I've lived in a new build semi for the last three years, in a really nice area and I'm lucky to have friendly neighbours. I've worked hard on my home and garden and I'm proud of how nice it looks.
However....my next door neighbour has completely trashed his garden and it is a total eyesore. The first year, he just let the turf grow out of control until it was two foot high grass and weeds. He talked big and said he'd soon be choosing trees and having raised beds made of old railway sleepers etc. Nothing happened. He had some nice garden furniture that he left outside uncovered and it started rotting.
In the second year, again there was big talk of digging up the turf. He put string lines in to mark out a raised bed. He then put thick tarpaulin sheeting all over the turf to 'kill off the grass' but the grass just grew through it and it was a jungle again. I started seeing mice scuttling into my garden.
In the third year, the tarpaulin didn't move. He bought a second shed and spend an entire week constructing this bloody shed using the loudest circular saw etc during the hottest week of the year! All neighbours were pissed off by this point as we were all outside entertaining etc. In the July of that year, there was more big talk of paving the entire back garden and he bought four stacks of patio slabs which have stayed on our shared front driveway for nine months!! They are an eyesore and the cardboard has rotted down on each pack. His front border was so overgrown I spotted a rat scurrying out. I spoke to him about this and told him I was going to prune his front border myself to stop the rat from nesting. He was fine with this.
I had decking built in my garden last year and I told my neighbour the handyman I hired could take a look at the patio paving job and give him an estimate. They chatted. Handyman came back and said there was no way he'd do the job because it would be a case of digging 2 foot of clay out and the job would kill him. Fair play!
When I've hired a skip to move soil out of my garden, I've always offered for my neighbour to use it for no cost but he never gets himself organised enough to dig up some soil, even one bucket full.
Two weeks before Easter, there was more big talk of digging up soil and clearing out the rotten garden furniture, which is now falling apart.
Nothing has happened!!!!
There are mice, at least one rat, broken furniture, mud everywhere etc.
This man hardly ever goes out. He seems to sleep or game all day on computer etc. He just seems to be all gas and no mileage!
I am trying not to let it get to me and am trying to accept nothing will ever get done. Instead I will start to install screening and trees to cover up this eyesore. I'm in a position where I can now buy a bigger house and may want to put my current house up for sale but worry that my neighbour's garden will negatively affect my asking price.
Anyone else been in this position? Do I have any rights other than politely asking him when he might move the patio slabs off the front driveway etc?