Ignorant neighbours - any advice??

[viky]

Our neighbours have dumped a small agricultural tractor in their front driveway and are currently "fixing it up". Are they allowed to do this?

We are currently trying to sell our house and naturally seeing a tractor in next door driveway (it's a semi detached) it's putting people off, the neighbours won't move it until they see fit to, so I wondered if we'd be able to call our local council and get it enforced that it be moved. It's too late to call them this evening so any advice would be welcome before I call tomorrow to see what they say.

In todays market its hard enough to sell, so having neighbours making the area look worse than it actually is really is making for a stressful situation.

[monkeywiener]

no laws dude. i hate neibors like that. why dont u make their life hell so they want you to go then they may help you?

[Ethel]

No, as long as it is not a health hazard (such as food waste encouraging rats); or a danger and there is no covenant on his deeds expressly forbidding the use of his drive for carrying out repairs, there is nothing you can do.

[Ethel]

And I am sure you are aware that you have to declare any neighbour disputes to potential buyers, so I strongly advise you to ignore it..

Tell your viewers it is a one off and will be gone in a few weeks.

[888sally888]

I would appeal to his good side (if he has one) and explain the situation.

Is he reasonable?

[viky]

Thanks for quick replies, unfortunately the nearest it is to being a danger is the amount of black smoke thats sometimes coming from it and oil leaks - maybe a fire hazard but thats really clutching at straws.

Bit worried about upsetting them as they potentially could scare of even the hardiest of buyers so trying to keep it as amicable as possible.

[viky]

We've steered clear of complaints due to the whole dispute thing but thanks for advice.

[Myriad2112]

Sell your house to a farmer

[windmill1]

it would not put me of buying your house.do as ethel says

[viky]

Theres a good idea :)

We've a viewing in 45 mins so I'm keeping my fingers crossed they won't be too put off. It should be a short term thing so I'll just empathise that it'll be going soon.

[puddingqueen]

Hi

How did your viewing go? I know where you are coming from, our house is up for sale too and my next door neighbour has got a caravan in her garden which has not moved off the drive for nearly 2 years. Perhaps this might be because I have not sold my house as yet.............mmmmmm I have often wondered.

PQ

[viky]

It seemed to go quite well, luckily they didn't seem to mind the tractor too much but then again people tend to be more polite about things than they let on... fingers crossed though!!

[Myriad2112]

I think you're reading into all this too much, can you for one minute imagine hearing a conversation that went along the lines of:
'Well it was a lovely house, nice garden, good price, everything but we didn't bother putting an offer in because the people next door had a tractor in their garden.'

[viky]

If I saw a tractor next door and they were banging away on it I'd be concerned that it happened all the time and that I'd have to put up with the noise all the time etc etc, would you honestly want to leave next to someone like that... it unfortunately does give abit of a bad impression

[Disco Fever]

Set fire to the tractor then it will be scrap, I know it sounds a bit harsh but the scrap iron will be worth a fortune to the local pikey community....

[wonkon-wonk]

awwwww i like small tractors they are cute!

[Kenzie]

Check with the council - you may find that there are rules governing this. In the area I live in, you are not permitted to have a caravan on your drive although we are all agreeable to the two neighbours who have them. Our immediate neighbours have a small military tank of some description on their driveway and they did ask our permission before putting it there. It doesn't bother us but if I decided to sell my house I would think twice about my accceptance of it if it was affecting my house sale and definitely ask them to remove it if it was causing me a problem - your agent should be able to tell you if this is the case from the feedback they are getting from the prospective purchasers - most people are brutally honest about this.

[nonomaybe]

a caravan sitting on a drive tends, in the eyes of council planners, to be considered a permanent building so therefore needs planning permission.............

p.s. i wasn't shouting!!

[Ethel]

You do not need planning permission to put a towable caravan on your drive.

If it is a council house they may have their own rules about that sort of thing, and a private house may be subject to covenants that may or may not be enforcable, but it is not a matter for the planning department.

[mjwman]

You do your thing they do theirs. Its semi detatched land.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Our neighbours once restored a London double decker bus on the drive. I loved it! Other folk asked us how we put up with it!

I run an old Triumph Spitfire and it is always on the drive in bits!

I have a hankering after a tractor..........