Fly tipping in communal garden

[guerrillagirl]

I’ve recently moved to a new flat with a large shared communal garden. The problem is, the entrance is filled to the brim with worn out junk of all manners - old beds, rusty bikes, garden tools, lawnmowers etc. I’ve sent letters to everyone with access to the garden asking for items to be removed, or otherwise I will arrange council uplifts. A friend who works in property has just told me I can’t remove anything without the owners’ consent - is this correct? Surely if it’s on communal space it’s still fly tipping? Any advice would be great fully received... thanks so much!

Are the flats privately owned or council owned? They may clear it if they own the flats but if private…

Land managers, occupiers or owners of private property are responsible for clearing and disposing of any fly-tipping found on private land. Local councils will not normally clear rubbish dumped on private land free of charge

Thanks! They are private so I doubt the council will clear it for free. I want to arrange a bulky items uplift if possible - the problem is I’ve no idea who owns or has owned all this junk aargh...

I would just clear it.

It's what I do in the block I live in.

Is the stuff dumped/abandoned or in use and people are using the area as storage? Communal areas are pants, nobody ever makes the effort to keep them clean and tidy

I’m very tempted just to get rid of it all, but I don’t want to bin anything someone might actually want. I think it’s a mixture of junk and items in use, but it’s hard to tell. It’s such a shame as the place could be really nice if people actually cared about it!

Does anyone know what the legal rights are for storing stuff on communal land? It’s so hard to find anything useful online. My friend reckoned the owners of said junk could take legal action if I throw away their possessions. It’s been sitting there untouched for at least 3 months since I moved in though...

Don’t know as I’m in council so probably different but where I am you are not allowed to store things in communal areas at all.

Thanks! That’s good to know and it makes sense...

Why haven’t the management company cleared it? Presumably that’s what residents pay services charges for.

It’s all private properties so there isn’t a management company unfortunately - therein lies the problem...

Ah, sorry, I missed that.

I would just organise the council removal but the problem is now that you’ve told everyone you will do it, it’s guaranteed someone will complain that their junk is missing and come knocking at your door.

Yeah I know - aargh... we have an informal landlord group and the chairman told me I couldn’t move anything without giving people notice, so that’s why I got in touch with everyone. But I realise now it might have been better to be anonymous...

I’m confused! If there isn’t a management company, who’s responsible for maintaining the communal areas? What does it say in your lease? For example, who’s responsible for the building’s insurance, roof repairs, the maintenance of communal areas within the block, such as carpet cleaning & the entrycom system to secure admission to the block?

@OrcharD14
Not all flats have management companies. For example I live in a block of flats and we don't have one. In our title deeds it states that each flat is responsible for paying 1/6 of any repairs or maintenance on the building or common areas such as the communal garden grounds and parking area. In reality, like @guerrillagirl areas become messy and people dump their junk freely and then it becomes difficult to remove which is ironic. It's really difficult to get other flats on board with stuff like this, it's really frustrating.

Is the stuff blocking a potential fire exit? That would be a big problem.

Thanks for all the messages everyone! I feel more justified now in getting rid of stuff. Yes there’s no management team but one of the landlords organises some of the communal cleaning and people are supposed to chip in but they can be a bit crap at contributing. He’s uninterested in the garden - I think he’s given up. But yeah the junk is blocking an enclosed pathway so it would be considered a fire hazard - that’s a good point!