Building work next door – our garden left trashed/unsafe – any rights?

Just to preface, I have contacted the HSE today, but it’s a web form submission and they reckon it might take 30 days to respond.

Anyway. our neighbour is building an extension. When I got home from work on Friday, they had ripped out the fence, moved it two feet into our garden, destroyed 4 mature plants/bushes (a Camillia, a Honeysuckle and two more), moved a lot of our garden furniture and dug a trench across the property line.

This was all done without telling us or asking permission to access our garden.

On top of that, there were bits of wood with rusty nails through them left in my garden (I caught my eldest swinging one of them towards my youngest). For want of a better expression, I think the builder is a cowboy.
Can I request to see any safety plans/risk assessments?
What rights do we have to ensure safe working conditions are maintained and that any further risks are minimised?

Our neighbour has attempted to placate my concerns, but what he has done up to this point means I cannot simply accept any verbal reassurances. He put the blame for the damage to the garden squarely on the builder, saying he did it without his knowledge or permission. I don’t really believe him, since he also insisted that I don’t ask the builder about it.

Any help/insights would be appreciated.

Thanks
Pie.

First, speak to the builder.
Point out that he needs to reinstate your garden immediately, and that he has no permission to enter it except for the purposes of making good. A short, polite letter might help – and get his contact details before you go off on one.
You may need to start work late, so you can have a face-to-face.

Jeez, what an idiot builder and your neighbour is just as bad. Worth contacting the Police re criminal damage?

Good luck.

The Party wall act may also help your cause – it doesn’t sound like they’ve put an agreement in place: https://www.gov.uk/party-wall-etc-act-1996-guidance

Be reasonable – At first. Give them a day or two to put it back as was and ask the neighbour to pay for any permanent damage. If the situation isn’t resolved quickly then I suggest a nice heavy pair of bombers straight across the back of the head as he leaves for work. Or a letter from your solicitor, £25 quid well spent.

page 16

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/237227/Party_Wall_etc._Act_1996_-_Explanatory_Booklet.pdf

Yep, Party Wall act – you can get work stopped but it takes legal moves I think.

Step 1: Photograph *everything*.

Nice clear photos will be your indispensible friend if the neighbour/builder try to wriggle out of things.

Step 2: What is said above.

piemann – Member
This was all done without telling us or asking permission to access our garden.

Is shooting neighours permissible? If yes go for it otherwise follow the bureaucratic channel … 😯

HSE won’t give a rats ass, they are so over stretched at the minute I’m afraid the odd rusty nail in your garden might not register on the GAF scale.

Party Wall Act is nonsense unless both parties agree and no work is undertaken until it is signed and a surveyor has been round to inspect. You should have received this from your neighbour a good few weeks before the builders turned up. If work is undertaken prior then it’s completely worthless as it is in retrospect.

The only thing you can do is take them to court at cost to reclaim cost of damage caused.

The builder should have liability insurance and this could al be resolved quickly if the PWA in in place. If not you could be in for a long ride unless you have very understanding neighbours and builders.

Unless the company doing the work has five employees or more, they won’t have a written health and safety policy.

What’s the trench across the property boundary for? Is he putting a soakaway in your garden?

The Party Wall Act only covers what is in the title, walls on a boundary that may or may not be part of a structure and any excavations that affect them (principally undercutting foundations but can also be used if backfilled)

Boundary disputes are a civil matter, but any damage could also be seen as criminal damage.

In either case you should have been notified of any works and asked permission to proceed beforehand.

If the party wall is in effect, common practice is for each party to have a surveyor, both paid for by the person undertaking the work. If an agreement can not be reached, a third party wall surveyor is employed to mediate.

A neighbour should be entitled to access via your property, if you refuse access they would need to make a legal case, otherwise they are trespassing.

CAB may be your best first port of call.

CAB link

Take a multitude of photos of the damage, with reference points in the background.
Save the most recent photos of the garden before the damage was done.
Good luck.

The builder is there to build, sometimes some of tem dont understand the law of trespass or damage to other peoples property, its the neighbours problem to sort it as he employed them.

Instructing solicitors to act in PWA matters may open you up to substantial costs, and especially when there’s been no agreement put in place
You might instead want to ask them to remove what they’ve encroached upon your garden with and tell them that you expect everything to be made good.
Ask for the builder’s liability insurance details and inform your buildings insurance.
HSE won’t be interested, however your (Local Authority’s H&S Enforcement team[/url] should be as well as Building Control, and you might as well try the Planning Dept.

The builder is there to build, sometimes some of tem dont understand the law of trespass or damage to other peoples property,

Oh, I think they understand it, they simply choose to ignore it
easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission etc.

d45yth – Member
Unless the company doing the work has five employees or more, they won’t have a written health and safety policy.
POSTED 38 MINUTES AGO # REPORT-POST

Err not true. We’re a company of three and have a full health and safety policy.

Err not true. We’re a company of three and have a full health and safety policy.

But I reckon the point will be that there is no legal requirement to have one so they probably don’t.

What does dug a trench across the property line mean? Down the boundary ? Or across the boundary to go into your garden proper ? Has he reerected the fence to nick your garden ? If I were you I would be contacting my building society as the work could effect the value of their security they may fund legal action also does your building insurance cover legal expenses?

Personally I’d send your neighbour a letter before action listing the issues and giving him 7 days to rectify them all. An example of one here:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/consumer_w/consumer_taking_action_e/consumer_legal_actions_e/consumer_going_to_court_e/consumer_taking_court_action_e/letter_before_action.htm

They are very effective at getting issues resolved as no one wants to go to court….

Call the police. Its an absolute p*sstake.
Trespassing
Criminal-damage…

It’ll make both the neighbors & builder think twice.

Builder for 29 years here and would never dream of invading someone’s space like this..gives us a bad name.

And I’d speak to the builder…find out whether neighbor gave permission or not. I’d need to know who I’m living next door to.

Not sure the plod would be interested. Trespass is a civil matter and criminal damage would require malicious / willful intent I would have thought.

Start polite and tell the neighbour that so long as he gets it sorted you won’t have it out with the builder seeing as they’re so keen for you not to talk to him.

Escalate if nothing happens and see if your house insurance includes legal advice/costs (a lot do)

Local planning department?

Err not true. We’re a company of three and have a full health and safety policy.

From what I gleaned of your work in construction from past threads you appear to have worked for major contractors, they will insist on all their subbies having H&S documentation however small they are. I’ve been on a preparatory visit for a one man band mastic contractor who needed a full policy. Total waste of his money and time to my way of thinking as it was the major contractor washing their hands of managing safely.

Any way back on track boundary and party wall stuff is expensive you can throw thousands at it and still not be guaranteed a result.

Step 1: Photograph *everything*.

Nice clear photos will be your indispensible friend if the neighbour/builder try to wriggle out of things.

Step 2: Post pics on here

And I’d speak to the builder…find out whether neighbor gave permission or not.

The neighbour can’t give permission to something he doesn’t have any rights over!

Anyway, it’s a civil matter of you vs your neighbour and / or builder. I’d go after the neighbour myself.

+1 for call the Police.

I would say it’s criminal damage.

If you have legal cover on your house hold insurance then call them ASAP too.

PS photos please 🙂

I would be telling them you want the whole lot repairing and reinstating with new, mature trees by the end of the week.

Not really a police issue but from my limited understanding of the requirements of the party wall act your neighbour is in breach of his obligations to give notice of and seek consent to the works.

In theory at least you could get an injunction to stop the work. You are entitled to plans and notice of the works as well as having any concerns you have addressed (by a surveyor paid for by the neighbour) before the work starts.

I would ask the neighbour to stop work other than riding up the mess and give me a copy of the plans and proper notice to consider under the act. If he doesn’t comply then it’s lawyer time.

His builder should be well aware of the rules. Ours asked to see the consents before he started.

They will need to put any damage right

They trash your garden and fence. So that’s criminal damage.
They trespass on your land.
They litter with unsafe material.
Why would you not go to the police?
If your neighbour is unable to stop them what else can you do?

EDIT: And your neighbour clearly doesn’t care as there’s no party wall agreement.

Nope – recklessness is sufficient. Reading the CPS guidance there appears quite sufficient grounds for a prosecution.

IANAL, but the internet isn’t half useful nowadays

Have a chat with the builder. The neighbour obviously doesn’t care, but the builder might realise that it’s more hassle than it’s worth to continue.
Or he may not…
Either way,you need to speak to him so he’s in no doubt about your feelings.