Neigbours

Best of luck with this Random. In my experience, the police are extremely variable in their ways of responding. At one end of the sclae there's nothing they can do about anything short of murder, and at the other end, the really good ones will go a long way out of their way to help.  Those at the 'good' end are, sadly, rarer than those at the useless end, in y experience. But it is nonetheless worth persevering with the police. They have weird shifts and you might get somebody completely new next time you contact them, and he/she might be brilliant. Some are.

Again, best of luck. Neighbour problems are horrible.

Just as a bit of an update, I am going to register this with Police again. I have problems contacting them, not only because of my difficulty with phone conversations, but because of times I have contacted them in the past I feel they have disrearded things because of my mental health problems. I have only phoned them for instances like this, the assault at a music gig, and other harassment I have had from local youths.

I have recently registered with a local council scheme to help elderly and vulnerable people. I know they have ties with the police, so am going to make them aware of the problems and get some discussion with the police

To be honest, I don't think police can do anything, but I hope I can get it registered, which will give me a more solid case to approach the Landlord with

Thanks for all the replies and advice. I did go out to try and confront him yesterday, but I know that would have ended up with me getting abuse thrown at me, which is what happened the first time they appeared next door.

I now recall they had not actually moved in the first time this happened, it was for tenancy viewing. I phoned police, who called round while they were there, and I was told they made a genuine mistake and confused the door number.

That didn't stop them from doing it again that same afternoon. I phoned the Landlord who assured me he would contact the letting agent, and would tell them not to let it out to those tennants.

Roll forward 2 weeks, I get knock on the door from same person, with a great big grin on his face and asking to use garden to move his stuff. I was furious and told him no, three or four times, but I felt intimidated and in an awkward situation, so I caved in, but it was on explicit instructions, just this once for a brief period in the afternoon.

I have discussed with my landlord who apologised and the tennants had signed the contract when he phoned the letting agent. He let me down, left me totally in the dark about situation until the bloke knocked on my door.

I did check it out with citizens advice, they checked my contract, there is no rights to access. There are no historical rights to access either. They mentioned that I had a right to "quiet enjoyment" of the property, and because the same Landlord owned next door, the fact that his tenants are causing the problem makes it his responsibility. 

But Citizens Advice warned me of section 21, and strongly advised not to antagonise my landlord, as he needs no reason to evict me under section 21, and they have seen increasing abuse of this clause as Landlords see that as their easiest option to resolve the problem

I would agree with the comment above and prioritise that. Other than that, perhaps block it with something annoyingly difficult to move?

It it were by prior arrangement, then I might be understanding of some inconvenience - but you have made clear that the general rule is that it's off limits, and the lack of access was plain to see when the neighbour agreed to rent the house.  This is clearly an invasion of privacy.

I understand your need to have a refuge fron the world with total control over who I admit, and a modicum of peace and quiet - and the anxiety when that feels violated. Even a landlord doesn't have the right to barge into a tenant's home without reasonable warning.

What does the landlord have to say about your complaint?   As a tenant you are guaranteed some statutory rights, which cannot be signed away by an ambiguously written contract - if there is a service that offers free housing advice locally, I strongly recomment you speak with them before proceeding.  I realise that involving another agency might in itself be a source of anxiety - but, in the long run, knowing the facts of your position might cut down the number of diisaster scenarios to ruminate about.

 I would certainly dig out a copy of your rent agreement to see if there is any explicit clause granting special access to your garden - I've known old Victorian back-to-backs in that have funny rules dating back to they had shared privies, but it's most likely that your garden is explicitly for the exclusive use of your houshold.

Otherwise - hmm, I wish I knew.  I shy away far too easily from this kind of conflict to have much advice - I usually jusr lock all the doors and don't venture out if I think I might encounter the rogue in question!  But I would say that getting someone in authority on your side should take priority over confronting your neighbour - he's demonstrated already that he has no regard for your opinion, so there little point taking the risk of doing or saying something that leads to an escalation.

Best of luck.

I would like to think I could reply random, but I don't think this will be allowed to appear as my postings have been suspended.

Access issues like this are hugely problemmatic, Because your neighbour made the arrangement with someone previously in your house, he can assert a right of continuity of pratice which is difficult for the landlord to prevent - bit like squatting.

Irecall a work colleague who moved into a Victorian terrace with a central passage to the rear. There had been an outdoor privy in his garden that the neighbours had used. Even though everyone now had internal sanitation, and the outside toilet had been removed, his neighbour still claimed it as a right to walk into his garden. A prolonged legal battle got him nowhere.

However you should have rights to and if your privacy is being disrespected you need to defend yourself. it is just the hassle.

One technicality is there is no gate, he is taking down the fence to do it. You might be able to get a mesh fence on your side, so when he lifts the fence panels out he can no longer gain access. It is then his problem. Also you could store bins, crates, a skip on the route he is trying to use through your garden.

But these things need lawyers. It is just very bad luck you getting the right kind of house for your needs only to suffer from an inconsiderate neighbour.

I wasn't going to post again, and I'm still resolved to stop. But felt I ought to give this one a go.