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Neighbours and their ugly house/lawn

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  • 13-06-2016 9:17am
    #1
    CruelCoin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭


    Hi guys,

    Sorry in advance for the poor engly to follow, it's early and i've not had my coffee.

    I bought a house a year ago, and my direct neighbours (semi-detached, rented) keep their garden front and back in an absolute tip. The front of their house is stained green from years of neglect.
    Knee height grass, plants overgrowing and forcing their way through the garden fence (standard 6ft wooden panel type stuff), etc.

    Now, the grass in the back i don't care about but i do mind the plants growing so large that they are bulging the wooden fence inwards onto my garden with branches forcing their way between the boards.

    My question being, is there anything i can do in respect to sorting the plants wrecking the wall in the back garden and the kneehigh grass in the front?
    Talking to them won't work as these are the standard "Screw the landlord and the neighbours" kind of people, and i don't think the landlord cares either so long as he gets his rental income, seeing as how he last week performed an inspection and the garden remains untouched.

    I'd really rather not scale the wall and go to town with a pruners to sort the plants issue, but i will if i have to.

    Regards,

    CC.


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    #2
    Speedwell
    Registered Users Posts: 3,809 ✭✭✭Speedwell


    CruelCoin wrote: »
    I'd really rather not scale the wall and go to town with a pruners to sort the plants issue, but i will if i have to.

    Don't do anything at all that you don't want the responsibility for doing later. You know what I mean. "If we let it go long enough, someone else will do it for us."


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    #3
    Sleepy
    Registered Users Posts: 24,249 ✭✭✭✭Sleepy


    Anything overhanging your garden you're entitled to trim back and throw the clippings over their wall.

    Call the landlord. If his tenants won't maintain the garden, perhaps a recommendation of a neighbour who'd do the job once a month for a reasonable amount would get him to pay for it?


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    #4
    SarahMollie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,843 ✭✭✭SarahMollie


    As above, all you can do trim back whatever grows on to your property.

    Also, it sounds like these neighbours have been like this since long before you bought the property. Heck, maybe you even got a particularly good deal due to them being a bit of a drag on the curb appeal.

    You can't really expect them to change just because you've bought beside them.

    The council won't do anything about this. I once lived (renting) down the street from a man who I think had mental health issues (or at very least was highly paranoid and a hoarder) who had piles of crap built up in his front garden, windows all blacked out and palates blocking the door. To my knowledge numerous neighbors tried to get on to DCC about it, but I lived on that road for 3 years and nothing ever changed. If they can't do anything about that, then I don't fancy your chances.


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    #5
    Ray Palmer
    Registered Users Posts: 8,394 ✭✭✭Ray Palmer


    Sleepy wrote: »
    Anything overhanging your garden you're entitled to trim back and throw the clippings over their wall.

    Not quite right. You have to offer the clippings back to them. They are under no obligation to take them and throwing them into the garden amount to dumping.


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    #6
    Sleeper12
    Registered Users Posts: 17,076 ✭✭✭✭Sleeper12


    CruelCoin wrote:
    My question being, is there anything i can do in respect to sorting the plants wrecking the wall in the back garden and the kneehigh grass in the front? Talking to them won't work as these are the standard "Screw the landlord and the neighbours" kind of people, and i don't think the landlord cares either so long as he gets his rental income, seeing as how he last week performed an inspection and the garden remains untouched.

    You could offer to cut their front lawn for them each time you do yours. I know that it's not an ideal compromise but if they don't care & you do then it might be the answer


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    #7
    Canadel
    Registered Users Posts: 1,586 ✭✭✭Canadel


    Sleeper12 wrote: »
    You could offer to cut their front lawn for them each time you do yours. I know that it's not an ideal compromise but if they don't care & you do then it might be the answer
    Sounds like they'd need a strimmer. And then a lawnmower. And they'd have to check the entire lawn for branches and whatnot that night catch the blade or get lodged in the mower. Not to mention the time taken and money spent for petrol for the mower.

    Get onto the landlord and tell them their lawn is in a state and someone needs to get their act together, either them or the tenants.


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    #8
    AnonoBoy
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,559 ✭✭✭✭AnonoBoy


    Ray Palmer wrote: »
    Not quite right. You have to offer the clippings back to them. They are under no obligation to take them and throwing them into the garden amount to dumping.

    Ask them do they mind if you do it.

    Since they don't care about their garden I can't imagine why they'd care that he trims anything that overhangs.

    They might even let him come over and cut it all back a bit more while he's at it.

    Asking is the first port of call.

    Lazy people generally like other people doing their work for them.


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    #9
    athtrasna
    Closed Accounts Posts: 13,420 ✭✭✭✭athtrasna


    The council may not take action on the appearance but several posters on here have successfully involved the council when there's fear of rodent infestation. Long grass such as you describe sounds perfect for such rodents!


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    #10
    CruelCoin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭CruelCoin


    SarahMollie wrote: »
    As above, all you can do trim back whatever grows on to your property.

    Also, it sounds like these neighbours have been like this since long before you bought the property. Heck, maybe you even got a particularly good deal due to them being a bit of a drag on the curb appeal.

    The tenants in question moved in 3 months after we bought the place.

    The garden at the time was tidy, but the house was stained green, with the landlord saying he was looking at getting it painted soon(tm). We had a good friendly chat when he saw us moving in, so there are no issues there at all.


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    #11
    CruelCoin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭CruelCoin


    Sleeper12 wrote: »
    You could offer to cut their front lawn for them each time you do yours. I know that it's not an ideal compromise but if they don't care & you do then it might be the answer

    I'm not about to do anybody elses work for them. That's just going to get abused.

    I recently powerwashed the concrete/tarmac in front of my house. I stayed within the dividing line, and wow, the difference is stark.

    One house nice and well kept, the other? Well...


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    #12
    CruelCoin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭CruelCoin


    AnonoBoy wrote: »
    Asking is the first port of call.

    Asking will get us nowhere.

    As i said earlier, they have a "screw you" attitude to their neighbours.

    For example, on the opposite side of their house a jackdaw (massive ripped version of crow) died on the roof. The body is overhanging that neightbours garden, and there is a steady dripdripdrip of maggots dropping from the carcass into their garden. An approach was made by those neightbours to the tenants next door, who long story short told them to politely get stuffed.

    Asking does/did nothing.


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    #13
    ampleforth
    Registered Users Posts: 383 ✭✭ampleforth


    CruelCoin wrote: »
    ...house is stained green from years of neglect. Knee height grass, plants overgrowing and forcing their way through the garden fence (standard 6ft wooden panel type stuff), etc...I'd really rather not scale the wall and go to town with a pruners to sort the plants issue, but i will if i have to.
    That is the beauty with property, its yours and theirs is theirs (or their landlord's). All you can do is talk to the landlord, or them, offer help, or complain or learn to accept that other people can be different and accept the different standards of beauty on both sides of the fence.


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    #14
    CruelCoin
    Registered Users Posts: 4,468 ✭✭✭CruelCoin


    ampleforth wrote: »
    That is the beauty with property, its yours and theirs is theirs (or their landlord's). All you can do is talk to the landlord, or them, offer help, or complain or learn to accept that other people can be different and accept the different standards of beauty on both sides of the fence.

    I suppose the crux of the matter is i fundamentally don't understand how some people can be fine living in squalor. Nevermind the the tenants 5 children involved....Playing in the garden isn't even an option to them as they'd need to fuel-air-bomb the place to level that grass.

    I'll give the landlord a ring later.

    Cheers, CC.


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