Can I get reported for working on my own cars on the drive?
 

Can someone report me for working on cars on my drive? I have been making a new rear sill section for one of my metros and I have got a snotty message from the 21 year old lass over the road (I’m 25) having a go at me for the number of cars and I’m always doing stuff too them and making noise ect. Can she report me and if she did what can they do about it? The house we have bought still paying the mortgage but it’s ours. The drive is enclosed and isn’t shared. I s asked next door and they don’t really hear me.

We moved in before they did.

Thank you.

Just ignore them, many moons ago when I lived elsewhere, the next door neighbour a complete tool tried to report me to the council for running a garage from home.

Council visited, I showed them all the cars, (four) belonged to me, and that was that.

Brian :D

reported for doing what, making a noise or working on the car?

Perhaps speak to her nicely to see what the problem is and see if you can come to an amicable agreement. Some people cannot be reasoned with, others you may be able to come to an agreement with.


I was working on my previous house and got a complaint from the neighbour that I was making a noise in the daytime and that their daughter worked nights and could not sleep. I simply said sorry, let me know the day before if she is on nights and I wont do any work.

macafee2

As long as you are not classed as disturbing the peace (Excessive noise early or late) Or causing any H&S issues in the area then you will be fine.

What I was doing was hand forming the new rear sill section. Clamping a bit of metal onto the rusty sill and beating it with a hammer to get the shape of the curve at the bottom. And got this

Hi Josh.

I would just like to kindly ask you tone it down a bit with the work on the cars? This has been constant for two years now and I think we’ve been quite patient but it’s obviously never going to end. I don’t want to be a moaning Minnie but it is effecting our happiness now at home and it really isn’t fair. We cannot simply sit outside in the garden and enjoy the fresh air in which we hoped to do so when buying this house. I know it is a hobby of yours but with the amount of cars you have and the ongoing work it takes to keep them running it is having an effect on the rest of the street. I know you don’t do it on purpose and probably don’t realise how loud you’re being but we can hear it in every corner of our house even when the tv is on. You’re a lovely lad and just hope you take into consideration what I’ve said as you have said before you would like someone just to mention anything if it’s bothering them. It’s like living next to a car garage and understandably not what we was expecting moving here. Every so often is fair enough but it’s pretty much daily when you come home from work and every weekend especially heading into the nice summer months.

Thanks for understanding, Jaime



Then a later message of


“You have 7 classic cars at your house that all need constant maintenance. You should really have a dedicated workshop to do these works on them rather than on your drive because we can hear everything in the house as the windows and walls are so thin, as I’m sure you know already. I just don’t think it is very fair on us all that have to live here together and trying to make it a nice place to live”


That’s why I bought a house with a large garage and a long drive. The 7 classic cars.....I assume she means 2 metros a Cowley 75, 53 plate 75 tourer my other half’s 05 plate megane cc a 216 gti we are looking after for someone and rover 100 I’ve cut in half and making a trailer out of(that’s in the garage out the way)

The tone of the letter sounds pretty fair, why not invite her round for coffee and a chat to try and come to an amicable solution.

Thing is she says I’m always doing it every day...... I was doing the y pipe on the tourer last night only noise I made was a battery drill as one of the manifold screws had snapped. Maybe 2 weeks ago I changed the alternator belt on my mk2 metro, about a month ago I changed the drop links on my Cowley. In the last year I’ve only done 2 0r 3 bits old welding on the drive.

I would keep a diary of the days and hours you work on the cars just in case the situation gets worse, I would try chatting though, there's nothing worse than a neighbourly dispute.

Can hear it all over the house? The words bovine excrement spring to mind.She is talking rubbish, pay no attention its your house and you are entitled to work on your vehicles. If you were hammering and grinding and revving engines all day every day, she would have reason for complaint, but I can't imagine that you are doing that

I always take photos of my work so the photos say when I was working. To be honest it’s too far for that I think as there’s more than what’s said here. It’s a new build estate and there was a big group set up so everyone could help each other. New people came and took over but in a bad way and they are against the people did the original group