I need to have wotk undertaken on the external walls to my house. I need access to my neighbour's property.

Question

I'm getting cavity wall insulation on my house. The company need to erect scaffolding and will have to erect it on my neighbour's property to insulate a wall. They are refusing to allow scaffolding to be erected on their property and as such I can't get the insulation done. I've tried reasoning with them but they will not budge. What do I do now? I've heard about going to court for a court order under the Access to neighbouring Land Act 1992. What would be the cost of doing this and what would my chances of success be if the neighbours contest it.

They have a stained glass window and are afraid of it getting damaged. I've contacted the scaffolding company to make them aware of this but the neighbours still refuse to budge. The insulation company have said that they can insulate 3 of my walls but would have to come back and do the disputed wall later. They have also said that unless all four walls are done my home will not be properly insulated. Any advice, anyone. Thanx

Answer 1

Any work involving neighbours can be tricky. Your insulation company should have written to your neighbours explaining the works and the means of access prior to starting. The simplest solution although it would involve internal decorations would be to inject from the inside, Reduce the bill of scaffold required from your invoice from the company. After all it is their fault that the managing of the contract was carried out insufficiently.

Answer 2

if you live near london let me know ..

I can deal with this for you..

Answer 3

You could consider having the insulation blown in from the inside. It works just as well. You would need to clear the rooms of delicate equipment and use dust sheets as the main mess is from the drilling. Also you may need to remove radiators if they are in the way (simple job). I did this on my front elevation as It was Tyrolean rendered concrete blocks and I didn't want them smashing through with hammer drills. A bit of newspaper followed by Polyfilla in the holes and you'd never know.

Answer 4

Your best solution, to my mind , is a combination of all of the earlier advice you've received so far.

Get a local solicitor to write a letter, it will be more authoritative than if you write, although it might be worthwhile sending your own letter in the first place setting out all the circumstances and what you are prepared to do to accommodate their fears and to allay them and cheaper as well.

Explain again that if forced you can go to the County Court to get an order allowing access. ( You would need to enquire if you are solely responsible for the costs, or if they might be partially required to bare the cost for unreasonable behaviour. You could always insinuate that this is the cast to encourage them to come to an agreement or suggest you will seek costs against them if you are forced to go to court.)

That suitable and agreed measures will be taken to protect their property.

That any minor damage to gardens etc would be reinstated to their reasonable satisfaction

That there is adequate insurance to cover any damage that might otherwise occur.

Hopefully with all this pressure, they will reluctantly accept the intrusion. Best of luck.

Answer 5

Make a plan for the protection of the window, and then write a letter to the neighbor. "Dear neighbor:  I can understand why you're concerned about your beautiful window, and we want to do everything we can to protect it and to reassure you. Some other contractors are careless, but the foreman of the job is willing to meet with you to tell you what they will do to prevent any damage. First, the window will be inspected inside and out, and photographed so the before-and-after condition can be compared. They are suggesting shielding the entire area, not just the glass, with 8-foot panels of rigid 3/4" plywood. The panels would be attached with screws. (Hammering nails could cause too much vibration and affect the window.) After completing the job, the contractors will remove the plywood, fill the s***w holes, and touch up the paint.

This sounds like a lot, but I've had difficult neighbors and sometimes you just have to accommodate their neuroses.

Answer 6

Looks like it may have to get legal.

http://www.marshferriman.co.uk/site/libr...

and http://www.nfh.org.uk/forums/forumdispla...

Good luck. Pauline

Answer 7

If you have a lawyer, have him write an advisory letter to the neighbor telling them an expensive lawsuit is pending unless they agree to giving access. An idle threat, if you will. You don't have to go through with the lawsuit later since it will cost you as well. Stipulate in the letter that the bond of the company doing the work would protect them from any harm.

In the end, you may never get them to agree to your needs and will only increase the rift between the two of you. Is there no way that they can attach scaffolding to the roof of the house and come down that way without touching their property? Might cost you more now but I'm sure you are looking to save on heating/cooling bills in the future.

Sounds like a fence is in order here....