Neighbours wants to put scaffolding on our property

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Our neighbours are doing a lot of work on their house. As part of this they would like to put scaffolding on our property. This is apparently necessary to access their roof. They will also use it to paint the side of their house at the same time.

Ahead of meeting with them to discuss it, what should we be asking of them to protect ourselves and our property? We would like something in writing and evidence of insurance? Is it the scaffolder’s insurance or the builders’ insurance that is relevant, or both?

This is a big project on a 3 storey listed building, and our property is also listed. We won’t say no to it, but the whole thing is going to be a real nuisance for us for some time. The scaffolding will remove our parking, create lots of noise and dust, and the work takes place outside of dh’s office window.

I am keen to learn from other people’s experiences, particularly bad ones!

Neighbours are fine but we are not close and relationship with their builders are already poor. Work has been going on for months and they have shown such a lack of respect for us so far, and caused a lot of damage in our garden. The neighbours themselves are not living in the property at the moment.

I am a compete pushover but even I would say no to this. I wfh and couldn't put up with listing to that all day plus all the dust would set of my asthma

Does your property need work that would also require scaffolding?
If so, see if you can get yours done at the same time. Otherwise limit the time it is up - scaffolders tend to leave scaffolding up until it's needed elsewhere

If it's essential works to repair or prevent damage then they might be entitled to access under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act.

But if they are just sprucing up or doing other non essential works then they need a scaffolding licence from you. That can specify terms ie making good and a daily or weekly fee.

Or you can just say no! If they access without permission (licence) their builder will be trespassing.

If you do grant a licence, get it in writing!

Zammo....

Zammo....

So many miserable neighbours here saying no.
OP is doing the right thing by saying yes and checking insurance etc. BUT get it is writing that if you need access or scaffold on their land for maintenance then you too can have that when you need it.

Miserable?

For not giving up your home parking, for not wanting people outside your office while trying to work and for thinking that builders who have already been disrespectful and caused a lot of damage are probably not trustworthy enough for this?

Have they repaired the damage to your garden? If not, I would not agree to this until that has been sorted out?

Is there any reason why the scaffolding can't just be in their garden? It all sounds completely disruptive to you who are deriving no benefit at all from this work, with no disruption at all to your neighbours.

I would probably refuse to do this as you already know how unreasonable and unprofessional the builders are being.

They've already caused a lot of damage in your garden.

If you tell them you want this made right before the work starts then any additional damage made right they'll likely say Pfffft no point doing any repairs as it'll get wrecked again .

You need to take photos of the damage , witnessed and the assurance that they will repair it to a good standard.

As the NDN house is empty the builders don't need to make allowances for them.

You have a listed building. Nobody should be coming anywhere near it without permission from the listed building planning people at the council. I'd contact them and ask them to come out and pay you a visit to discuss the matter.

This. If neighbours were there and the builders were respectful so far I’d be more likely to agree

This is so important

Remember you have no contract with the builders and scaffolding company. Your neighbour does. Therefore the only recourse you have to get things repaired etc is via the neighbours. You can't claim directly from their contractors unless it's a general third party liability claim.

So you need a contract with your neighbour, we had a neighbour who wanted to do this and so we asked for a contract drawn up at their cost to include

• penalties for overruns
• cleaning and making good the area affected to our satisfaction
• confirmation that they would be liable for all damages (they then claim off their contractors)

And so on

In the end they actually came up with a cantilever solution for scaffolding which didn't involve us at all.

Hell no!!! Years ago when I was looking to rent a new place, we viewed a property and the neighbours had scaffolding up (they were doing a full renovation) and it went across the bedroom window of the property we were looking at. I asked how long the scaffolding had been up, and how much longer it would be up (considering it went across what would be our bedroom window). It had been up a year, and the reno work had suddenly stopped next door. They didn't know when it was coming down and hadn't seen anyone in months. I walked out of that house so fast. I wasn't going to have my privacy invaded with no timeline of when they would take it down.

Agreed. We’ve allowed this and neighbours have reciprocated for us - because we were promised that the builders would be responsible and they were. Ours rebuilt a small wall which was needed on our neighbour’s side after our extension was finished and I checked that our neighbours were happy with it. As you already know that they’ve caused problems you have no reason to say yes. I’d tell your neighbours exactly why you’re refusing - and it’s on them for not choosing a better builder.

Is it to do maintenance. Usually a neighbour has the right to access your land to do necessary repairs/ maintenance.

You gave your neighbours 18 months of shit and brought them a fucking hamper! Fucking hell, glad you're not my neighbour!

I'd insist on a decent builder and the garden damage being fixed first.

We had to put legs of scaffolding in the neighbour’s garden for a bit, creating a bridge over the street. It would have been physically impossible to access a certain side of the roof otherwise. They allowed it, and we were very grateful, but it’s a recoprocal thing. If they need to do work, they may need to ask us for a similar thing. So at some point you or your children may need your neighbours’ cooperation. Building work is allowed during certain hours - people have the right to refurbish and modernise their houses, otherwise we’d still be living in caves I suppose. It’s a compromise between the need to modernise houses and the need for quiet enjoyment of life. At times everyone needs to do noisy work, so normally it is allowed 9am-5pm on weekdays and 9am-1pm on Saturdays.

If it's the roof that needs repairing/replacing, then no building company will do this without scaffolding in place. It's simply not safe. We had to have scaffolding that went onto our neighbours property because we were replacing the fascias/guttering etc. Our neighbours were brilliant, and it was a long time about 8 weeks the scaffolding was up, as there were delays due to weather and materials (due to COVID). Are your neighbours aware of the issues with the builders? If not, you need to inform them. They need to ensure the builders are acting respectfully to you and your property.

I would say no, point blank and not try to justify it. Just no.

Work has been going on for months and they have shown such a lack of respect for us so far, and caused a lot of damage in our garden.

As an absolute minimum ask them to put this right first as a condition to even considering the scaffolding. Then you will go ahead with a further meeting to discuss on what terms you will have the scaffolding. If they won't even do this then they are not acting in good faith. If they do, then a contract as advised by pp with your neighbours.

As I have already said, if the OP starts off with a no, its then up to the neighbour to investigate the legal issues and present the reason why they must say yes. At that point, they can set their terms. Yes there are occasions where access must be allowed but not for no charge and not without requirements to safeguard the OP's interests.

NRTT but if an absentee owner had allowed their builder to damage your garden then this is your opportunity to rebase the relationship.

Thank them for asking and decline with reasons - they have allowed their builders to damage your property and act badly.

Sit on your hands and see what they say, beyond assurances that they need not keep once the scaffolding is up.

If you say yes immediately then expect worse from theb buuilder.

If you eventually agree, one issue will be the timing of the removal of the scaffolding and not being unpaid storage. You'll want a firm timetable with a short window for the scaffolding to be up with significant incentives for no breach.

Good luck.

Is it to do maintenance. Usually a neighbour has the right to access your land to do necessary repairs/ maintenance

That’s only if there is no other way. It’s not valid if it’s just cheaper/more convenient to access your land. These days the majority of the time there is another way, it just costs more and inconveniences the people having the work done instead, hence they like to chance their hand st someone saying yes.

I dealt with a rear extension planning application and then works for my MiL's house (terraced) when she was ill and staying with us. Having managed to get the extension reduced in size and the large decking at 6' above garden level removed due to overlooking (they'd have been able to see into all the gardens on the whole terrace, as well as the gardens to the rear), the neighbours sent a letter indicating that they'd like access to their building site through my MiL's house. They were told no - and that they could tramp everything through their own house rather than using the neighbours house just because it was easier.