Restricted covenant neighbour threatening to take me to court

[chrisc]

I have been getting harassed by my neighbour since i bought my property. old couple in their 80's and their son who is 50+.


First of all when i built my outbuilding in the garden for gym and storage, the neighbours started complaining to local authority about noise, when they are all registered deaf, and the outbuilding was about 40 metres away from their property, then they complained that someone was actually living in it. I had built the outbuilding under certificate of lawfulness, the council turned around and said i needed the planninng permission for it as it was too big. i went through so many appeals and permissions, and last march i got the permission to halve the size, which i did and complied with all the conditions as for the landscaping.

Now till yesterday I thought this matter was over and finished. I was going to build a side extension but thought i would leave it as i do not want to go through another saga of troubles, and depression. but yesterday i recieved a letter from irvin mitchell solicitors that my neighbour will be taking me to the court unless i paid them settlement for building two houses where in the deed covenant you cannot do so.

This is so shocking, first of all i havent built another house, and its so unbelievable that some people take joy out of doing all this to hassle you.

I assume they are referring to the outbuilding which is being used for storage of my kids toys and our holiday suitcases, and extra freezer. I am so frightened by this letter as its their words that i have built another house, but how can it be called a house when there is no kitchen, toilet/shower, no running water.

I spoke to my conveyancing solicitor, he looked at the letter said i don't think you have anything to be worried about. But I fear from these neighbours how they twisted the local authority last time and i had to demolish half of this building and now this.

If it went to the court wont the judge look at the facts that its not a house, and in the planning permission it says clearly that i couldn't use it for habitable purposes, and it should only be used incidental to the main house. Which it is as its only being used as storage.

I know from google that the first letter are called "frighteners" but should i be worried.

PLEASE HELP GUYS AS WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP MY CASE AND SHOULD I BE WORRIED AS I LOST 10KG LAST TIME I WENT THROUGH THIS AND NEARLY LOST MY JOB. AND IF THIS IS OVER WHAT CAN I DO AS THEY ARE ALWAYS LOOKING TO PICK A FIGHT AND I KNOW THIS LETTER IS JUST PURE GREED THAT THEY JUST LOOKING TO SCARE ME THAT I WILL PAY THEM SOMETHING BUT I RATHER DEMOLISH THE BUILDING AS I CAN PAY £10 A MONTH IN STORAGE PLACES TO KEEP THE STUFF THERE THEN GIVE THESES SCUMS A PENNY

[brian]

Don't worry too much - getting letters from solicitors can feel very threatening, but frankly most of it is just BS.

Someone is paying for a solicitor to send letters out to you - however, that does not mean there is anything enforceable in them.

Just let your solicitor take over and have all correspondence from theirs sent to yours.