How To Get An Injunction Against A Neighbour UK

Do you have a problem with a neighbour?  

Are they doing something that interferes with enjoyment of your property?

Are they refusing to stop?

Sadly, this is all too common.

As you’ve found your way to this article, I’ll assume that it applies to you.

If that’s the case, you might feel that you need to get an injunction against your neighbour to get them to stop whatever it is that they’re doing.

Whereas that’s very possible, it should be a last resort, and can hopefully be avoided as we’ll see.

 

How To Get An Injunction Against A Neighbour

The process, in theory, is relatively straightforward:

• If your neighbour is doing something that is genuinely interfering with the enjoyment of your land; and
• If they refuse to stop doing that;
• All that’s required is a simple application to court for an order forcing them to stop.

The court has a discretion on whether or not to grant an injunction.

It might not grant one if it is of the view that some form of payment from your neighbour would adequately compensate you, or if  it’s not “just and convenient” to do so.

If it is happy that an injunction should be granted you’ll get an order to force your neighbour to stop.

We would also request a “penal notice” meaning that your neighbour could be sent to jail if they don’t comply with the injunction.

 

You Might Not Need To Do That!

But it can often be quicker than that.

That may surprise you – we often find that many people have been trying to get their neighbour to stop acting in a certain way for years.

Rightly or wrongly the sight of a solicitor’s letter is often enough to make the difference.

It signifies that you won’t tolerate their behaviour any longer.

If the letter is worded correctly, adopting the right tone, you may well find that the other party will agree to stop what they’re doing without the need to involve the court at all.

Alternatively, you might receive a proposal from them that could resolve everything.

I’m currently acting for a client whose neighbour has repeatedly dumped building waste onto their land.

I’m also acting for a client whose neighbour built a wall in part of their garden.

In both cases the offending neighbours refused to reply to any correspondence to address their behaviour.

And in both cases, since getting involved we’ve sent a few letters and now have an agreement that will allow all parties to move on with their lives.

 

The Next Step

Unfortunately, some people will simply ignore you, through ignorance, arrogance, or both.

You might have found that to be the case already.

If an initial letter doesn’t do the trick the next step is to send a “Letter Before Action”, which is a more formal letter giving your neighbour a short period to stop what they’re doing before you send your application for an injunction to court.

This is a compulsory step.

The court could give you a penalty if you don’t comply with it, so it’s important not to skip this.

A properly worded Letter Before Action will leave your neighbour in no doubt that you will be applying to court for an order against them if they don’t reply.

It will also show the court that you have done everything that you can to try to resolve matters.

A Letter Before Action usually prompts a reply leading to a resolution of the problem.

If however it is ignored, the next step is to apply to court for an injunction against your neighbour.

The Court Process

The court will process your application and send a copy of it to your neighbour.

It will also set a date for a hearing to consider your application.

In most cases a barrister will need to represent you at the hearing.

If all goes well, you’ll get your injunction.

That could be on an interim basis, pending consideration of the application in further detail, or on a final basis if the court is happy with everything.

We often find that after issuing an application at court the other party will get in touch, either themselves or through solicitors, with a proposal to settle everything, meaning that the court process can be brought to an end without the need for a hearing.

 

Other Issues

There are a few other things you’ll need to consider.

 

Cross Undertaking

When applying for an injunction against a neighbour, you might need to give an “undertaking” to pay your neighbour compensation if the court orders an interim injunction but later goes on to decide that that injunction wasn’t necessary.

The reason for this is to put your neighbour back into the position it would have been had the initial injunction not been granted against it.

 

Are Your Neighbour’s Actions Sufficient?

Granting an injunction against a neighbour is not something that a court will do lightly.

It will need to be satisfied that a financial remedy of some sort would not be sufficient to compensate you instead of granting an injunction.

It will also need to be happy that it will not need to constantly supervise compliance with the injunction.

Every case will depend upon its facts, so the more evidence you can gather of your neighbour’s behaviour to try  to convince the court to side with you the better.

 

Behaviour That Might Justify An Injunction Against A Neighbour

The list of disputes that arise between neighbours is substantial, however common disputes that might lead to an application for an injunction include the following:

• Trespasses
• Noise disputes
• Ant-social behaviour
• Interferences with a right of way
• Breach of a restrictive covenant
• General Nuisances

We’ll look at each of these briefly below.

Trespassing Neighbours

If you have a determined boundary line between your properties and your neighbour is clearly trespassing over that line, perhaps regularly on foot or more likely by having built over it (by moving the fence or erecting or a wall or a shed) then you might be able to apply to court for possession of the land and for an injunction against your neighbour to prevent them from trespassing in the future.

You can read more about how to deal this is in my article here.

Noise Disputes

Noisy neighbours can be the bane of your life.  And getting them to stop can be a real problem.  The underlying issues can vary from musical instruments to vehicles to machinery.  A Letter Before Action should hopefully resolve matters, but if not you’ll need the assistance of an acoustic specialist before you can apply to court.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Unfortunately not everyone behaves as we’d like, and sometimes that behaviour can become so extreme that a civil injunction against a neighbour is required to prevent it from continuing

If that is the case, an application can be made by various organisations, including: local authorities; housing providers; chief police officers; transport authorities; and the environment agency.

Interference With A Right Of Way

If your neighbour is blocking a right of way, for example by parking across it, building on it, or locking a gate across it, then you might be able to apply for an injunction to stop them from doing that.  The interreference will need to be substantial for you to succeed.

You can read more about dealing a problem like this here.

Breach of A Restrictive Covenant

Sometimes what one party can do on their land is restricted so that the enjoyment of neighbouring land is not compromised in some way.

Often this involves preventing further building on land, or building above a certain height.

If a neighbour breaches a covenant like this, is about to, or is in the process of doing so, you might be able to get an injunction to stop them.

Other Behaviour

The list above is non-exhaustive.  Other nuisance behaviour that can give rise to disputes between neighbours can include :

• Smell disputes;
• Vibration;
• Use of shared driveways;
• Plant and tree damage;
• Dumping of rubbish and material;
• Flooding; and
• Many more!

A Letter Before Action should hopefully lead to a resolution of the issue, no matter what the dispute.

 

ADR

What??  ADR is short for “Alternative Dispute Resolution”.

The phrase refers to the various methods that can be used to try to resolve disputes between neighbours, instead of going to court.

We use them regularly, and to great effect.

These alternative methods include:

• Mediation
• Arbitration
• Expert determination

They are all a lot cheaper and quicker than applying to court.

Mediation – involves a session, or a series of them, during the course of a day to try to reach a compromise that everyone is happy with.  It has around an 80% success rate and usually ends with a binding agreement being documented between the parties.  Most disputes can be resolved this way.

Arbitration  – involves making formal submissions, usually in writing, to a specialist who is appointed to make a legally binding decision on the dispute.

Expert Determination  – involves asking an expert to review the situation and make a decision that legally binds the parties also.  This can be a good option where there are technical issues to consider.

So there are plenty of ways to try to get your neighbour to stop what they are doing, other than through the courts.

 

Cost Of An Injunction Against A Neighbour

I’d love to be able to say that it will cost X or it will cost Y to get an injunction against a neighbour, but every case is different, with different facts and different personalities involved.

Consequently, the time and cost to resolve everything will vary.

A fixed fee shouldn’t be a problem to review matters, advise in the first instance, and to prepare a Letter Before Action however.

If an application for an injunction against a neighbour is made, it should include an application for them to also pay your costs, meaning that if you successfully obtain a final injunction your neighbour will likely be ordered to pay a proportion of your legal costs.

 

How To Get An Injunction Against A Neighbour – Next Steps

I hope that this article has given you an idea of how to get an injunction against a neighbour, as well as some of the alternatives to doing that.

If a neighbour is behaving in a way that is interfering with the use and enjoyment of your property; if they won’t stop; and if the they are refusing to co-cooperate, feel free to get in touch.  I’d be happy to discuss this with you.

 

Get In Touch

You can call me now on 020 7842 1452 

Email me at ian@propertydisputes.co.uk 

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I’ll then get in touch as soon as I can for a chat about your legal rights and options.

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