repaired, you mean replacing?

Some do insist on scaffolding for anything taller than a standard 2 storey house. Especially if the ladder is going on a public pavement. I’m guessing it’s a row of tall period terraces!

There is no way I'd have people traipsing scaffolding poles through my house!

My friend has a garden flat in a Victorian terrace. Repairs needed doing and yes the scaffolding had to go through her flat!

@lunar1

You'd have no choice. A court would order access.

I own a scaffolding company. We wouldn't touch a job like that and would suggest the repair people hire an aluminium tower instead or do it off a ladder or remove a nearby fence panel for garden access. The lack of access would make the job way more expensive than usual. The longest tube used is 13ft and you wouldn't want to take that through anyone's house. (They're called tubes not poles btw)

[quote VeniVidiWeeWee]@lunar1

You'd have no choice. A court would order access.[/quote]

Would a court really force someone to have scaffolding brought through their house for non emergency work? Bad enough at the best of times, but adding Covid in-no way should that be forced.

Repair and paint windowsills from inside the house, that's how most people do it.

There are many companies who will clean gutters from the ground using methods like this www.leaffilter.com/blog/gutter-cleaning/clean-gutters-without-ladder/ or you can buy tools yourself and see if you can reach from the steps down to the garden.

I would be refusing access through my property unless you had a very convincing explanation for why you were not doing it another way.

I wouldn’t allow random workmen access through my home either. You need to find a workaround