Neighbour moan! Where do I stand legally?

[Hyshqa]

Just wondering if anyone knows what I can do about this, legally! I've lived in this student house since last January and have always had problems with one of our neighbours. I'll save everyone a description of the massive argument we had today and get straight to the point; his kids play football out the front of our house and are always (and by that I mean at least every 5-10 minutes) kicking their ball into our cars, the front garden, the back garden, the front door, or the front windows. It's bloody annoying and potentially damaging! They've already ripped down part of our fence to get into our back garden before (I've literally seen them do this at least twice, and one of my housemates has seen them do it before too), and I'm 99% sure the dad of these kids clipped this fence down after I mended it too (it has definitely been clipped, I just didn't see him do it but I KNOW it was him!). He also admitted to me during this argument today that he regularly climbs over the side fence that separates our garden from his garden to retrieve balls, even if we're in the house.

Where would I stand legally? His kids are being SUCH a nuisance, would the police be able to do anything if I called? Especially as I know he has damaged our property and had admitted regular trespass.

[Simon&Sophia]

Tell your next door neighbour that if he/her/they continue to breach your peace, and/or cause damage and loss to your self and your property - that you will have to report the infringement of your common law rights to the local police constabulary. The sad thing is, the police will likely not bother to do anything. So report it to your land lord. Im sure he wont want to be forking out for new fencing etc. As for the cars, the police should do something about that. If this doesnt work, get in touch with me again and ill knock you up some letters to post through their door.

[Sarah]

put anti climb stuff on the fence? or just smash glass bottles and slap a bit of concrete on the top of the fence where they climb over and stick the glass in there?

[BingBlaze n Skyla]

can u not complain about criminal damage and trespassing

[Hyshqa]

I can't make any alterations to the property with things like paint etc as it's not my house (we're not even allowed to change energy suppliers!!), otherwise I'd go straight for buying some big ass prickly bushes! I've been google searching and it seems that although he and his kids are committing trespass, it's not actually a criminal offense and the police can't or won't do anything about it. And with me having no proof about the fence being clipped by him I can't do him for criminal damage either.

Tell your next door neighbour that if he/her/they continue to breach your peace, and/or cause damage and loss to your self and your property - that you will have to report the infringement of your common law rights to the local police constabulary. The sad thing is, the police will likely not bother to do anything. So report it to your land lord. Im sure he wont want to be forking out for new fencing etc. As for the cars, the police should do something about that. If this doesnt work, get in touch with me again and ill knock you up some letters to post through their door.

That would be fantastic! I've emailed my accommodation officer to see what she has to say as the landlord is well aware of this complete anus next door. I'll be chatting to her properly about it on Tuesday though I don't think there's anything she'll be able to do about it. Next time I speak to him (which will be an argument, I don't chat to this neighbour) I'll quote what you said and get in contact with you for some of those letters!

[Mollys Dad]

or just smash glass bottles and slap a bit of concrete on the top of the fence where they climb over and stick the glass in there?

I thought that kind of stuff was outlawed, in case you injure the poor innocent burglar / tresspasser / scumbag?

[Mollys Dad]

And I guess waiting behind the fence with a baseball bat is completely out of the question?

[lebe03]

I would suggest gathering some evidence of their behaviour preferably video so that you can prove what they're doing. You may also find the following link useful http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/CrimeJusticeAndTheLaw/Typesofcrime/DG_4001652

[Mollys_mum]

And I guess waiting behind the fence with a baseball bat is completely out of the question?

...YES! Don't even go there.

[Simon&Sophia]

cool cool. The letters can be quite indulgent with vocabulary. But to be honest, if you confuse people with big words - they tend to pay attention. haha

It wont be anything too heavy really, just imposing a fine upon trespassing onto "your" property... similar to parking fines, you will impose a Penalty charge notice. The conditions of which will be met by crossing the perimeter of your property. Its something of a nonsense really, because i doubt you could really make it stick if you did take it to court, mainly because the justice system is fundamentally flawed these days. But it is a genuine action that you can take *EDIT* Or at least it should be. Then, for the business with your car, a similar letter but more direct. If they damage your car, id just go to the police.

[Alex T]

Unfortunately there's not a lot that you can do! We've had similar issues with our neighbours climbing in and out of our garden before - they even left the side gate open not long after we moved in and our GSD went walk abouts!

Best thing to do is find whether your neighbours own their own house or rent. If they rent you can complain to their landlord/ housing group - who will then eventually after a number of complaints send out a letter about their children's behaviour no longer being tolerated. There were several kids in our street with ASBO's (all for similar issues as you mention) a few years ago, they have since moved out of the area after realising that the neighbours wont stand for it!

[Hyshqa]

Nope, they have a mortgage unfortunately. That was part of the argument today - I asked him why he thought less of us student for renting because he stopped his kids playing outside a house across the road after an elderly man who owns his own house complained to them. He also moved his kids on today when my housemate's dad turned up to help fix her car (it had broken down). He is perfectly happy to make our lives misery but if it's someone who owns a house there or an 'adult' turns up he does care (we're between 20 and 24 years old in this house so what makes him think of us as anything less than adults baffles me). And the amount of times he shouted "But you don't live here!" at me today - I bloody well do! I pay rent and have been at that house since January last year. Just because I am a student and choose to go home for the holidays does not make me any less of a resident there.

[Mollys_mum]

Unfortunately there's not a lot that you can do! We've had similar issues with our neighbours climbing in and out of our garden before - they even left the side gate open not long after we moved in and our GSD went walk abouts!

Best thing to do is find whether your neighbours own their own house or rent. If they rent you can complain to their landlord/ housing group - who will then eventually after a number of complaints send out a letter about their children's behaviour no longer being tolerated. There were several kids in our street with ASBO's (all for similar issues as you mention) a few years ago, they have since moved out of the area after realising that the neighbours wont stand for it!

If that fails I would report the little darlings and their miscreant parents to the SS.

[Martian999]

Always worth trying to 'capture' any future incidents and/or altercations on your mobile phone, (audio'

/video recordings of any aggressive or anti social behaviour), as this should suffice as evidence for possible prosecution.

Tresspassis usually considered to be a civil matter but any damage, whatsoever, is more serious and should be dealt with by your local police force, (this is where your audio / video clips may assist).

Unfortunately however the 'taking of the law into ones on hands' usually ends in tears and you then find yourself at the centre of the legal system which, (although completely unfair), is what tends to happen these days.

[Martian999]

Always worth trying to 'capture' any future incidents and/or altercations on your mobile phone, (audio'

/video recordings of any aggressive or anti social behaviour), as this should suffice as evidence for possible prosecution.

Tresspassis usually considered to be a civil matter but any damage, whatsoever, is more serious and should be dealt with by your local police force, (this is where your audio / video clips may assist).

Unfortunately however the 'taking of the law into ones on hands' usually ends in tears and you then find yourself at the centre of the legal system which, (although completely unfair), is what tends to happen these days.

[innocenti]

unfortunatley the glass n concrete route suggested by saz is illegal... your probably stucked with it as the police usually cant be bothered to solve domestic problems like this ..... even tho its what WE pay them for ....

[Simon&Sophia]

we dont pay the police for civil matters as Martian999 rightly pointed out that trespass is. They can only deal in criminal cases. Trespass is a legal/civil matter, not a lawful/criminal one. Which is why you have to fight it in a legal manner. Hence; present them with a contract similar to penalty charge notices that are slapped on parking "crimes". It should go something along the lines of - the terms of entry to this property, its boundaries, or any outbuildings (etc) carry a entry fee of £50 per occasion. In crossing the boundary into this property, you agree to all terms and conditions by default unless you have prior consent...etc etc. Im too tired to write it properly here, but i shall write one correctly if you so wish. The same can be applied to prevent cold callers/salespeople, annoying census workers (hehe), or electoral registry workers (hehe x2) or whoever is likely to ever come onto your property. Big corporations do the same, so can we.

[brian brown]

Any time you see a ball come into the garden, stick a knife in it & throw it back. They'll soon get fed up of buying new balls

[Hyshqa]

Any time you see a ball come into the garden, stick a knife in it & throw it back. They'll soon get fed up of buying new balls

That's criminal damage. I don't want to do anything illegal here. Luckily he's kept his kids off the street recently so we've had no further problems, but I've had a chat with a police officer friend and discovered it is actually ILLEGAL for kids to play football in the street. I'll be quoting that next time they are a pain in the ass.

[brian brown]

That's criminal damage. I don't want to do anything illegal here. Luckily he's kept his kids off the street recently so we've had no further problems' date=' but I've had a chat with a police officer friend and discovered it is actually ILLEGAL for kids to play football in the street. I'll be quoting that next time they are a pain in the ass.[/quote']

It's not criminal damage, if it's on your property, it's yours.

Stick a knife in it & throw it in your bin then?

[Simon&Sophia]

That's criminal damage. I don't want to do anything illegal here. Luckily he's kept his kids off the street recently so we've had no further problems' date=' but I've had a chat with a police officer friend and discovered it is actually ILLEGAL for kids to play football in the street. I'll be quoting that next time they are a pain in the ass.[/quote']

If it is "illegal" it only goes against the government's legislative rules, and the Police can not intervene. They can not deal in civil matters, which this would be - because statutes are merely contracts. The can only deal with what is unlawful, not illegal. The act of playing football on the street being a "crime" is a ridiculous notion if you think about it. The manner in which they are doing it is your problem. I.e, kicking the ball at your car. It is not the playing of football that is the issue, it is the damage to your property, which in the eyes of law and legislation - are two seperate things. As they should be. If they weren't kicking the ball at your car/house/fence, im sure you'd have no quarrel.

If it continues, let me know and ill knock up one of those letters.

[Ravenwolf]

If talking to the guy and rational attempts have fallen through, I say get creative and have fun with it!

Start playing football on his lawn and kicking a ball into his vehicle and see how he likes it! Even better, do it while his kids are playing on your yard, and you can be all "what? I had to play somewhere and there are kids already using my lawn. Your car makes a great backstop, by the way, thanks!"

As far as hopping the fence - collect Kiska's poo and dump it in all likely landing sites for fence climbing! Itching powder along the top of the fence might be fun too, though not likely to stay very long if its windy.

It's unfortunate, but police aren't likely to bother with what is essentially harmless mischief. The best you can hope for is someone coming over and speaking with the father - which they might do if you explain that you've tried to deal with him yourself and they persist in trespassing and damaging the fence.

If they kids do any damage to the vehicles the only course of action would likely be a small claims lawsuit against the father, and you'd have to prove and/or at least have witnessed them doing the damage to make that stick.

[Hyshqa]

What I want to do is train Kiska to pop footballs and then stick a sign up saying "beware of dog - no balls" or something If only I could be bothered to buy the number of balls it would take to train the behaviour properly!

Also, not sure how to quote on my mobile, but to the comment above that if a ball comes into my garden it's mine and popping it deliberately isn't criminal damage - that is not true. It isn't my ball (a friend coming round and leaving their phone here doesn't make that phone mine) so I can't do anything to it.

Also the other comment about the legalities of playing football in the street - the way it was described to me was 'unlawful', I assumed that and 'illegal' ment the same thing, my slip up there! Playing football in the street is unlawful.

The guy still hasn't bothered us since this so it's all good. We do have two friends staying that have 7 dogs between them in a massive van on our drive though, all of which bark at the slightest noise and 3 of which are people aggressive so I'm not surprised!

[Simon&Sophia]

I assumed that and 'illegal' ment the same thing, my slip up there! Playing football in the street is unlawful.

Its an easy mistake to make! But they are two different things. Unfortunatly - this misinterpretation is how alot of "fake" "laws" are made to stick.

Your second comment, im sorry to say, is also very very untrue. The only way in which an act becomes unlawful is if it causes damage, harm, or loss to a human being, or commits fraud against them. So unless you are kicking a ball in someone's face - it's not unlawful.

[AttilaVikingsDemon]

I can't make any alterations to the property with things like paint etc as it's not my house (we're not even allowed to change energy suppliers!!), otherwise I'd go straight for buying some big ass prickly bushes! I've been google searching and it seems that although he and his kids are committing trespass, it's not actually a criminal offense and the police can't or won't do anything about it. And with me having no proof about the fence being clipped by him I can't do him for criminal damage either.

That would be fantastic! I've emailed my accommodation officer to see what she has to say as the landlord is well aware of this complete anus next door. I'll be chatting to her properly about it on Tuesday though I don't think there's anything she'll be able to do about it. Next time I speak to him (which will be an argument, I don't chat to this neighbour) I'll quote what you said and get in contact with you for some of those letters!

Yes, planting Holly would fix their cabooses but good! Too bad you're not allowed, but thats just a bandaid, not a correction to the root of the problem, by which I mean, if there are damages incurred, the father is liable for what and all his kids do to your landlords property. Is notifying them a viable solution, after all, its his fence they are disrepairing. If not, I suggest making the father aware that he is liable for any damage his kids do/have done and that video surveillance will add to your defense in a court of law. This is the age of electronics, let it help you.

Just read that bit below my post about the landlord, they CAN do something about it as its their property, question is will they do anything about it, if not, its up to you and remember what I posted above-video camera and court, it seems like too much, but these things can blow up out of control and thats the only alternative sometimes. I wish you well in dealing with your neighbors from hel-this is why I prefer animals to kids...