When you move into a new area, you always wonder how close you’d get with your neighbours. You might become lifelong friends who host game nights, or would rather keep at arm’s length.
But the neighbour wasn’t simply popping round for a quick top-up to water a few plants. Instead, they allegedly hooked up a hose and used the tap to fill their swimming pool – leaving the homeowner to worry they would be left paying the bill.
Furious over the incident, the homeowner took to social media to share what happened and asked others how they would handle the situation.
Posting on Reddit, they wrote: “Neighbour helped himself to my outside tap minutes after I left the house. I popped out for a bit and, literally minutes after I left, my neighbour wandered into my back yard, hooked up his hose to my outside tap and started filling his pool.”
They added: “Got the whole thing on camera. He used my water for about 30 minutes without even asking. When I went round later, he first denied it, then changed his story and apologised with a pretty rubbish excuse.
“Honestly, I couldn’t believe someone would think that was okay.”
Fed up with the situation, the homeowner revealed they had taken “extreme measures” to make sure it didn’t happen again by adding a padlock to their outside tap – although they admitted it was an inconvenience for them too.
They asked: “Anyone else dealt with neighbours like this? What would you have done?”
The post quickly sparked debate, with many commenters agreeing the neighbour had crossed a line.
One person joked: “I’d be going over and using his pool and maybe forgetting to get out when I needed a little wee.”
Another said: “This is theft. Call the police and file a police report. They will take it seriously.
“I’d demand reimbursement from the neighbour. If he refuses, take him to small claims court. It’s the principle.”
Is It Illegal for Neighbours to Use Your Hose? UK Trespass and Theft Laws
In the UK, it is illegal for someone to enter your garden without permission as this is classed as trespassing. Taking the water without consent is also legally classed as theft under the Theft Act 1968.
Facing this situation can be stressful but there are ways of handling it. First of all, you can get the police involved as trespassing is a civil matter. While police might not intervene directly, theft of utility water is a criminal offence.
Meanwhile, uninvited access to private land or a back garden is a civil wrong. Also using someone’s metered or unmetered water supply without permission to wash a car or water a garden is legally “dishonest appropriation of property”.