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Original poster

Drone Picture

26 replies

Neverknewidfindmyselfonhere · 29/07/2023 23:41

Hi all. So we are mid way through selling/buying and have had a question from our buyers regarding what is behind our garden. But they have included a close up aerial photo of our garden that is not from Google earth and not an angle that the surveyor could have taken say from the upstairs window. I think it's from a drone and I am fuming. Surely that's an invasion of our privacy and I'm trying not to blow up about it but I'm so cross they think this is ok. I almost feel like dropping the buyers and stopping the whole process. Any thoughts/advise please?

OP posts:
VeniVidiWeeWee · 29/07/2023 23:44

Consult a solicitor who specialises in this area.

Edwardandtubbs · 29/07/2023 23:47

We've just had a survey done on a house we are buying and the surveyor included a 5 min long drone film .... I expect it's common practice now for surveyors to use them.

WeAreTheHeroes · 29/07/2023 23:50

You don't own the airspace above or the land beneath your property. I think you may have to look into the law on the use of drones, but the first step is ask where the footage is from, how and when it was taken.

Caitlin991 · 30/07/2023 08:56

No advice but when we first put our house up for sale a drone randomly hovered above our back garden for a while. It was nothing to do with the EA or surveyor so pretty sure it was a potential buyer.
I’m aware we don’t own the airspace around our property, but it is a massive violation of privacy & I was also fuming, and honestly, petty or not, I probably would have refused to sell to them if I knew who it was…

imbolic · 30/07/2023 10:03

From the Civil Aviation Authority Website
"If your drone or model aircraft is fitted with a camera or listening device, you must respect other people’s privacy whenever you use them.

If you use these devices where people can expect privacy, such as inside their home or garden, you’re likely to be breaking data protection laws."

Crochetablanket · 30/07/2023 22:36

My next door neighbour has one and uses it responsibly- there are rules about how many metres above anyone’s home you must be etc.
I would be angry too.

KievLoverTwo · 30/07/2023 22:55

I would be responding 'who took this, for what purpose, and how?'

If it was the buyers, I would be dropping them.

If it was the surveyor then I think you have to answer their question but let them know in no uncertain terms that their third party's behaviour is completely unacceptable to you.

Otherwise, they may think any behaviour from them and their representatives is okay, get it nipped in the bud immediately.

Diyextension · 30/07/2023 23:51

You put pictures of the inside of your house and garden on the internet ( rightmove ) for everyone to see when you were selling your house and now you are “ fuming” about a potential buyer taking a closer look ( possibly). ?

why dont you ask them where they got the picture from if it upsets you so much .

personally i cant see a problem with it, everywhere you go now there is a camera/ cctv filming you.

If they were flying a drone over your house then presumably they would have seen what was behind your garden and would have no reason to ask ?

CutesyUserName · 30/07/2023 23:55

Surveyors are increasingly using drones to see the condition of roofs, etc, so it could have been from the survey potentially.

Frankly, in this half-dead market the fact you'd be willing to lose a sale because you are 'fuming' over a picture of your garden when the inside of your house is plastered all over the internet for everyone to see is ridiculous.

stevalnamechanger · 30/07/2023 23:57

Not really a market to be dropping buyers

I'd just get on with it not a big deal IMO

DillyDallyingAllDay · 31/07/2023 00:22

Why are you fuming? Because they took the footage or because there's something behind the property that you'd rather the buyer not know about?

VeniVidiWeeWee · 31/07/2023 00:39

@WeAreTheHeroes

I think you need to do a bit more research into this.

HeddaGarbled · 31/07/2023 00:44

If you’d been sunbathing topless in the garden, I could see your point. If it’s just a picture of your lawn and flower beds, I think you’re being daft. Sure, haven’t we all done that thing on Streetview where we try and get up the driveway and enlarge till it goes blurry?

WeAreTheHeroes · 31/07/2023 05:33

VeniVidiWeeWee · 31/07/2023 00:39

@WeAreTheHeroes

I think you need to do a bit more research into this.

What are you getting at please?

Caitlin991 · 31/07/2023 06:58

I’m surprised how many people think this is OK! If the drone got a photo of whatever is at the back of OPs house, chances are they were also looking into someone’s private garden and could probably see in through their windows.
Yes, when you sell you put photos online, but you stage your house and choose what is shown.
When the drone was above my garden I was in the garden with my young son - we are not over looked at all (the only way someone could see into the garden is to climb the fence or…use a drone), so if we had wanted to be we could well have been sunbathing naked, thankfully we were not and we went inside - but just because we weren’t doesn’t make it right!
They could 100% see into our house where we were trying to live our lives.
If people want a nosy then book a viewing, don’t use camera above someone’s private living area without permission, and if it was a surveyor they should have pre-warned OP.

Roselilly36 · 31/07/2023 07:04

@stevalnamechanger 100% agree, you may well regret it if you drop your buyer OP. The market has changed from a sellers to a buyers market. If you really want to move stick with the buyer you have.

Edwardandtubbs · 31/07/2023 08:14

I don't think OP is coming back...but I really want to know what the secret was behind the garden. Meth lab? Pork rendering factory? Primary school?

Kedece2410 · 31/07/2023 08:17

If it was the buyers, I would be dropping them

Thats just ridiculous. Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face!!

atthecopa · 31/07/2023 08:52

Diyextension · 30/07/2023 23:51

You put pictures of the inside of your house and garden on the internet ( rightmove ) for everyone to see when you were selling your house and now you are “ fuming” about a potential buyer taking a closer look ( possibly). ?

why dont you ask them where they got the picture from if it upsets you so much .

personally i cant see a problem with it, everywhere you go now there is a camera/ cctv filming you.

If they were flying a drone over your house then presumably they would have seen what was behind your garden and would have no reason to ask ?

But the OP was prepared and expecting the photos to be taken inside.

She could have been sunbathing naked when the drone came over!!!!

electriclight · 31/07/2023 09:25

If it's a small drone, weighing less than 250g, you can fly those pretty much anywhere.

If it's heavier than that, there are permitted distances. I think they're not allowed within 50m of people.

Civil Aviation Authority new rules
here

Ariela · 31/07/2023 09:52

Personally I think it's fine, and a small drone on a survey appears the norm these days for larger properties. Get some perspective - do you want to sell the house or not? Put up obstacles, you'll put them off. It's a buyers market right now.

It's FAR FAR worse if you're a neighbour and prospective buyers to next door look you and others in your road up, find your business and where you volunteer and thus found a phone number off a download and repeatedly phone with questions about the property next door and the local area - as happened to a friend of mine. They wanted to know what the figure of eight in their field (on Google Earth) was - it was their daughter doing HGV driving practice! And then proceeded to phone and ask about various other things, several times. Eg noise from farm machinery. What they did with their business next door (which is an admin address not where the work is done - they'd have read that online but no, they had to phone) Quite invasive and very nosey. They put them off and told them living in the country wouldn't suit them. Told them about the deer barking at night, and the lambs wailing for their mums when separated. And the random farm machinery on the go from dawn to dusk. The dust when harvesting Etc. Some of the questions were quite basic you'd have expected them to know if intending to move from London to the country you'd have thought they'd have researched eg how many times a year was hay made! They laugh now, but it was ridiculous, none of the other potential buyers found her number (which took some digging) and phoned and she happily answered the door to the 3 or 4 that knocked and wanted to simply know what the road was like.

Dombasle · 31/07/2023 10:06

Fuming because someone has the initiative to look at the area surrounding the property from above and make further enquiries with you?!

Original poster
Neverknewidfindmyselfonhere · 31/07/2023 10:26

Thanks for all the replies. Bit of a mixed bag of responses. I have nothing to hide and wasn't even in the picture. It just rattled me they hadn't used Google Earth but had their own photo that is recent. They are simply questioning a car park at the back of the garden, that the estate agents should have cleared up without the solicitor needing to ask. I get we have pics of the house online but bring a private person it just felt a step too far. I will take it up with the solicitor that I'm not happy with the pic but now I've calmed down it would be very stupid to refuse to sell. Thanks all for the perspective Smile

OP posts:
Dombasle · 31/07/2023 10:35

Google earth isn't up to date and some areas will have completely changed I. The six years since the image was taken.

NetballHoop · 31/07/2023 10:43

Are you sure that it wasn't taken by one of the other mapping companies? If you try Bing Maps and select the Bird's eye view you get what could be mistaken for a drone taken image.

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