Topic: Am I paying rent for ground I don't have

[wellies2012]

I recently took over half a nine rod plot having looked at other 5rod lotti's mine looked a bit short! even by considering the half a rod so I've measured it out to 36ft length by 29ft width. By my reckoning that comes to bout 99sq mts I think im around 14.5 sq mts short :-\ can anyone confirm!

[Ellen K]

Hello - I rent a standard 10 pole plot and thought it seemed v small compared to my neighbours.

Then it dawned on me that, as the previous tenant never cultivated, my neighbours had both cultivated to the boundary and shunted the paths on to my plot.

So it was difficult - eventually, I dug up the path on one side but never resolved it with the other neighbour.

So check you are not in the same position first. 

If your plot is still short, I am not sure I would do anything - how much money are we talking about?

[wellies2012]

I did measure end to end and I agree I'm not out to push buttons..just wanted to know that's all. As per cost £18.00rod  from Oct 2012 so to conclude I think I'm working just under 4 rods?

[Ellen K]

In that case I would definitely ask the landlord to review it.  £18 per rod/pole is A LOT compared to what most of us are paying.

[BAK]

According to my calculations 36 feet by 29 feet is a smidge less than 4 poles.

Apart from double-checking your measurements do you know on what basis the council charges? While some may charge on a per pole basis there are many who operate in bands, e.g. any plot which is in the range of (say) 200 sq yards to 300 sq yards may be charged the same rent.

This banding applies on our site where there is no such thing as a standard-sized plot - they are all different in size, ranging from as little as 2 poles all the way up to 10 poles.

[wellies2012]

 Correction I stated that I reckoned on 99sq mts but that's nonsense its a max of (4 1/2) rod (square metre) = 22.6314 m3

[Ellen K]

OK!!! 36 ft x 29 ft is 1044 sq ft / 116 sq yards.

One Rod is about 30 sq yards, you are paying rent for 4.5 rods = 132 sq yards but you only have 3.9 rods.

Is that right??.

[wellies2012]

Maybe I'm being territorial "GET OFF MY LAND" It's just mine looks smaller to others! I'm really not that bovver'd! It will make me more focused on using the space I have to the maximum use.

Thanks for all your post's I really like this site! Will post again soon. :) 

[Ellen K]

Just to add: I would still ask the landlord for clarification of size of plot and price.

After all, you are already paying top whack rent.

[Digeroo]

£18 is a lot, I would really want to make sure I was getting what I was paying for.

[Old Central]

Hi Wellies

Welcome from another Merton plot holder. Irrespective of the price rise I suggest you contact  the Civic Centre asking them to measure and price accordingly. An email is likely to be more effective than a phone call as you will then have something in writing to refer to.

<rant>With their premium pricing policy I believe they have opened a can of worms and will have to work hard as these types of issue will emerge with increasing regularity.</rant>
 
OC

[cornykev]

I queried mine years ago and they came and measured it and cut it to 6 poles from 9 and back payed for a few years as well.  ;)

[wellies2012]

Think I may have found the problem! I am sharing a 9rod plot with another tenant. They where there before me so just maybe they measured there plot slightly on the generous side :-\

[cornykev]

Or maybe they've crept up and edged onto your plot, where my path of 3ft is, the guy measuring said that was my ground and another 3 foot then the path, but I was happy with what I had and the permanant path had been in place for years.    ::)

[pigeonseed]

Boundaries do creep don't they? Especially in the years when no one seemed to want allotments, I should think it seemed harmless to spread out a bit.

As others have said, you can ask the council to measure up for you and adjust the rent accordingly.