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Q.We moved to our home 2 years ago and paid a premium for its quiet location, as it backs onto council owned land which consists of a wood, lake and playing fields. Recently a childrens playpark was opened, which is fine with us - apart from one piece of apparatus which is one of those "zip runs" This whines loudly all day and occasionally in the night as youths have a go. It spoils the tranquility and even prevents me from sleeping during the day when I'm on night duty as a nurse. When my husband and I first heard this we thought it was mini mopeds the noise is so bad. I have written to the council to ask for this 1 piece of equipment to be removed or changed to something less noisy but with no luck. Please could you advise me on my right
| A.Were this noise to emulate from a neigbouring property it would fall fair and square within the legislation imposing a statutory duty upon the local authority to take action to restrain the nuisance. I can not see that the position here is any different. Legal action is possible but it may be too early for this. You should formally require the council to take action to restrain the noise and do so in the confidence that you are on a good legal footing . |
Q.I came back from holiday to find my neighbour has had Sky TV installed and had the dish put nowhere near her property but on mine ! We live in a two floor apartment block, I live on the second floor and my neighbour on the ground floor. The position of the dish is on the corner of my flat near the guttering. She neither asked my permission nor informed me it was going to be done so do I have any rights to ask her to remove it? Obviously the property is leased as it is an apartment, so can I say that it is my property she has had the dish attached to? Or do I have no rights at all (in which case could I legally have say, a hanging flower basket drilled into her wall?)
| A.One thing seems certain and that is that your neighbour had absolutely no right to fix the dish on the corner of your apartment without permission. The uncertainty is against whom this trespass (for that is what it is) was committed. That will depend upon the nature of your lease and who owns the structure of the building. If your lease is short (such as with an assured short hold tenancy) it will be the landlord. If as I suspect it is a long lease which is really a kin to owning the freehold it will depend upon the terms of this lease. Sometimes the structure is owned and the responsibility of the lease holder, sometimes an incorporated body comprising of the residents and sometimes the freeholder. You are going to have to look into this, and whoever owns and is responsible for the structure of your building may require the removal of the dish and if necessary court orders that this be done. Until removed the dish is the property of your neighbour and I would caution you against interfering with it. |
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