My neighbour and I have a shared driveway, however this has effectively been un-shared by my neighbour who has for almost 10 years parked his boat and car on his side of the drive. This means that we have never had the use of our garage and a large section of our drive as his vehicles make it impossible for me to use my drive or have access to my garage.
We tried to sell our house but the only really interested viewers did not buy the property and cited the parked vehicles as the reason.
I have tried to resolve this situation but he refuses to resolve this saying he will move the cars when I need access if I ask him and on a few days parking the car lower down the drive. The boat does not move and is now on bricks and unsafe for my small children.
Other neighbours have told us that previous occupiers of our property (an elderly couple) erected a hedge then a fence but the fence was removed by my neighbour after their death.
Is there any way I can enforce removal of boat and the car?
Is there any way I can enforce him making his vehicles safe?
If I un-share the drive will I have to compensate him as he has effectively unshared it already?
Has a precedent been set by the previous occupiers erecting a fence?
Can I sue him for the loss of value to my property after our failure to sell our house?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And a brilliant reply here.........................
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To answer your specific questions:
Is there any way I can enforce removal of boat and the car?
Yes, You can apply for an injunction in the County Court. This is a court order telling your neighbour that he cannot park on the shared drive or otherwise obstruct your use of it. If he disobeys it he's in contempt of court, and can be sent to prison.
If it genuinely is a shared drive (and the Land Registry details will make this clear) it's pretty much an open and shut case.
You should write to him saying you've taken advice from a solicitor (me!) requesting a written undertaking that he will not in future obstruct your use of the shared bit.
Say that unless he delivers the undertaking by a given time and date (I always prefer noon, as it's slightly more dramatic than, say, 5:00pm!) and thereafter abides by the undertaking you will seek "injunctive relief, damages and costs on an indemnity basis".
The chances are that he won't want to take a chance that you're bluffing, and although it's unlikely you will get your undertaking he may well alter his behaviour to accommodate you.
Or, even better, he will take your letter to his solicitor who will be mightily impressed by your evidently encyclopaedic legal knowledge and advise him not to upset you in the future in any way at all, so that he becomes a humble and contrite shadow of his present stroppy self.
Realistically though, such a letter always carries more clout if it comes from a solicitor, and it's probably worth paying for it. Before doing so, check your contents insurance to see if it includes legal expenses cover. If it does give them a ring and let them sort it out.
In the vast majority of such cases a shot across the bows is all that’s needed. When your neighbour realises that if he carries on acting like a prat he’s likely to be on the thick end of a bill for several thousand pounds he may well adopt a rather more co-operative attitude.
Even if he ignores you, and you actually get to issuing proceedings the chances are that he’ll back down very quickly, and agree to a court order being made and to payment of your costs without it going to a full hearing.
Is there any way I can enforce him making his vehicles safe?
This shouldn’t matter if he’s keeping the drive clear.
If I un-share the drive will I have to compensate him as he has effectively unshared it already?
You can’t “unshare” the drive. A shared drive means that as a corollary to your having access over his bit he has access over your bit.
Has a precedent been set by the previous occupiers erecting a fence?
Unlikely, unless the fence had been up for a very long time.
Can I sue him for the loss of value to my property after our failure to sell our house?
Yes, you can sue anyone you like, though whether you would win is a different matter! Realistically you probably can’t. The court would be likely to say that you could have prevented the trespass but chose not to, and therefore you are the author of your own misfortune. I realise this seems harsh, but c’est la vie.
We are about to extend onto a portion of the drive
Whoa! If you are planning to extend across that part of the drive over which he has access rights it could be you in the firing line. As has been said, he could apply for an injunction to stop you blocking his access, and would probably succeed.
It’s a common misconception that if you have planning permission that’s all you need. There are hundreds of thousands, probably millions of houses that have either rights of way, as here, or restrictive covenants that prevent alterations to the property without someone’s consent (incidentally, check for this when checking the access rights).
Not only do the Council not know about these, they don’t give a damn. They are only interested in planning law, which is a division of public law (the state versus you). Covenants and rights of way etc are about land law, which is a division of private law (you versus another private individual or organisation).
…this will be noted as a dispute on your property information.
This is a worry that bothers many people, and deters them from asserting their rights against bully neighbours.
In my experience such neighbours only understand one thing – money. You can complain and try to argue reasonably with them till you are blue in the face, but they will just laugh at you.
If they’re faced with a bill from your lawyers with lots of noughts on the end they will stop laughing very quickly.
You would already have to disclose an unresolved dispute with an ignorant and selfish neighbour – it’s far better to disclose a resolved dispute and a timid neighbour who dashes inside as soon as your shadow falls on his shared driveway!
But finally it might be worth considering a more radical solution – that you both agree to abandon the shared drive and just have your own drives, with, if you wish, a fence / hedge / wall whatever down the middle.
This seems to be what you would want anyway if you’re extending into the drive, and would solve all the problems amicably.
All you would need is a deed of mutual surrender whereby you both relinquish your rights over the other’s drive. This could be prepared by a solicitor with you splitting the cost equally.
And on that note of inspired creativity it’s time for the pub quiz!
|
Source:-
http://boards.fool.co.uk/shared-driveway-nightmare-12090482.aspx?sort=whole
No comments:
Post a Comment