The problem is quickly becoming a ‘health hazard’ that is hard to ignore
One fed-up new homeowner has been left gagging by what their neighbour has all over their garden. After tackling a “forest” of overhanging trees, they thought the worst was over until they caught a whiff from the neighbours’ patio and found a “horrid” issue that nobody seemed to care about.
They claim it’s causing such a stench that they can’t even enjoy their own garden. Desperate for help, they went to Reddit for answers on how to handle this nightmare situation.
Posting under the username @M_C_XIX, they said: “My neighbours live a very easy-going lifestyle. They’ve neglected their garden to the point where it’s become an inaccessible forest, but I’ve managed to clear all the overhanging trees from my side.
“However, they have a large dog, and it’s made a mess of their patio with its excrement. I don’t mean a little bit, there are enormous piles all over, some right next to the fence that divides our gardens.”
The new homeowner claimed that these “piles” were “large enough that you’d think a horse made them” and obviously smelled “horrid”. The stench has become so bad the Reddit user claims: “I can’t use my garden anymore because of it”.
They continued: “There’s so much of it that I can smell it from inside when the door is open. They must not have a sense of smell. How you can live like that is beyond me!”
They wanted help on how to approach the situation without leading to any awkwardness. They said: “I don’t want to get off on the wrong foot as I’ve only just moved here, but what can I say?”
Plenty flooded the comments telling the fed-up homeowner to go straight to the landlord, warning the situation is fast turning into a full-blown “health hazard”. If the neighbours still won’t shift their dog’s mess, homeowners do have clear legal rights to get it sorted.
What should I do if I’m dealing with this?
If your neighbour’s garden is stinking out the street, you can report it as a “statutory nuisance” under the Environmental Protection Act 1990. That usually means contacting your local council’s environmental health team – and if you’re worried about the dog’s wellbeing, you can also flag it to the RSPCA, which can also assess things if the mess suggests the animal’s being neglected.
The usual public dog-fouling fines don’t stick when it’s in someone’s private garden. But if the smell, flies or nastiness is drifting over the fence and affecting your home, that can still cross the line under environmental laws.
If the place is rented, there are proper routes to get it sorted. Landlords have a legal duty to stop tenants causing a statutory nuisance or breaching their tenancy agreement.
If it’s housing association or council housing, go straight to their team as they’ll have Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) rules and can step in with warnings or meetings. If you don’t know who owns the property, you can check the UK Land Registry for a small fee (usually £3) to find the owner’s details.