Owning your own home

Love it but prob in a random industrial estate with nothing close.

That’s great thank you v much

That area is pretty weird though. South Bermondsey is the Millwall station so there's that, and the rest round there is very quiet once you're past OKR

It just needs a huge wood burner in the middle.

I quite like the area and there’s a food market in some arches round there somewhere

Looks dreamy - love the motorbike in the flat.

Nice & airy but still £1M

Can see the appeal of the property but not the location
Ilderton Rd is pretty grim
Loads of industrial units scrapyards tyre places

Our neighbours to the rear have knocked and asked if they can put scaffolding in our garden to ‘do some roof work’. I want more details (exactly what, how long, etc) but is there anything I should be looking out for in particular?
I don’t really want scaffold in the garden (where it would be is a narrow strip of grass we need to walk along) but our garden wall is the wall of their house so I think it’s unavoidable.

anything I should be looking out for in particular?

Why the scaffolding absolutely has to be in your garden. Chances are it doesn’t. It’s just cheaper / more convenient for them.

I’d have a good think about how the scaffolding would get there. Do you have side access?

They did provide you with some incentive to agree I hope? Bottle of cheap booze at least?!

Could you use it as an opportunity to get some work done on your roof/check it's ok etc...?

Same. It's fucking great.

Yeah I’m not very happy with it, particularly as there’s no incentive for scaffolders/etc to not fuck our garden up and access is either via ladder over the shared wall or through a bush into our front garden then right around the side of the house.
I’ve attached the layout below - we’re pink, nice neighbours are yellow, scaffold requesters are blue with their only access in green (a narrow path). It looks to me as if scaffold in our garden (and neighbours) is unavoidable - depending on the work obviously. No booze supplied yet and I don’t think there’s much scope for sharing the scaffold, without large additions.

Scaffolders are a different breed and will be subbed in by the roofers. Accountability is key so I would ask for something in writing (or verbally, if you implicitly trust your neighbours) that any damage will be put right by hook or by crook. The scaffolders won't give a shit so either the neighbours themselves or their roofers will need to be responsible.

No previous dealings with neighbours so I’ll get something in writing. Good point about it being on them/the roofers.
I deal with scaffolders for work, hence my trepidation!

Yeah, saying no could potentially just sour things between you and your neighbours (even if you have the right to say no). I would want to be accommodating, but not taken for a mug. Take photos the morning before anything goes up, just in case. Best case, you get pleasantly surprised and you wouldn't know they had been there. Worst case, they're on the hook for some remedial works (worst worst case they don't follow through on their written agreement to fix stuff, in which case you get to sit on your high horse over them and/or take them to small claims, which they will lose).

Lots of people don't realise the damage scaffolders can cause (if they don't come across them often). Also you might not be able to say no completely, there might be something that requires you to allow reasonable access for the neighbours to maintain their own wall/property.

Personally I'd tell the 'neighbours' to fuck off* unless they can show they have some kind of access right. I bet they don't though.

Looking at the map above their proposal strikes me as a nonsense.

* unless, you know, they are actual human beings, but the fact that in their dealing with DH they just rock up and make demands lends me to think they are probably dicks. Do they understand their position? They've built some crappy extension (or is it a garage / studio? IDK) up to the boundary and haven't thought about the practicalities of maintenance and yet they are like 'alright DH you don't know me but can I fuck up your garden?'

(I'm totally grouchy this morning as I've wasted two hours battling a fucking toilet seat of all things. I wouldn't really tell them to fuck off, just ask for more info then ghost them if I didn't like the sound of it / them)

Either way there will be an impact on your garden whether that be damaged paving, holes in the grass, scuffed walls, scraped fences etc

There are some scaffolders who are less gracious than others but the nature of what they do will leave behind something

If you allow it then definitely take some comprehensive pictures before during and after, and have in writing from the neighbour that they will pay the remedial for any impact

We're end of terrace and the neighbours knocked on our door to ask if the scaffolders could come through our garden (we have a gate to the street) and over the fence to put scaffolding at the back of their house (as opposed to it going through the house).

We agreed and, somewhat to our surprise, the scaffolders didn't fuck anything up.

I'm definitely not saying welcome them in to fuck up the garden. I agree with getting things in writing and making sure the neighbours take responsibility for any work that needs to be done in the aftermath. Just pointing out that plenty of people think 'it'll be fine' and might take affront at the insinuation there could be damage (taking it personally rather than DH saying "look, I work with scaffolders and they make a mess").

I have a similar situation where the side wall of my house meets the neighbours' drive, which I don't have any rights of access over. The roof is a little tired, and while the neighbours would rather I don't ever step foot on or inconvenience their off-street parking, they also don't want a tile through the windscreen. And the wall needs repointing. Knackered slates falling onto DH garden isn't great either. I can't really tell from the photo whether they could scaffold from front to back (more expensive because longer spans) or whether it's not really possible. Pretty sure there is a general right to access for basic maintenance purposes.

Hah! I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt so far, they just knocked and asked the question yesterday - presumably at the ‘how the fuck do we do this’ stage.
It’s a converted workshop/large shed tucked between houses (see pics below) and I can’t believe it got planning permission but it’s there now.
There won’t be any access right and I think more info is what’s required (and then ghosting tbh).
Knowing scaffolders, there are multiple things for them to fuck up before they even get to where the scaffold would be erected, never mind that it will block our garden and falling objects becomes a thing too.

There won’t be any access right

IANAL but I thought things like The Party Wall Act gave you rights to access neighbouring land to maintain structures on your land.

Front to back would work with beams but they’d need access to our neighbours garden (more straightforward access with a side path from the road).
I’m guessing they’ve got a flat roof leak as it’s not that old a conversion.

Access to Neighbouring Land Act for maintenance. But not if they don't need to (if there's another way they can do it).

https://hsfnotes.com/realestatedevelopment/2016/09/01/1163/

Suggests PWA only for walls, access act for maintenance only, agreement the final option.

More info required!

lol we viewed this some time ago but didn't like the access and also couldn't believe it got planning!