Can Chorus install fibre to neighbor's house without my consent

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#2059616 20-Jul-2018 19:35

I’m confused. You say repeatedly that you have no objections, yet you are objecting? The installation as has been pointed out is typically minimal and in short time you won’t even know it’s there. Be a good neighbour I reckon, why not take the opportunity to get fibre to your place? Mountain out of a molehill IMO.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

sbiddle

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#2059632 20-Jul-2018 20:18

Louis2099:

quickymart:

Did you lodge an objection within the timeframe given?

We did lodge an objection, but it seems there are only a few valid grounds you can put this under. If you ring them up on the number they provided on the letter, they can't tell you anything, and then wrote back saying how undisruptive microtrench leading up to the neighbor's house is, which I don't have problems with, but mentioning nothing about the massive trench they will be doing on my lawn. The whole process is very poor.

I'm hoping to hear from others with the same experience and see how they deal/dealt with it.

I don't think you'll find anybody on here with a similar experience looking at it from your viewpoint. The only similar experiences will be multiple threads from people who have really struggled to get fibre installed in similar situations due to the objections of neighbours.

What actually are your objections to the install?

quickymart

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#2059646 20-Jul-2018 20:51

I read it as the lawn being dug up is the issue, but I could be wrong.

dfnt

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#2059653 20-Jul-2018 21:16

This situation sounds exactly why the law was changed, for the better in my opinion

We had a neighbour in a shared driveway that put their head in the sand, ignoring requests for consent. Thankfully with the law change their head in the sand resulted in implied consent and I finally got fibre.

Louis2099

13 posts

Geek

#2059660 20-Jul-2018 21:31

scuwp: I’m confused. You say repeatedly that you have no objections, yet you are objecting? The installation as has been pointed out is typically minimal and in short time you won’t even know it’s there. Be a good neighbour I reckon, why not take the opportunity to get fibre to your place? Mountain out of a molehill IMO.

Yes, I'm objecting Chorus digging up my lawn.

No, I'm not objecting neighbor getting the fibre in other ways. E.g. Microtrenching all the way up to their house in shared area (the driveway). In fact, that's what I has suggested to Chorus.

Louis2099

13 posts

Geek

#2059663 20-Jul-2018 21:35

sbiddle:

Louis2099:

quickymart:

Did you lodge an objection within the timeframe given?

We did lodge an objection, but it seems there are only a few valid grounds you can put this under. If you ring them up on the number they provided on the letter, they can't tell you anything, and then wrote back saying how undisruptive microtrench leading up to the neighbor's house is, which I don't have problems with, but mentioning nothing about the massive trench they will be doing on my lawn. The whole process is very poor.

I'm hoping to hear from others with the same experience and see how they deal/dealt with it.

I don't think you'll find anybody on here with a similar experience looking at it from your viewpoint. The only similar experiences will be multiple threads from people who have really struggled to get fibre installed in similar situations due to the objections of neighbours.

What actually are your objections to the install?

Instead of working on the shared area, my lawn being dug up is my objection.

Louis2099

13 posts

Geek

#2059669 20-Jul-2018 21:39

nas:

This situation sounds exactly why the law was changed, for the better in my opinion

We had a neighbour in a shared driveway that put their head in the sand, ignoring requests for consent. Thankfully with the law change their head in the sand resulted in implied consent and I finally got fibre.

Did they go through your neighbor's property to get you connected? I'd be surprised if they did.

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sbiddle

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#2059674 20-Jul-2018 21:43

Louis2099:

scuwp: I’m confused. You say repeatedly that you have no objections, yet you are objecting? The installation as has been pointed out is typically minimal and in short time you won’t even know it’s there. Be a good neighbour I reckon, why not take the opportunity to get fibre to your place? Mountain out of a molehill IMO.

Yes, I'm objecting Chorus digging up my lawn.

No, I'm not objecting neighbor getting the fibre in other ways. E.g. Microtrenching all the way up to their house in shared area (the driveway). In fact, that's what I has suggested to Chorus.

Microtrenching through an entire sealed driveway would be an absolute worst case scenario - that's the sort of thing that we see people complaining about because a contractor did exactly that!

Digging up your lawn in your situation where it's a shared title is not (as far as I can tell) a valid reason for objecting to an install.

sbiddle

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#2059677 20-Jul-2018 21:45

Louis2099:

nas:

This situation sounds exactly why the law was changed, for the better in my opinion

We had a neighbour in a shared driveway that put their head in the sand, ignoring requests for consent. Thankfully with the law change their head in the sand resulted in implied consent and I finally got fibre.

Did they go through your neighbor's property to get you connected? I'd be surprised if they did.

Not all shared driveways are cross lease situations. Your situation appears to be a cross lease, so "your" property is not exclusively yours.

Louis2099

13 posts

Geek

#2059689 20-Jul-2018 22:10

sbiddle:

Louis2099:

scuwp: I’m confused. You say repeatedly that you have no objections, yet you are objecting? The installation as has been pointed out is typically minimal and in short time you won’t even know it’s there. Be a good neighbour I reckon, why not take the opportunity to get fibre to your place? Mountain out of a molehill IMO.

Yes, I'm objecting Chorus digging up my lawn.

No, I'm not objecting neighbor getting the fibre in other ways. E.g. Microtrenching all the way up to their house in shared area (the driveway). In fact, that's what I has suggested to Chorus.

Microtrenching through an entire sealed driveway would be an absolute worst case scenario - that's the sort of thing that we see people complaining about because a contractor did exactly that!

Digging up your lawn in your situation where it's a shared title is not (as far as I can tell) a valid reason for objecting to an install.

Thank you. Your reply has been the answers that I'm looking for. I wish everyone could provide answers objectively like this.

Some people are just so eager to get their 2 cents in without reading my post properly LOL

quickymart

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#2059690 20-Jul-2018 22:10

The ground gets reinstated after the install too - they shouldn't leave mud and dirt etc lying around afterwards.

driller2000

935 posts

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#2059691 20-Jul-2018 22:11

Yeah the cross-lease title is what will be limiting your objection rights.

(Pro-Tip - Cross-lease is never a good thing and should be avoided IMO.)

If your land was solely yours they could not force their way on so easily - at least not without accessing other acts eg. LGA via Council etc.

So - if I was you I would be having a convo re the specifics of the proposed works incl:

Where - The cable will be installed to limit it's impacts on possible future works on your property. eg as close as possible to the boundary.
Depth - Deeper is better to reduce the chance of future damage / accidental strikes.
How - Will be installed - ie. go trenchless as much as you can to reduce impacts on your property.
When - Try and find a date/duration that minimises impacts on you - but is achievable for the contractor and acceptable with the neighbour.
Reinstatement details - Replace like with like materials - again to reduce impacts of the works. (Take photos and video before and after to limit disagreements.)
Location - Get the installed position clearly marked out - incl as-built plans and markers as appropriate.
Document - Get everything in writing.

Good luck.

Rushmere

354 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2059694 20-Jul-2018 22:25

This just makes me even more thankful that I live in a place where neighbours are happy to help and support each other.

quickymart

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#2059696 20-Jul-2018 22:29

Me too, my neighbour was so eager to sign anything when I ordered fibre, so when she decided to get it herself I made sure it was as easy for her as possible (where she needed my signature etc).

driller2000

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#2059704 20-Jul-2018 22:47

I understand people wishing other people would be more accommodating.

But I have been involved in building infrastructure and utilities for 25+ years - and sure it goes OK most of the time.

But it is a complete ball-ache when it doesn't and I would do everything I could to protect my property before agreeing to any works - whether it be from the neighbour, a utility owner, developer or Council - because you can gain a lot of grief otherwise when things don't go right.

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