We share a driveway, which in the deeds states is a communal area with paarking for one vehicle. When he moved in he had 2 cars, one of which he parked on the road and one on the driveway. Shortly after this he aquired another vehicle, so he ripped up the garden beds under his window on his side of the drive, so that he could park another vehicle there. There have been a string of different vehicles parked there over the years, mainly big old classic, smokey, rusting heaps, some of which he likes to start at 8am on a sunday with no exhaust attached!!! Our drive looks like Steptoe's yard.
Our front door is at the rear of the property at the end of the drive, so in the past we have had to struggle with shopping, boxes, new sofa, in order to get past these vehicles. When we go out of the door at night, we have to park a way forward in order for our security light to go on, and run the risk of walking into one of these vehicles. On one occasion he was sat in the car as I got home with bags of shopping, and waited until I had got my front door and started the car, the exhaust of which was right by my door. I was almost sick while I tried to find my keys and get in the door. I have been informed he uses red diesel, which is maybe why it smells so much. We have to shut our windows or door if he starts any of his vehicles on the drive.
This current vehicle and other piles of junk, is also preventing access to our electric meter cupboard, and we have had estimated bills for the past 2 years. We have to wait for him to go out in the car, so that we can get access and take a meter reading. Southern electric have said there is nothing they can do about this.
His cars also drip oil/fuel all over the drive and road, which, when it rains, spreads even further. We have to walk through this to get in, and the cats keep coming in covered in oil as they sit under the cars when it rains.
He is now under the false impression that he owns half the driveway, and thinks that he has a right to put as much junk on his side as he wants. We have asked him twice now to move this car, but have received nothing but abuse and argument.
Our cats enjoy sitting in the sun on the drive or on top of our meter cupboard during the day, so he has put junk on top of our meter cupboard, and put down lime dust around his car to burn their paws and to prevent the cats using 'his side' of the drive.
We also have a garden space each at the rear of the property, at first he wanted to bring a portacabin in to his, but it wouldn't fit without him taking down a party fence, which I said he couldn't. He then put up a shed, which was fine, but the shed opens on to the drive, and in the mornings he pulls out loads of junk to find his gardening equipment to load into his car, which is the scattered over the drive, preventing me from getting out. He then put up another shed next to this, the door of which, when opened, actually means I can't actually open my front door. He does the same with this every morning, leaving junk down the drive which he loads his car. I now have to make sure I get out of the house early enough to get to work before he comes out of the house, otherwise I am waiting upto 30 mins in order to get out of the door. This newest shed is also using the party fence as one of it's walls, and has no guttering, which in time is going to damage the fence, and he has items resting against the fence inside this shed, which are now bowing the fence.
I came home one day to find he had a satelite dish installed on my wall, without even asking.
Going back to the cats, when he moved in he complained thathe could hear our cats scratching at our bedroom door in the morning trying to get us up to feed them. This would happen maybe once a week, so as soon as we hear them we will get up. He still complained and said we had to leave our bedroom door open, so I explained that this was not possible, and why should we do what he tells us. So we have put down 2 more layers of carpet to dampen the noise, which is still not good enough for him. Our cats have a litter tray inside, but they still go to the toilet outside if they want to. If I see any mess I will pick it up, but I have found cat censored 2ft up in a plant in our garden, which I can only assume he has thrown over the fence. On one occasion there was cat saliva/spit on the drive one morning, which he circled in chalk and wrote 'clean up' next to it. (This was actually on the half he thinks is ours anyway) We have now had cat censored put on our doorstep most mornings this week, which again we assume he has put there, I can't believe the cats would do it so close to their catflap, they only use the soil or gravel paths so they can bury it. I don't know why the thinks ours are the only cats who use the garden and drive, at night a few other cats have set off our security light, but I can only assume he has done DNA testing on the censored in order to know it is from my cats.
There have been so many other problems, like his washing across the whole drive which we have to limbo under to get to our door, his children kicking footballs against my car which is on the road, and actually rolling across the bonnet of our other car on the drive. If we accidently drop something on the floor in the flat, he bangs on his ceiling. One evening I was resting on the sofa after work and he started banging for no reason, I wasn't even making a noise, but after about an hour of his banging, I realised that the neighbour next door must have had his music on. When we went down to let him know he was accusing the wrong person, he wouldn't answer the door. Yet we put up with his 3 noisy, rude children, shouting, banging, loud music, slamming doors, as we appreciate the the floors of a converted building are not very sound proof, so we expect a certain amount of noise. We can even hear him snoring! We try to make sure we don't make too much noise, keep our music and tv to a reasonable level, don't stamp on the floor, don't slam doors, don't raise our voices, I even make sure he is out before I practise my violin, so as not to upset him any further.
We are now getting to the end of our tether, if we could afford to move we would do it tomorrow, but then why should we have to move from an area we like, with lovely countryside views, because of him. Even if we could move, what impression are potential buyers getting as they walk up the drive to our door. We wouldn't have a hope of selling.
I have got to the point where I am scared to go out of the house if he is anywhere around, I find him intimidating, selfish, and antagonistic. Not a nice person at all.
It got to the point this weekend where my partner asked him civilly to move his car, and he refused and then started a stand up row, I thought my partner was going to punch him, and I wouldn't have blamed him, after the rubbish he was spouting, and saying that he is doing nothing wrong. He has now threatened to pullhis car even further back on the drive so that we can't get out of the door, as he thinks that owns the path to our front door too. I also understand he wants to put a carport or garage on 'his side' of the drive.
I don't think a letter to his landlord is going to do any good at all, previous experience with him has shown that he doesn't actually care what his tenant does, as long as he gets his rent. I shall start with a letter to him anyway, with the help of a neighbour who is also affected, by him, as speaking to the tenant is futile, but I don't know where else to turn
This is only a few of the problems we are encountering, if I go on I would be here all night, and I think I have gone on enough already.
Is there anyone who could give me any advise on this. I have never know such a nuisance neighbour, and don't know how this can be resolved.
Please help me!!!!!
