A neighbour of ours decided sometime back to re-render his terraced house. However – during the process he found the need to draw xmas murals into it – giant 2 story snowman and giant xmas tree – when the concrete was wet.

This was about 3 years ago and its been like that ever since – he hasn’t bothered to finish the work so his house is concrete grey with xmas decorations drawn in (like when people write in wet concrete).

I have finally got sick of this and nobody else seems bothered even though it is potentially effecting house sales and values.

I have complained to the council this morning but want to know if there are any laws about maintaining a certain standard of your home within towns? Would this situation be contravening any planning/building regs etc?

What angle should I take with the council?

Is there a local housing association officer you can speak to? Got a feeling some tenancies have clauses that require tenants to keep a property in good order, usually to prevent old three pieces & mattresses decorating the gardens. Housing officer would be the person to check & sort this.

Is neighbour a tennant, or does he own his own house in a row of otherwise housing association properties?

If its unsafe or you are in a conservation area you might be able to do something if not I doubt it. If it is annoying you and impacting on your house value then you could offer to pay to fix it. Shouldn’t be that expensive for your peace of mind.

He is the house owner I think but i have found something called the decent homes standard and what I have read indicates that it may also apply for private home owners too.