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Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

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  • Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

    I currently own a first floor maisonette Tyneside flat property (with a Tyneside/Criss Cross lease). I own the freehold of the ground floor flat, and the leasehold of my own, with my downstairs neighbour having the opposite.

    We have a very bad relationship with out downstairs neighbour, particularly the husband. We have had to notify the police on a number of occasions due to verbal abuse, threats, and him spitting on our front door. He has also intimidated and bullied other residents on our street (one woman told me he kicked her dog, another that he had tried to throttle a boy for playing foot-ball in the back lane) and is generally a very unpleasant character. Initially we tried very hard to be polite, courteous etc and spent money on putting down good quality carpet underlay on the first floor (he complained that he could hear us walking about in one of the rooms) to try and ease the situation but over time it has become clear that no matter what we do, he will find something to complain about. We have tried to ask them to go to mediation and been refused, so it is clear we are never going to get on.

    Anyway, one of his complaints has been that previous owners and ourselves have never spent any money on the property. When we moved in we spent 6k on double glazing, hundreds on underlay, and also hundreds more on getting our water supply separated from theirs. We have replaced broken guttering, and had emergency repairs done to our roof (it began to leak last December). A few weeks ago, he came out of the house and verbally abused me because he claimed a tile had fallen from the roof and scratched his window during heavy winds (police informed due to verbal abuse). He told me he would send me a quote for a repair which has not materialised (I am also still awaiting a letter from his solicitor regarding damage we have 'done' to the ceiling in his lounge by us walking across our floor - despite him previously telling me that a previous tenant had damaged the ceiling by having a party with 50 people on that floor).

    Yesterday, I arranged for a roofer to come and give us a quote for replacing our roof. Whilst the roofer was outside measuring up, my downstairs neighbour(husband) approached him and told him that he would not allow access into the backyard or allow scaffolding to be put up and that any access granted was at his discretion. A roofer would need access to my downstairs neighbour's back yard, and would probably also have to utilise the flat roof of the extension on their property in order to access the back of our roof and our kitchen roof. I wasn't there when this happened, but I have checked my lease which states:

    The other flat: All that portion of the building below the level of the top of the brickwork supporting the joists...and any other areas on land enjoyed exclusively within.

    From the rights granted to the Lessee (myself)

    The right with or without workmen at all reasonable times on notice to enter upon the Other Flat for the purpose of constructing inspecting cleansing repairing or renewing...any other structure or thing which cannot otherwise reasonably be inspected cleansed repaired or renewed the person exercising such rights doing as little damage as possible and making good all damage caused with all due dispatch.


    My understanding of this is that we have a right to access their land/property in order to repair our roof, as there is no way that it can be done safely without that access/scaffolding. I can see nothing in the lease which says this is at the lessor's discretion, we have a right end of, and if we do cause any damage, we would have to repair it (I guess this would be down to the roofers?).

    I was thinking of writing a letter citing this part of the lease, and seeing how they respond but I just wanted to check that my understanding was correct.

    Thanks in advance.
    Tags: None

  • #2
    Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

    :bump::bump::bump::bump::bump:

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

      Whilst I would not suggest this as a solution, a scaffolding pole hitting the oaf's head might resolve the matter permanently. :grin:

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

        You may need an access order, granted under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 (link)

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

          Originally posted by CleverClogs View Post
          Whilst I would not suggest this as a solution, a scaffolding pole hitting the oaf's head might resolve the matter permanently. :grin:
          Ha, I wish. I've accepted we have to live above him, but this is frustrating. Re an access order, I'd read that, but that would mean applying for an order, via a solicitor which I expect could run into hundreds if not more? Do I need an order when it states on our lease that we have a right of access to repair/renew structures on our property?

          Thanks

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          • #6
            Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

            You may access neighbouring land for the purposes of maintaining your own property. If permission is denied, a court order can be sought. You can do this yourself quite easily.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

              Thanks enquirer, how would I go about seeking a court order for this? I've contacted CAB re this matter, so hopefully they should be able to advise but looking on problemneighbours.co.uk it says the Access to Neighbouring Land Act can be used to get access, but I have to apply to County Court and pay a fee for doing so? I tried looking for the appropriate form here: hmctscourtfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/Getforms.do but I couldn't find it. Thanks.
              Last edited by bawpie; 11th May 2013, 21:23:PM.

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              • #8
                Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

                Ring the court and ask which forms they want to see. There will be a fee.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

                  ##The right with or without workmen at all reasonable times on notice to enter upon the Other Flat for the purpose of constructing inspecting cleansing repairing or renewing...any other structure or thing which cannot otherwise reasonably be inspected cleansed repaired or renewed the person exercising such rights doing as little damage as possible and making good all damage caused with all due dispatch.

                  The old fart sounds a very lonely man so I suggest that you give him 14 days notice in writing, sent by recorded delivery, that you will be erecting scaffolding in his back yard for the purpose of carrying out repairs that will be of benefit to both parties in the long run and in accordance with the terms of your lease you are allowed the access to the backyard to make this happen.

                  Also tell him that as you will be instructing the contractors to start on a certain date, if he makes access impossible or delays the start of the scheduled work and any further costs are incurred in respect of the builders you will make a claim against him for the cost of that.

                  As you will be held liable for any damage that is done during the work then you would need to take photographic evidence of the garden before, during, and after the work is complete in case he tries to make a malicious claim against you in retaliation.

                  If he has any objections he will have to get a court order to stop you but I hope someone will talk some common sense into him so he doesn't waste money to be told by a judge that he has to allow access in accordance with the terms of the lease.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

                    IanM, thank you so much, your advice (and everyone else's for that matter) is really appreciated. I do suspect that he is all talk, he has made many claims before about how we will be receiving quotes to fix his damaged ceiling/windows and various solicitor's letters which have never materialised over the two years we've lived here, however I really wanted to make sure when I sent my letter that it was correct. You've given me the confidence to do that now, and also I hadn't thought about taking pictures of the yard/flat roof prior to work beginning so again that is really good advice. Thank you all, I will be certain to recommend this place to others if they need advice in future.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Tyneside flat, roof repair, neighbour refusing access

                      Hi,

                      I hope it is okay to update this topic. I've sent my letter to my neighbours and had a response today, and they've stated they'll give access but with 2 conditions. One being that the flat roof that belongs to their property is not lode bearing and therefore scaffolding must be raised above it (this despite they've had workers out fixing the chimney in the last 12 months and walking across this roof without issue) and the second being that their insurance requires them to park their car in the back yard and the scaffolding mustn't encroach on the car parking area (which would be pretty much next to impossible as the car probably takes up 90% of the backyard). He often parks the car in the side street during the day, and they go on holiday for a couple of weeks a year - so again, I think they're talking rubbish, but some advice would be welcomed. My next step will be to contact my builder and ask him to see if the conditions can be reasonably met but again, I feel like they're being awkward for awkward's sake.

                      Comment

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