Things being thrown in to my garden from a neighboring property

[BankFodder]

Start off by photographing everything which is thrown on to your property.

Get a "filed plan" of your property from the Land Registry with your boundaries marked in red. Get Google maps and Earth print outs so that it is all very clear.

Document every incident and also make sure that all of your dialogue with the home is in writing or confirmed in writing.

 

I would be very careful to make sure that all of your dialogue is couched in a way which makes it clear that you appreciate that the "throwers" are people in very sad circumstances and that you sympathise with them but on the other hand, the managers of the home have a responsibility.

You don't want to come over as someone with no social understanding and who doesn't give a monkeys about other people. I think that would be very unhelpful to your case.

 

At the end of the day, your action is in trespass.

Trespass to property is not only about intruding on some one else's land - but also with dealing with the land in a way which only the owner or lawful occupier has the right to do.

This can be dealt with by means of a simple County Court claim. Rather than going for an injunction straight off, which would complicate your court claim, I would start by making a claim for a modest figure in compensation - say £100 to cover cost of removing and disposing of the items and for inconvenience. The idea of keeping it very small is so that the management will be obliged to sit up and take notice - but it won't be such a large amount that they will feel justified in instructing a load of lawyers and turning it into some marathon event.

 

make sure that the sum you are claiming can be justified to a court. If necessary, claim less - but keep it just a pure money claim.

 

An action for trespass can also include a claim for exemplary damages which are a higher sum which might be awarded to compensate you for hurt feelings - or the insult to your rights over the property.

As you appear, at this point, merely to be concerned with the risk of harm to your child rather than getting some money out of it, I suggest that you don't bother with this head of damage on this first occasion. Keep it simple.

Hopefully the Home will want to sort themselves out once they see that you are prepared to take an action - and this simple uncomplicated process might sort the whole thing out.

It is highly likely that they would want to avoid court and would attempt to settle with you. I would refuse to settle unless it was all subject to a Tomlin order which is an agreement which is signed off by the court.

If there were further incidents then you could revisit the problem based upon the Tomlin order and also consider bringing a more serious action for the fresh trespass which might include exemplary damages - maybe £500 if you were lucky. The important thing is that a second action on the back of a Tomlin order would be likely to get you a more significant award.

 

A suitable Tomlin order might include an undertaking to prevent further occurrences, and agreement to be injuncted in the event of further occurrences, an agreement to be responsible for the collection and disposal of any other items which are thrown over the fence in the event of any breach of the Tomlin order, an agreement to pay your costs incurred so far (clam fee etc) - etc.

 

If this way forward appeals to you, then build your file so that it shows the whole story and in a logical and chronological manner. Include copies or notes of all correspondence or dialogue.

Write letter to the care home and include a copy of the file. Point out your previous approaches to them and that the problem is continuing and that if there are any further incidents at any time, that you will begin an action in the County Court for trespass without any further notice.

 

Do not make this threat unless you are prepared to carry it out.

[BankFodder]

1. This claim is for trespass/nuisance
   
2. The claimant is the owner of XXX address XXX
   
3. The defendant is the party responsible for XXX care home at XXX address and which adjoins the back garden of the claimant's home
   
4. The residents of the care home are persons with various learning disabilities. They are the responsibility of the defendant for the purposes of this claim.
   
5. For over two years the residents at the care home have been throwing objects on two the claimant's back garden and despite being made fully aware of the problem and despite admitting the problem the defendants have taken no action or no adequate action to prevent this.
   
6. As a result of this trespass and/or nuisance the claimants rights over her property being undermined and she is also being prevented from the peaceable enjoyment of her property. In particular the objects which are thrown onto her land are a danger to her young child in that there is a risk they might strike him or that he might play with dangerous items.
   
7. The claimant seeks nominal damages not exceeding £100.