Neighbours Scaffolding in my garden after 10 months

[Guest]

Good Morning,

Just looking for a bit of advice really. We bought our property last year in July. A few days before we moved in the next door neighbour erected scaffolding in our garden to remove all the render from their property.

We are now in April 2020 (10 months later) and the scaffolding is still in our garden. It doesn't appear that the render will be replaced any time soon as there are still no windows in the property and the windows will need fitting first.

We really do not want to cause an issue with the neighbours but am I unreasonable to think that 10 months (which will likely extend to a year) of scaffolding in our garden is completely unacceptable?? What to do?

[des8]

Whilst keeping your distance (!) I would suggest* you speak to your neighbours about it first.

Did they actually request or obtain permission prior to erecting the scaffolding?
Is it necessary for the scaffolding to be in your garden?
*Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 comes to mind

[SGMM09!]

We have spoken to them about it however they seem to have a never ending timeframe and keep saying that the render is dependent on other jobs being completed first which haven't necessarily gone as smoothly as planned. In my eyes, the scaffolding should never have been erected in our garden until the render was ready to be removed and replaced straight away.

Permission wasn't given by us as this was already agreed by the previous owner of our property before we signed over.

We dont/didn't have an issue with the scaffolding being there but being there for 10months which is probably going to extend to a year plus is just unacceptable.

[Celestine]

Hey there - welcome

If the scaffolding went up shortly before you moved in then I guess you were not consulted on the terms for access for the scaffold. Did your vendors supply any information on this during the sale.

Under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act - access can be permitted for maintenance and repair only (not extensions/new builds) However, some sort of documentation should have been exchanged prior to this scaffold being erected.*

It would be normal to charge a fee for the access depending on various factors, this fee could be as much as hundreds of pounds per week if it causes you inconvenience. These fees also encourage the neighbour to undertake work quickly.

I would suggest you talk to your neighbours or write to them stating your dissatisfaction with the scaffold on your land for such a lengthy period of time. Suggest that a simple contract is drawn up between you to manage the remainder of the work. If they refuse or don't engage, you could then send them a draft contract which specifies fees which will be charged. If they don't respond this will give you a platform to use to recover some fees from them via a court claim. This sequence of events will make the completion of the work a much higher priority to them.

*

[SGMM09!]

Thank you so much, that's really helpful and I think reasonable.

[islandgirl]

I think I would be asking for a firm date for removal - as in" I am fine with it until end November (or whatever date you like) but I am planning to do something in that area of my garden after that so it must be gone by then as you will understand" Then if they agree put it in writing along with something which says what you will do if it is not gone (ie charge them x amount per week, have it removed at their expense etc etc)