oops! advice needed on liability

[jj19]

hi forum
neighbors have been really bad with the police having been called by us on three occasions over a 18 month period for loud disturbances late night shouting(constant swearing) and crashing around
rubbish all over front garden to the point the terrace now has a rat infestation

this morning (Sunday) 5am the 19 year old son rocks up home, windows wide open, loud music (again -sometimes all day long), loud drunken talking and it wakes me up..

so i knock on their door toonce again politely ask them to turn it down and hear the lad saying how he was going to "knock me against a wall" to his mates while turning the music up (he now completely denies this)
so i knock a bit louder on their door and a pane of glass goes through..oops...
i called the police immediately and have a crime reference number but they didn't show..
i have spoken with the neighbor and have calmed the issue down by saying i will fix it, although i did have one lad trying to act threatening..
however i don't really want the landlord trying to charge me top money to get it fixed
should i inform the letting agent?
or would it be foolish to go further in admitting anything?
as i say if LL does decide to try and charge me, what are his chances and options of getting this money from me if i decide i don't want to pay a contractor when i can do it myself, might it be better to just deny everything from this point fwd and put the emphasis on them to try to take me to court?
the LL has never taken any action whatsoever when the noise and anti social issues were taking place..and in all honesty it wouldn't have happened in the first instance if the neighbors hadn't acted so selfishly (but of course they don't see it that way)
we have a 7 year old daughter and she cannot now play outside due to the rats and the level of swearing coming from next doors son at all times- but this is really just background info and not my reason for contacting the forum
i could do with advice on how best to approach it from here in?
contact LL/ letting agent?
am happier and feel it wiser to be completely honest but i don't want to give more info and admit too much if not necessary and if it may get me into a corner later on, it was after all an accident..
ho hum

JJ

[Amethyst]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

Oops, though it sounds like you were quite restrained in only breaking the window.

Is your house rented or do you own it? Presumably next door is privately rented ? Are there other neighbours in your terrace who are experiencing the same issues?

[FlamingParrot]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

hi forum
neighbors have been really bad with the police having been called by us on three occasions over a 18 month period for loud disturbances late night shouting(constant swearing) and crashing around
rubbish all over front garden to the point the terrace now has a rat infestation

this morning (Sunday) 5am the 19 year old son rocks up home, windows wide open, loud music (again -sometimes all day long), loud drunken talking and it wakes me up..

so i knock on their door toonce again politely ask them to turn it down and hear the lad saying how he was going to "knock me against a wall" to his mates while turning the music up (he now completely denies this)
so i knock a bit louder on their door and a pane of glass goes through..oops...
i called the police immediately and have a crime reference number but they didn't show..
i have spoken with the neighbor and have calmed the issue down by saying i will fix it, although i did have one lad trying to act threatening..
however i don't really want the landlord trying to charge me top money to get it fixed
should i inform the letting agent?
or would it be foolish to go further in admitting anything?
as i say if LL does decide to try and charge me, what are his chances and options of getting this money from me if i decide i don't want to pay a contractor when i can do it myself, might it be better to just deny everything from this point fwd and put the emphasis on them to try to take me to court?
the LL has never taken any action whatsoever when the noise and anti social issues were taking place..and in all honesty it wouldn't have happened in the first instance if the neighbors hadn't acted so selfishly (but of course they don't see it that way)
we have a 7 year old daughter and she cannot now play outside due to the rats and the level of swearing coming from next doors son at all times-

Have you contacted the council with the issues above?

• The noise from loud music is a statutory nuisance and the council can issue a noise abatement order, which means they must stop the noise or face legal action. Breaking an abatement order can result in a £5,000 fine :scared: so they'd be foolish to let their 'lad' play loud music at 5am again! :lalala:
• The rubbish outside as well as the rat infestation are issues that should be reported to the Environmental Health section of your local authority. :thumb:

Normally you'd be expected to try and resolve this with your neighbours before going to the council, but you've obviously tried and failed to get anywhere. You should tell the council about all the incidents that have taken place, including the threats of physical violence you've received, as well as the times you have had to call the police. :mod:

[jj19]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

Have you contacted the council with the issues above?

• The noise from loud music is a statutory nuisance and the council can issue a noise abatement order, which means they must stop the noise or face legal action. Breaking an abatement order can result in a £5,000 fine :scared: so they'd be foolish to let their 'lad' play loud music at 5am again! :lalala:
• The rubbish outside as well as the rat infestation are issues that should be reported to the Environmental Health section of your local authority. :thumb:

Normally you'd be expected to try and resolve this with your neighbours before going to the council, but you've obviously tried and failed to get anywhere. You should tell the council about all the incidents that have taken place, including the threats of physical violence you've received, as well as the times you have had to call the police. :mod:

hi thanks all for the replies
yes we own they rent privately
as soon as it happened i called the police and they are visiting tonight which is the 3rd time we have had to contact them
initially i was going to fix the window out of common decency but now if the LL wants to take it further with me i feel i have a strong case, i have a detailed diary and time stamped txts to the letting agent asking for help on the other occasions they have been out of order. After all they have never shown us a shred of respect or treated us decently once..
as far as i am concerned it was a genuine accident and wouldn't have even happened if they had not acted in the way they did, in fact i was lucky not to cut and artery..
i have contacted the council previously and they have removed items before but they just chuck they're rubbish out the front again
the lad did say they were leaving in 7 weeks so fingers crossed we will get someone reasonable next time but my fear is the LL just doesn't care who he gets in. the letting agents say as it is a rent collection service only they provide for the LL they are not liable to act
thanks again
JJ

[jj19]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

ok so am at home this evening and hear what sounds like a rattle screwdriver gun and thinking oh they have come to fix the door
look outside and neighbor has his mate around and they are firing a rapid fire high power pellet gun outside my window
presumably they are trying to intimidate me or feel the need to protect themselves?
called police and nothing 30 mins now and not here
informed the letting agent, no reply
cannot believe it
|JJ

[MissFM]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

Keep calling the police.

Guns=not funny - they can't ignore.

[jj19]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

thanks again
its really great to have places to go like this one!
i think its getting out of hand there is no adult in there just now, however the lad is 19 so is legally considered one,
seems like its all starting to unravel next door though
JJ

[jj19]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

thanks again
its really great to have places to go like this one!
i think its getting out of hand there is no adult in there just now, however the lad is 19 so is legally considered one,
seems like its all starting to unravel next door though
JJ

[Crazy council]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

i feel sorry for you, i was an agent, and have had to deal with similar circumstances from neighbouring properties. Its hard for the agent to do anything, report them formally to the agent, but push at the council police and local papers. Try not to directly confront them becuase little scumbs these days dont know when to stop..

I would suggest, get the police officers name and contact details thats dealing with it, then get the council officers name/dept thats dealing with it. Then give them both each others details, be nice to both, play on your fears, give the agents details and contacts as well.

[Wombats]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

I would also pull in the support of other affected neighbours as mentioned once above. I'm sure others must be suffering from the behaviour next door.

The approach to the police, emphasising the gun and how and where it was being used, and council appear to be the way forward.

[jj19]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

I would also pull in the support of other affected neighbours as mentioned once above. I'm sure others must be suffering from the behaviour next door.

The approach to the police, emphasising the gun and how and where it was being used, and council appear to be the way forward.

thanks yes police came and managed to hopefully calm matters a bit, gun was a paintball gun apparently but they weren't firing paint from it so perhaps there is a mod to make it fire something else i will have a look online
i will drop £30 by the letting agent to pay for the damage and then at least i look like to be doing the right thing
it did take them an hour and half to appear, apparently only two police on to cover a huge area

thanks
JJ

[FlamingParrot]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

thanks yes police came and managed to hopefully calm matters a bit, gun was a paintball gun apparently but they weren't firing paint from it so perhaps there is a mod to make it fire something else i will have a look online
i will drop £30 by the letting agent to pay for the damage and then at least i look like to be doing the right thing
it did take them an hour and half to appear, apparently only two police on to cover a huge area

A paintball gun should only be used when people are playing paintball games, not out on the street. Regardless of what was being fired, the fact they were using it without a good reason (i.e. they were not having fun shooting at clay pigeons in the backyard, were they?) should also be reported to the council as part of the nuisance they have been causing, not least because any sort of gun can cause both noise and damage.

[Crazy council]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

mmmmmm fastest way to deal with this... mmmmm

Fistky, a firearm is a firearm in this country, paintgun, pellet gun or conceald bannana, ist the intent to use that changes things.

..... so, if they were out in the garden again with this firearm ( or any concealed object that looks like a firearm to you ) , and they made any suggestion that they was going to shot you or your property, and this was reported to the police....... and you said to the police you were concerned for your saftey.

95% of the time, the police can impose an immediate exclusion order banning him form coming closer than 100mteres, and in efect, thius evicts them....

It would take the agent at least 12 weeks if they acted now, it would take the council at least the same...

AFAIK, you are not allowed to discharge any type of firearm in a public place. Unless the garen of the property is large enough to contain the worst possible discharge out of the wepon, its classed as a public place for a firearm. My son in law works in a gun shop and is licenced, i can ask him to confirm this if needed,

[jj19]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

mmmmmm fastest way to deal with this... mmmmm

Fistky, a firearm is a firearm in this country, paintgun, pellet gun or conceald bannana, ist the intent to use that changes things.

..... so, if they were out in the garden again with this firearm ( or any concealed object that looks like a firearm to you ) , and they made any suggestion that they was going to shot you or your property, and this was reported to the police....... and you said to the police you were concerned for your saftey.

95% of the time, the police can impose an immediate exclusion order banning him form coming closer than 100mteres, and in efect, thius evicts them....

It would take the agent at least 12 weeks if they acted now, it would take the council at least the same...

AFAIK, you are not allowed to discharge any type of firearm in a public place. Unless the garen of the property is large enough to contain the worst possible discharge out of the wepon, its classed as a public place for a firearm. My son in law works in a gun shop and is licenced, i can ask him to confirm this if needed,

this is good info thanks police stated it was a paint ball gun but they weren't firing paint from it so perhaps it has been adapted to fire pellets i don't know how feasible that is

police took so long to get here the lad had gone home with it, the police stated if they were firing it on their property it was ok but a different thing if on the street and played it down saying he was probably just being shown it by his mate and didn't take into account he run in the day before and how it may be connected
perhaps he is scared of me and feels he needs to try to intimidate us
police said they are moving on in 7 weeks and have given their notice to LL so some light at the end of the tunnel but i now am wary of some form of end game from them and who the LL has lined up for us next as he has never bothered to act on a single concern of ours
anyone know the letting agents liability in this?
Police seemed dismissive of letting agents claim to have no responsibility toward the property as it is a collection only service
seems like this and many other cases really boil down to two catagories
fear or respect, if they haven't got the latter then you have to try the former and they have to fear either you or the police
JJ

[Crazy council]

Re: oops! advice needed on liability

anyone know the letting agents liability in this?

none, but, ( cough Cough ) land reg search for owners details, write to him directly, at his home, introduce yourself as the neigbour ( cough cough ). You would be supprised h:tinysmile_aha_t:ow it can get Bad LLs moving when all the neigbours know there home address