Can our neighbour pressure us to do away with our brick compost heaps? He claims it would entice rats

Our new neighbour has demanded we remove our brick-built compost heaps from the bottom of our garden.

He is claiming the compost heaps smell and will attract rats. 

The compost heaps have never smelt in the 40 years we have been here and we have never seen any rats. Can he make us take the compost heaps down?

Jane Denton, of This is Money, replies: Putting kitchen scraps and grass cuttings in compost heaps has long been second nature for those with green fingers. 

Making and using compost is the cornerstone of organic gardening. ‘The finished product is rich, dark, crumbly and sweet-smelling’, according to charity Garden Organic. 

Households should avoid composting meat, fish, dairy products or cooked food, unless they have a sealed hot composting system. Also, for the sake of everyone, avoid adding cat litter, dog faeces, disposable nappies and coal and coke ash to compost heaps. 

You can add things like uncooked fruit and vegetable peelings, grass cuttings, tea leaves and coffee grounds, poultry manure and soft green cuttings to compost heaps. 

To make good compost you need a more or less equal amount of ‘greens’ and ‘browns’ by volume. 

A compost bin or structure is, according to Garden Organic, not strictly necessary. You can just build a heap and cover it over with some polythene or cardboard. However, bins do look neater and are easier to manage. 

Getting rid of waste has become more expensive, and in some areas, services are less frequent. Some local councils are incentivising households to use compost heaps. 

For instance, If you are a Merton resident, you are eligible for a 30 per cent discount on four types of compost bins through the GetComposting.com scheme. 

If you have had no complaints from neighbours in 40 years about the compost heaps, I suspect your new neighbour might face an uphill struggle with his complaint. 

If foul smells are a problem, consider getting some form of cover for the compost heaps. This simple step might allay the concerns of your neighbour. 

As ever, engaging in a polite conversation with your neighbour will be the best way to get this problem resolved. Or consider writing a letter to him explaining how the compost heaps are managed and maintained, adding that you have never received other complaints. 

If the stench from your compost heaps is truly dire and rats are or likely to be an issue, which you deny, then your neighbour would be able to either complain to the local council and argue the compost heaps comprise a statutory nuisance. Or he could make a private nuisance claim in the civil courts. 

To succeed in either, your neighbour would need strong evidence, and I’m not convinced, from what you have told me, that he would be likely to succeed. 

I asked two solicitors for their thoughts on your problem.  

James Naylor, a partner at Naylor Solicitors, says: The short answer is no — not on what you’ve described. 

A neighbour cannot compel the removal of a long-standing garden feature simply because he fears, without evidence, that it might one day cause trouble. Happily, the law, like the worms, tends to be on the side of the composter.

Composting is a perfectly lawful use of garden space, and one that local authorities actively promote. 

A neighbour’s dislike of the idea, or his anxieties about what might one day go wrong, carry no legal weight on their own. 

If he wants to force the issue, he has two routes: a civil claim in private nuisance, or a complaint to the council under the law of statutory nuisance. Neither, on the facts you’ve given, is likely to get him far.

Private nuisance, in English law, means an unreasonable and substantial interference with someone’s enjoyment of their property. 

It requires evidence of real interference, not hypothetical worries. 

Persistent foul odours or a genuine rat infestation might qualify; a neighbour’s concern that problems may one day arise would not. 

Four decades without complaint, smell, or vermin is strong evidence in your favour, though not conclusive.

Statutory nuisance falls under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. 

Your neighbour could ask the council’s environmental health team to investigate, but officers will only serve an abatement notice if they find a genuine problem, or a real likelihood of one. 

Well-managed compost heaps rarely meet that threshold, and councils generally encourage home composting. 

Local authorities also have separate powers under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1949 to address conditions likely to attract rats or mice, but those powers are unlikely to bite here either.

That said, good neighbourly relations are worth preserving. I’d suggest replying in writing — politely, but clearly denying any basis for complaint. Note the long and untroubled history of the heaps and record that there has been no odour or vermin.

Also briefly explain how they are managed, for instance, that only garden waste and raw vegetable peelings go in, and point out that rats are drawn to cooked food, meat, and dairy, none of which, I assume, feature here. 

While writing a letter is an option, a friendly face-to-face chat, perhaps showing him the set-up, will often do more than any letter.

Hopefully, a measured reply and a little patience will see the matter off. Disputes of this kind often subside once the initial heat goes out of them. Reply politely, keep records, and let the worms get on with their work. They were there first.

Kate Fowler, a senior associate at BRM Solicitors, says: This type of dispute usually comes down to whether what’s happening amounts to a legal nuisance. 

In other words, whether your use of your garden is unreasonably interfering with your neighbour’s enjoyment of their home.

Your neighbour can’t force you to remove your compost heaps just because they don’t like them. 

However, if they are poorly managed and start to cause a persistent issue, for example emitting frequent strong odours or attracting vermin, then your neighbour may have grounds to take action.

The important point is evidence. Your neighbour would need to show that any interference is frequent, continuing and unreasonable, and that the issue is not due to them being hypersensitive.

If that threshold is met, the issues complained of may amount to a statutory nuisance and your neighbour may be able to involve the local authority under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. 

The council would then investigate, which can include requesting that your neighbour keep a diary of the issues complained of, arranging site visits and corresponding with you. 

If the local authority is satisfied that there is a statutory nuisance, or that the issue is causing a health risk, it can serve an abatement notice requiring that the nuisance be dealt with, with potential fines or enforcement action if ignored.

Separately, your neighbour could bring a private nuisance claim against you, potentially seeking an injunction to stop the activity and/or damages for the period of the nuisance.

In practical terms, though, most of these situations never get that far. 

Neighbour disputes are best handled early and informally where possible. 

A calm conversation and ensuring the compost is properly maintained will hopefully help to resolve things before any formal complaint or legal action becomes necessary.