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Neighbours/long lawn/buns

JessBun

Mama Doe
New to the forum, and needing a bit of advice please :wave:

Does anyone like to let their lawn grow for their buns to eat, and had problems with a neighbour complaining about it? My buns have always had an ad lib grass diet, with ad lib hay, some vegetables, weeds and a very very small amount of pellets. I realise this isn't suitable for all buns tummies, but mine have always been fine and thrived on this long term (no health issues ever, this bun is now 8 years old) so it's something I'm not looking to change. He has a double hutch with a 9x4ft run attached which is moved weekly. So he needs a lot of grass.

We moved into a rented flat with private garden 6 months ago, and when we inquired about this property were fully honest with the landlord that we were only looking for a private garden solely for the purpose of our buns (we explained they do dig etc). She said this was fine, and that she had never bothered with the garden (which was evident, shall we say) so we needant either, but we could if we wanted.

I had to have a polite word with neighbor a few days ago regarding her chucking out my plants in the pots outside my door :evil: She got in a massive huff, stopped speaking to us and I knew something else was coming. Lo & behold we've had a call from landlord: noise complaints and the 'state' of our garden (neighbour wants us to mow it as she needs pictures of the back of her flat as apparently she's moving). Landlord informed us this neighbour has a history of this, and has complained about the previous tenants and the landlord herself when she lived here (very miffed we were not told this, we were told we had 'very friendly neighbors' prior to moving in!).

We know the neighbor isn't really moving, she's quite dictating and constantly tried to boss me around with house/garden before. We're quite happy to tidy up the garden (I'll freely admit it needs de weeding badly, and the hedges cutting - it has been on the to do list!) we'll even strim the grass down a tad. But for the sake of my bun I really do not want to mow it since it's his main diet and a drastic change in his diet could easily make him poorly :( We definitely would not of took this property on had we known we had to keep the grass mowed short, as it wouldn't serve the purpose we need it for. We know regardless of whether we mow it or not, it's going to occur again, with either the garden or something else. This was purely a revenge complaint. At a loss as to where I stand at the moment, how long does grass need to be before it's too long? :lol: Usually I would approach neighbor to come to a compromise, but it's evident she is not interested in live and let live/compromises. Also just like to put across the landlord would definitely not of bothered us about this except for the neighbor, she has been out to sign another 6 months on the lease and was not fussed in the slightest. We also keep the front garden neatly mowed which hopefully counts for something. I'm honestly not trying to be difficult about it, I'm happy to neaten it up. But we keep the front lawn short and the back longer for a genuine reason. Also to add the neighbour has her own private garden to the back of ours! She keeps it very short and pristine and wants ours to be the same. :wave:

Thank you for any help and apologies for it being so long winded :lol:
 
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This is bloody ridiculous! Why on earth does she care how long your grass is!?

I'm not sure what you could do other than have the land lord round to explain? Or come to an agreement where you maybe weed/cut hedges but leave the grass long?

This has really annoyed me, I really hope you get somewhere! It's totally unreasonable on your neighbours part. Our neighbours are lovely and because we don't have a proper fence between gardens, the rabbit naturally thinks that their garden is also his, but they're fine with this and he's in it most of the time he's out. They find it funny when they're pegging the washing out or eating outside and Sonic gives them the death stare for being in "his" garden! :roll:
 
Thank you so much for posting, Supersonic. I was worried I was going to come across stubborn/unreasonable, when I really do just have my buns best interest at heart.

I honestly don't know why she cares - she's one of those busybody types. She's not a nice character. I've had various comments from 'you look tired' to asking me if I'd ONLY just got out of bed because I left the flat at 4pm... we have also had problems with her dog running riot in our garden, and bothering bun. We've spoken to her about it 5 or 6 times, the last of which she told me it was 'fine because they were sniffing eachother earlier in the day'. :evil: It's a lovely wee dog, but not fair on Micky to be trapped in hutch/run with a predator sniffing at him. I used to fill a bird feeder in the garden but had to stop as 'she hates birds, they make a racket'. She tried her best to force me to use weedkiller in the garden despite me telling her it would kill my bun 'because she uses it around her dog and it's fine'. The last comment was funny enough when we were sprucing the flat up a wee bit as landlord was popping out. I nipped out to visit bun, and she rushed out and asked me if we were going out today. When I said no she said she'd leave the shed open to borrow their mower so we could cut the front lawn that day :shock: I told her thank you but we were busy and wouldn't be cutting the grass that day. After repeating myself 4 times she walked away insisting she'd keep it open anyway! Needless to say landlord popped round and never mentioned the front garden as it'd been recently cut :lol:

We've emailed landlord saying we'll neaten it up and send a picture. If there's still a problem I'll try your suggestion of agreeing to de weed & keep hedges neat but let the grass grow. Neighbor isn't going to be satisfied with that though. Poor landlord just wants an easy life I expect. We did tell neighbor to approach us if she ever had a problem and we'd be very approachable about it, but she hasn't. You can kind of see what the purpose of the garden is for though, since there's short patches where ever his run has been :lol: I wouldn't mind if we were just being lazy, but clearly from the way we keep the front garden we're not. :( We just want to be left alone, feel controlled in my own home!

Sonic sounds a right character taking ownership of next doors garden :lol: Lovely that you have such fab neighbors :love:
 
She really hasn't got a leg to stand on. I don't think complaints can be upheld by the council or anything until their is an environmental health issue such as rats ect. Long grass isn't going to cut it (pun not intended, I must be tired!)

It seems sensible to keep weeds down and hedges neat that way you can come back with 'we do care for our garden, the long grass is on purpose for the rabbit.'

Our gardens are atrocious at the moment, but I've been ill and James is self employed and trying to raise a deposit. Cutting the grass just isn't near the top of the to do list. In fact we are going to get a gardener over to blitz it in a week or so. I think one or two neighbours judge us but most don't care!
 
Sorry you are having these problems - although I would suggest they are the neighbour's problem, not yours. If the landlord is happy with what you are doing, there is no issue with the grass. If the hedge is tidy and the rest weeded, you are doing your bit. It's not going wild with 6' brambles. There is no crime in having longer grass (or 6' brambles if that is your preference). I may even be tempted to put out some bird feeders. Maybe put flowers in your hair, get a long floaty skirt and start meditating at the full moon....;)

She will always find something to complain about. You also have the right to enjoy your property and she is stopping you.

The dog, on the other hand, is being a nuisance and could be classed as 'out of control'. If you are worried about it affecting your rabbit, etc, you could offer to have a word with the dog warden. You only have to feel threatened by a dog to make it reportable under current legislation. Also see 'DOGBO' in this link:

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-a...ctsheet-doglaw in england wales 23 10 14.pdf
 
I'm so sorry you have this problem. :( It's just not necessary. I would definitely agree with Shimmer re: reporting the dog to the dog warden. Someone on another street had dogs escape, get into my garden and really stress the rabbits out. They claimed it was just an accident and not a big deal. Funnily enough, since I reported it, there hasn't been an incident with them since.

I'm lucky; I have a fantastic neighbour next door to me. She has her sons trim half her garden, but the rest she lets grow wild especially for me to pick for the buns. :lol:
 
Whether it's an issue is up to the landlord, they can insist you keep the garden in good condition, the neighbours can't. So it's really down to who the landlord backs!
 
Thank you all so much for your support, it really makes me feel so much better. You've all been so lovely to a brand new member, it's lovely. :D

No environmental health issue -there's no rubbish sitting around or anything, the garden itself is very clean, just a wee bit wild :lol: It's lovely though, as we have wildflowers that bees and butterflies love to visit :love:

Unfortunately, we emailed landlord yesterday, and received not a great response today. (Not so much about the garden, she's going to pop out to see it next weekend) but we've been really disheartened and feel she's not supporting us. All we said is we were going to tell said neighbor to simply ask us before accessing the garden as she done it again this week when I was getting changed in the bedroom (she was right up at the bedroom window, and whinging to herself about the garden which made me feel very uncomfortable). We've been told 'not to follow her petty ways, and it never bothered me when I lived there". I have anxiety so not great with confrontation. We've no interest in refusing her access when she needs it at all, we'd just like to know before is all in the interests of privacy.

Really hope I don't come across petty. I just want my privacy back, to enjoy my home and not have my poor bun (and his new wifebun when I adopt one very soon) to be bothered. I don't think it's a lot to ask. Feeling very disheartened today, but going to hold my ground. Good landlords who allow pets and let you get on with life are hard to come by. Good neighbors, too. It's fab you have such lovely neighbors. We've tried so hard to BE good neighbors.

P.S Tamsin, would this not be changing the conditions though? As we were told in the beginning it wasn't an issue. We have discussed this possibility, and decided if it really comes to that, we'll move. It's not what we signed up to - we can keep it neater certainly, but it's no use to bun if she changes conditions regarding lawn. My animals have to come first with what I believe is best for them. :( She could indeed back them for some peace and quiet - but if she's told us this neighbor has complained about previous tenants and the landlord herself, I would hope she can see that whoever lives in her property is going to be an issue with this woman.

Where do I stand on the fact we were told we had 'very friendly neighbors' but were not told about the complaints? Feel this is a complete untruth she's told us.
 
I'm almost there already with the long skirt and flowers in my hair :lol: The link is so useful, thanks for taking the time to share it! Next time it happens I'll tell her we'll report it to the dog warden. I actually love the wee dog she's lovely, but if we wanted a dog in our garden, we'd get our own :lol:



Sorry you are having these problems - although I would suggest they are the neighbour's problem, not yours. If the landlord is happy with what you are doing, there is no issue with the grass. If the hedge is tidy and the rest weeded, you are doing your bit. It's not going wild with 6' brambles. There is no crime in having longer grass (or 6' brambles if that is your preference). I may even be tempted to put out some bird feeders. Maybe put flowers in your hair, get a long floaty skirt and start meditating at the full moon....;)

She will always find something to complain about. You also have the right to enjoy your property and she is stopping you.

The dog, on the other hand, is being a nuisance and could be classed as 'out of control'. If you are worried about it affecting your rabbit, etc, you could offer to have a word with the dog warden. You only have to feel threatened by a dog to make it reportable under current legislation. Also see 'DOGBO' in this link:

https://www.dogstrust.org.uk/help-a...ctsheet-doglaw in england wales 23 10 14.pdf
 
Why does she need photos of YOUR garden? I don't get it! There's nothing wrong with a bit of long grass, hopefully your landlord will be understanding
 
It's an odd layout. We live in ex council semi detached houses, which have been made into flats. So there's a neighbor to our right side joining us, and then the neighbor who's caused the trouble, above us (what would have been the upstairs of the house). She has her own entrance etc.

So, the back of her flat upstairs overlooks my private garden (which is joined onto the back of the house). Her private garden is directly behind ours separated by fences. Apparently she wants a photo of the back of her property (upstairs). I've been told it's reasonable for her to get the whole of the back of the property (ours downstairs and hers upstairs), and I guess she's going to argue she can't get the picture without our garden being in the shot. It's quite a large garden though!

This is my first place since moving out of parents, and having moved from England to Scotland I've no idea on all of this to be honest. It's all a farce, I'm fairly certain she isn't moving, and will 'change her mind' once the gardens been done. The front garden is mine and she moans about that if it's not been clipped for 2 weeks. Beggars belief why she bought a place where the front garden doesn't belong to her, and the immediate back garden isn't hers if all this bothers her so much and she needs the control. This situation is so petty, and we're both feeling really miserable today. It's not a nice feeling others trying to control what you do with your own home. I need to nip out and I'm worried she's going to collar me when I leave like usual! :( xX
 
It does sound like this neighbour is a persistent problem. It may be a case of keeping a log of any incidents (eg her trespassing, dog in your garden, any other nuisance) and reporting to all the relevant people (? police, council, landlord etc). It seems it has all happened before from your landlord's response. You still have a right to live there without her interfering and intruding. Just a shame that you were not told about it before you moved in.

Can you ignore her, or smile and wave like an idiot every time you see her?
 
I'll be ignoring her Shimmer x But we asked landlord for a date the surveyors are coming to take pictures, and landlord asked us to ask her it by slipping into conversation! So will have to ask her sooner later. Eurgh anxiety probs! I think if we remained the same talking to her etc it would just invite her to do the same stuff she has been doing.

Logs are an excellent idea - thank you! No idea why I didn't think of that. Totally right, if we had been told this before we moved in, we wouldn't of done.
 
I'd take date-stamped pics (not obvious ones - discreetly done) if she trespasses onto your property. Can you not put a basic fence up to stop the dog? Green mesh stuff or shrubs?(hawthorn is great at 'discouraging' people lol).

I have anxiety issues too and have had horrendous neighbour issues before so I feel for you. :(

Our flat sounds exactly the same as yours - we've been mad-busy doing the flat itself up and the garden is a mess. Our upstairs neighbour has to stare at the mess (we do keep the lawn down mostly!) but she understands. Frankly even if they didn't......... It wouldn't change anything! It's our garden. Your garden is your garden and it's nothing to do with her how you keep it!! ;) x
 
If you've got it in written you don't need to mow the lawn then that's great, if it's just something you discussed verbally then proving it would be difficult.
 
I'd take date-stamped pics (not obvious ones - discreetly done) if she trespasses onto your property. Can you not put a basic fence up to stop the dog? Green mesh stuff or shrubs?(hawthorn is great at 'discouraging' people lol).

I have anxiety issues too and have had horrendous neighbour issues before so I feel for you. :(

Our flat sounds exactly the same as yours - we've been mad-busy doing the flat itself up and the garden is a mess. Our upstairs neighbour has to stare at the mess (we do keep the lawn down mostly!) but she understands. Frankly even if they didn't......... It wouldn't change anything! It's our garden. Your garden is your garden and it's nothing to do with her how you keep it!! ;) x

Time stamped pics are an excellent idea. Trying to work up the nerve to photograph her will be tough but I'll try my best - she has eyes in the back of her head this woman :lol:

Sorry to hear you've had horrendous neighbour issues. It's tough for anyone to deal with, but when you have anxiety it just adds a whole other level eh. :(

If you've got it in written you don't need to mow the lawn then that's great, if it's just something you discussed verbally then proving it would be difficult.

Yes landlord was very clever. Lease doesn't say we don't need to keep up on the garden/mowing the lawn - it was verbal. I did think about this at the time, but being naive I thought we could trust her. Going to get OH to scour through his emails and see if he can find it written from her.


As a wee update - neighbours have buggered off on holiday so we're able to have a bit of a break from it all which we really needed. It's so nice and peaceful :love: My anxiety though did reach an all time high at the time they left, I've not been this bad for quite a while. Dreading the landlord coming out on weekend - we did offer to send her a pic of garden this week (and she's very recently been out to sign lease) so not sure why she's insisting on coming out. Worried we're going to get a talking to about not falling out with the neighbours :shock: :lol:

We have decided to put a padlock on the gate asap - hopefully by the time she returns from holiday. There's still a way for her to enter the garden though if she squeezes between the hedge and where the fence starts. I wouldn't put it past her to do it in an effort to avoid asking permission to enter. We need to get additional strong wire mesh in parts of the garden like this (so the buns can free range) but not something we can do by the time she returns. I was going to ask her to just give us a wee knock before entering it in future, but I think she'd be straight on the phone to the landlord. She seems very concerned about us not upsetting the neighbour further even for genuine reasons we have a right to (ie: privacy) even though she's knows it's her who has the problem with whoever is here. Which makes me wonder how far this woman has took things before. I guess more will be revealed at the weekend. Good vibes needed, I need to stay strong and hold my ground - at the very least with her entering the garden without permission/her dog bothering bun.
 
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