One tenant thinks they own communal garden

[AnneLondon]

I live in a flat in converted house with three flats, we all can use the communal garden. One tenant who decided to do gardening themselves now thinks they own the garden. They keep digging up the grass to plant plants and now want to put greenhouse and shed, they just tell us rather than asking us, and seem to get annoyed if we want to put anything in the garden, when I said we needed to have a meeting they got annoyed saying they had spent lots of money on plants etc, and no one else showed an interest, I said we all use the garden, and not every one wants just plants, they now taking over last wild bit of garden, also they said they don't want one of the tenants in the garden for no reason, and they won't let them use access gate since lock broke (we all used to have a key) they have own lock on it now. We never leave any mess in garden, are not noisy, they just think because they have 'done the garden' that it is theirs.Also it is a very big garden.

[theartfullodger]

Is there a freehold, if so do all flats own an equal share please?? Suggest a letter from freeholder (rarely a human) to the offender...

[AnneLondon]

We all rent from housing Cooperative.

[theartfullodger]

Ah, that tenancy type is rare and different...

Polite & calm request (in writing/email) to your landlord to resolve the matter: Does your tenancy agreement state anything over this sort of issue, please? After reading it carefully & looking up things here..
https://england.shelter.org.uk/profe...g_co-operative


This isn't Slough is it??

[AnneLondon]

I didn't really want to go to the landlord because this resident is/was a friend. Not Slough.We were all given keys to the gate at the side of their downstairs flat to access shared garden. It's definitely a shared garden. It had a an area with 3 washing lines which was changed without asking.Also this person has been calling it 'My garden for years to people when I'm there, and I correct them,' our garden '

[vmart]

The first action is to check your lease. What precisely does your rental agreement state about the garden?

[AnneLondon]

I haven't got the original tenancy agreement, it's rented flats from a Co op, we were all given aa key for side gate to garden, and garden had a clothes drying area with 3 washing lines for the three flats

[AndrewDod]

Gardeners can get extraordinarily violent.

[AnneLondon]

The garden is their obsession, it's been open for public viewing,

[vmart]

Perhaps you could contact the Co-Op and request a copy of your tenancy agreement.

The presence of washing lines in the past does not necessarily provide any basis for claiming rights to access the garden.

[AnneLondon]

We all pay for the gardening in rent, but the tenant told co op she would do it herself, because they were rubbish, but she doesn't get any money for doing it

[theartfullodger]

Suggest you request copy of original tenancy (some terms continue even now ) and see what it says about gardens (if anything). Then read carefully. Other tenants probably have the same/similar wording, but not necessarily.

Then decide what to do next.

Currently you don't know what "the rules" actually are, just (no offense, just my opinion) what you think they are.

Strongly also suspect the cooperative housing association has a procedure for dealing the disputes between tenants.

If I remember housing coops often have surprisingly strong powers over tenants so beware!

Good luck!

[AnneLondon]

It's 100% a shared/communal garden

[AnneLondon]

And this tenant agrees we all share the garden

[royw]

Ask him for a key. If that isn't forthcoming buy some bolt cutters and a new lock with 3 keys.