Next door has become wild and unkempt!

IronMan

Hi folks,

I live in a house in South Dublin, and the garden and general appearance of the house next door has become very ran down, grass not cut all summer, overgrown hedges, weeds and so forth. The house is being occupied by some Chinese workers. I spoke to one of them and they said that the rent is cheap, and they do not want to annoy the landlord as they do not have a lease/contract. They have not been provided with a lawnmover or garden equipment (and as far as I am aware, its the landlords responsibility to upkeep the premises).

Is there anyone in the council/an agency I can complain to in regards to this landlord/house. I do not wish for the tenants to get in trouble as they are great neighbours, quiet and friendly. But after investing in a place, I do not feel it is fair that the inaction and greed of a landlord should bring down the appearance of a place. I am in DunL/Rathdown CC area. Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Regards

dats_right

Couple of things spring to mind. Firstly, generally speaking there is no onus or duty on owners to keep their property in any sort of visually appealing manner that is agreeable to the neighbours. However, if things become so bad as to cause a private nuisance or indeed a public nuisance (note these are legal terms and their meaning don't necessarily correspond with common usage) then there could potentially be a remedy. For example, if the hedges, branches, or weeds are overgrowing onto your property then you are within your right to abate the nuisance (i.e. cut 'em down) as it affects your property. But to be honest, I think it somewhat unlikely that long grass and a few weeds are going to be sufficient. In all likelihood it is tough luck!

Having said that, the revenue commissioners may not be aware that this property is generating a rental income, as by the sounds of it, the landlord probably isn't declaring the income for taxation purposes. So a tip off to the people at the revenue is something that you may consider

iguana

In my experience it is the responsibility of the tenants to maintain the garden. It was in my old place and it was for any of my friends who rented places with gardens. If there was a big problem such as a dangerous tree then it's the landlords responsibilty, but general up keep is up to the tenant in the same way that keeping their bathroom clean would be.

If they have no garden equipment why not loan them yours?

conleth

I would imagine that the house is occupied by Chinese people not Chinese workers.

the_syco

iguana wrote:

In my experience it is the responsibility of the tenants to maintain the garden.

In my experience, we were always told not to touch the garden. The land lord/lady always would get someone in to do it.

serotonin_sam

I sympathise with the OP as this is very annoying given the prices people are paying for their own property to have them devalued (aesthetically& financially) due to poor maintenance by the 'buy to let' mob.
My estate is 80% rental - and even though its less than a year old, the basics are not being done ie. grass cutting/very poor lawn care. Further down the line there will be other things.

Its very frustrating when you see the few owner occupiers doing their best to keep things tidy.

EKRIUQ

3.17 To keep the gardens, patios and terraces (if any) including all driveways, pathways, lawns, hedges, landscaping, ornamental features including water features neat, tidy and properly tended at all times and not remove any trees or plants.

Thats the standard thing in a lease, but as the op said there was no lease signed.