Problems with neighbour - bad building, trespass, intimidation, property damage

[nw0307]

I have a rather complex dispute with my neighbours who live above me that has been going on since Feb 2020. I own a basement apartment that spreads under 3 terraced houses to the rear of the building and I have lived here for over 15 years. The apartment is leasehold and the freehold belongs to the owner above one part of my property. My property enjoys the full rear balcony that is 50ft long. I have the lease for over 900 years. This new neighbour who is the freeholder moved in two years ago, and since that time, I have had several problems due to his renovations and behaviour which I informed the police of and have a crime numbers for. He and his wife have been making my life a misery due to the fact that he basically wants my flat and balcony for himself and me to leave. I’ve had harassment, intimidation, deliberate property damage, trespass, an electric shock, threats, malicious correspondence. The police and the council have failed on their part to protect me. The council are hiding because they should never have let this man have planning permission to do the works and they just dodge any questions.

The neighbours have had a long history of disputes with previous neighbours in the past and have been taken to court. All the current neighbours dislike them too as they’ve had problems with them.

They informed me in July 2019 that they wanted to build a balcony above my kitchen and front door. Just a few feet above me, over my land I have the leasehold for. I objected to this and they said they would build a Juliet balcony instead. This was the start of the whole dispute. They somehow got planning permission to build this great big balcony directly over my kitchen window, and only 200mm from my existing gas flue. It was clear the planning dept had not surveyed the site and position of the works. This was actually admitted by a building inspector. This balcony leaks down my walls, blocks light, and various other problems.

The neighbour refused to put a party wall agreement in place at the advice of the council. He then damaged some of my ceilings. Eventually I had to sort a party wall agreement for them as they were too incompetent to do it. I’ve finally being reimbursed for this damage but after much drama.

After reimbursing me for their damage, a day later they sent me a ‘legal’ letter saying that I was in breach of all these covenants on the deeds and taking me to court. It was simply by them and not a solicitor. The accusations are simply absurd and don’t make sense. I had to get a solicitor to try and get them off my back. This actually made him worse and he started threatening my solicitor and his emails were offensive and held no legal merit. He won’t instruct a solicitor and thinks he can just conduct his own kangaroo court. He even called my mortgage provider and told them a pack of lies and said he was seeking forfeiture of my property!

I have now gone on a few weeks of no contact with him and I’ve been ignoring his moronic emails at the advice of the police. He has had a new roof put on his house that he is insisting I pay towards. The roof wasn’t a necessity, just his personal choice. He has stopped me from getting my own quotes, and has used a quote that is so grossly inflated, he’s trying to extort money from me. I allowed him to put scaffolding up which actually blocks and hinders the only access to my property. The roof is now finished however the scaffold is still there and he is now using it for his own personal property renovations which I have not given him permission for. The scaffold has no safety nets or shields. This weekend, he started smashing his wall over my door and for 4 hours I had rocks and stones raining down over me and my property. He just laughed and scoffed when I objected. No dust sheets were placed anywhere and my balcony was covered in dust and rubble.

What’s the best way I can get this moron to take the scaffold down, and get him off my back. Again I’ve tried the council (this work is supposed to be supervised by them) but they just ignore me. I’m a woman who lives on her own and I know that is one of the factors he’s so nasty as he just targets women. I’ve racked up several thousand in solicitor fees already as he was sending dozens of emails deliberately to increase my legal costs with the hope I just give up.

[echat11]

Hi NW0307

The more cooperate you have been the more nasty and a nuisance he has become.

des8 Please can you take a look and advise, many thanks.

[des8]

Regarding the scaffolding, write to him telling him you are now withdrawing permission for the scaffolding.
Remind him the permission was to enable the roofing works to proceed.
Those works have now been completed and he is now trespassing.
Set a time limit (perhaps 7 days) to remove the scaffolding.

warn him that if he doesn't comply you will seek an urgent court injunction ordering him to remove it, together with an adverse costs order against him.

Send the letter first class twice from different post offices, obtaining free certificate of posting


Has he cleared the rule from your property? if not include the need for removal in your letter.

[nw0307]

Regarding the scaffolding, write to him telling him you are now withdrawing permission for the scaffolding.
Remind him the permission was to enable the roofing works to proceed.
Those works have now been completed and he is now trespassing.
Set a time limit (perhaps 7 days) to remove the scaffolding.

warn him that if he doesn't comply you will seek an urgent court injunction ordering him to remove it, together with an adverse costs order against him.

Send the letter first class twice from different post offices, obtaining free certificate of posting


Has he cleared the rule from your property? if not include the need for removal in your letter.

Thank you so much for your help! He was aware that I was only allowing the scaffolding on my balcony for the time it took to do the roof (and give or take a couple of days as I'm reasonable). He got the scaffolding erected over a week before the actual work even started on the roof so I couldn't enjoy my own outdoor space yet I didn't complain. We used a deed covenant which states he only has access for maintenance and repairs (which the roof is) and not for general building work.

My solicitor explicitly asked him to provide timescales which he hasn't done. Also because he's going to try and rob me blind with the contribution to the rear part of the roof, they also told him he has to provide a full breakdown of the work, materials and photographic evidence of what is actually being done. This was because he thwarted any attempt by me to get my own roofers to give their opinions of the work and the quote. He again refused to do this saying I can see the work via the field opposite! and as he is LANDLORD (always in capitals) he can do whatever he wants.

If I go down the route of issuing him a letter, can I also say that every day that the scaffold is on my property without permission, then I will charge a rental fee due to the inconvenience of not being able to have proper access?

As for the rubble and mess, he briefly swept up the large rocks (to get rid of the evidence of such large debris falling without any safety precaution), however the dust is still everywhere. And now it has rained, this has turned into sludge all over my property and items I have on my balcony. I'm going to have to spend quite some time jetwashing 50ft of balcony due to his mess. This isn't over though, as he is still planning to do more smashing through walls (as he's putting another god awful balcony higher up and still has to install more steel beams.

[des8]

Regret you cannot start charging him for the scaffolding now on your property as there is no contract between you.
You might just be lucky and be able to claim damages for loss of enjoyment of your property, but quite honestly it probably wouldn't be worth the candle.

[echat11]

I would keep a meticulous diary, dates, times, incidents, keep collecting the evidence.
All of the accumulated evidence will amount to 'harassment'.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/la...ut-harassment/

[nw0307]

I would keep a meticulous diary, dates, times, incidents, keep collecting the evidence.
All of the accumulated evidence will amount to 'harassment'.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/la...ut-harassment/

thank you. Yes I have been conducting a full diary since July 2019 when they first moved in and I caught him peering through my bedroom window! No joke! Some of the things they have both done and said have been beyond ridiculous and sinister. The police have said he sounds like someone with a great deal of experience at doing this type of 'low-level' harassment that is just under the bar needed for prosecution. Recently the police came to visit and said he sounds like a narcissist and the best policy is to ignore him. That is what I've been doing but that seems to get narcissists even more riled up. They did go up to have a word with him and he was extremely rude to the female officer.

Actually when I presented the diary to the police, and also I have cctv, photographs and copies of the abusive emails, the police said there was too much for them to look at and process! He is constantly spying on me with his own cctv that is actually over a shared access passage (without permission), so he sees when I come and go. Sometimes he jumps out of his door when I'm climbing the stone steps in the passage just to intimidate me. Or if friends go down the steps to visit me. It has now got to the point that whenever I'm out with friends, I have to text them that I'm home safe and sound as they're convinced one of these days, he's going to push me down the steps!

[echat11]

With regards to the police, you need to escalate the complaint, write to the Chief Officer, too much information really doesn't cut it. See if they can install a 'panic button', you should be able to live your day to day life without 'fear'. Check with the police, see what personal protection products you are allowed to have on your person for your protection. A loud personal alarm etc, so when he jumps out of bushes, he gets the 'shock' of his life, he will stop doing it.

[DE DOGS]

I guess the bottom line is he obviously wants you out, harassment is part of the plan to grind you down at least that is what I am thinking, would you consider selling the property to him ? at least you would be rid of him, and be able to find a home with the payout. PS I had a similar problem with neighbours, but I solved that peacefully myself.

[nw0307]

I guess the bottom line is he obviously wants you out, harassment is part of the plan to grind you down at least that is what I am thinking, would you consider selling the property to him ? at least you would be rid of him, and be able to find a home with the payout. PS I had a similar problem with neighbours, but I solved that peacefully myself.

yes that's exactly what he wants but he does this to devalue my property so much I can't sell it and then he comes in with an offer of half it's value. He lived a few doors down about 17 years ago and did exactly the same thing. He even knocked on the door of a neighbour he had been harassing for months, the day of her husband's funeral and offered to buy her house for half it's value. He has no empathy. The house they have now they got because his wife found out the seller needed to sell fast as her husband had a stroke and needed expensive care for him. His wife actually laughed when telling me she 'put in a cheeky offer' and didn't seem to understand the shocked look on my face!

The thing is, he has no money. He lives from hand to mouth, using his wife's part time salary as a shelf stacker. He can't find work as he's such a crap builder. He goes around the area saying he's a property developer and thinking of buying houses here and there when they have no equity other than the house they're in now and systematically ruining it. I love my apartment, it's very unique and I'm not prepared to be driven out by a charlatan who moves around every 3-4 years because they've upset the neighbourhood so much lol

[nw0307]

With regards to the police, you need to escalate the complaint, write to the Chief Officer, too much information really doesn't cut it. See if they can install a 'panic button', you should be able to live your day to day life without 'fear'. Check with the police, see what personal protection products you are allowed to have on your person for your protection. A loud personal alarm etc, so when he jumps out of bushes, he gets the 'shock' of his life, he will stop doing it.

I did escalate it in July when I got no help at all from the police. I wrote to their independent complaints authority and said it was disgraceful they're doing nothing regarding a woman living on her own who is being constantly intimidated by someone who clearly has past history doing this. They shot into action then but again pulled back when they spoke to him and he announced the whole neighbourhood want them out because of their colour. Which is absolute rubbish. In fact, he's mixed race and his wife is white so I don't know how they can say they're getting discriminated! But again, this is what he does and seems to get away with it time and time again.

The panic button idea sounds good. I will speak to the police about that, and the personal alarm.

[echat11]

If you are happy there, as you seem to be, don't give it up. Just keep an eye on them. They sound 'pathetic'.

[nw0307]

If you are happy there, as you seem to be, don't give it up. Just keep an eye on them. They sound 'pathetic'.

thank you for your kind words. I have a lot of friends who are behind me and neighbours too. I just worry that he will do deliberate damage to my property as they are both so spiteful. The thing is, with the help of my solicitor, who he also got abusive with, we've pushed him into a corner with all it threats. We've basically said we're not listening to any more of his threats, he's not bringing anything sensible to the table, and we've given him my response to his nonsense so we've said do what you've threatened (8 times now) - take me to court. He can't go to court as he has no merit in his accusations, has no solicitor, and no legal expert would go near the case as he has zero chance of winning but every chance of the tribunal awarding costs and compensation to me. He'd lose his house.

[nw0307]

Hello everyone. Again many thanks for all your replies and advice. Just to give you an update. I briefly emailed the neighbour last week to state that he must remove the scaffold in 72 hours. He didn't respond which I expected. However, I text the roofer to say that as the roof is finished I expect the scaffold to come down and if it doesn't then I will be seeking an injunction to get it removed. I said I didn't blame him but my neighbour but if it does go to court, I will expect to see all the liability insurance certificates of everyone involved. That shot him into action and he text back to say it will be removed. Finally it was removed today.

In addition to this, the horrid neighbour sent me an invoice for an extortionate amount for my contribution to all these works. I have several reasons for not paying anywhere near the amount he is asking for. None of the procedures he should have followed have been and he just thinks he can demand money from me without any justification.

If I get another demand and threats to go to court (yet again) I will probably post again on here if I need any further advice.

[echat11]

Well done, it might be prudent to have the cost of the work / invoice quoted independently (if you haven't already done so, I'm sure I read you had quotes). Also when you've got a suitable quote which is realistic and he threatens you with court action.

Write a letter, make sure you get Proof of Postage, suggest ADR (alternative dispute resolution). If it goes to court, you can show you suggested ADR but he ignored you (going by his current form on matters).