AIBU to object to neighbour using my garden as their main access?

We have this over the house next door.

We try to be reasonable and don’t use it much but that’s backfired a bit as the neighbours have now attached lights and things down the fence… so I’ll have to ask them to remove them now we’ll need side access again 😅

And she's likely to be breaking the law then

Ive just replied to a post saying the exact same thing, because apparently I live a sheltered life not knowing this was normal!

I dont mean to sound like a snob, disagree with the living a 'sheltered life' comment, i grew up in a council flat so I dont come from some lovely 5 bed detached house upbringing. Likewise my nan and grandad lived in a terraced house, however there was an alleyway that they all had a key to (6 neighbours) which was where all their bins were and once a week they would be able to unlock the alleyway and put all the bins out etc. However I cannot grasp how someone having access to your garden is a done thing.

OP if you want to DM me and send me the title plan and register I'm happy to look at it for you and confirm for sure (lawyer)

Not if she gives the neighbour a key

I can't see how she could mount legal action against you for putting a lock on it.

They’re definitely taking the piss and she probably knows she is. I’ve lived in a house like this and it’s only for residents access or emergency services not for any and everyone. The idea is mainly for bins and bikes garden materials no one ever used ours the way your describing we all had a bit of respect for each other. They’re massively taking liberties! I’d put a lock on it, obviously provide her with a key and just explain the key isn’t to be shared outside of her house hold and only her household have access through your property, you can’t deny them access but you absolutely can deny delivery drivers and anyone else the cheeky fuck sees fit! It’s not very safe for your children big courier company’s will literally employ anyone you don’t want randomers having full acccess to your property.

Its not illegal to lock the gate.

The deeds clearly say access to the neighbour, so the access can be in the form of a locked gate and give the neighbour a key. They therefore have access.

If you have kids/dogs then this is sensible to have a lock on it.

It's been said about a thousand times already, but please do check your deeds before you do anything else OP. There's been a lot of well-meaning advice saying that you are 'entitled to privacy' or that the access 'must just be for bins' or that you can put locks on the gate to make things difficult etc. This advice might be correct, but as it is based on pure speculation it equally might not. The problem is that if your neighbours do have a perfect legal right to do what they're doing - which is quite possible - then if you interfere with that right and if they're awkward buggers you risk them raising a dispute with you. You really do want to avoid any sort of dispute that you'd have to disclose if you were looking to sell, as it would raise a glaring red flag for buyers. So please please please check with Land Registry what the actual legal situation is first.

Put a lock on it and only open it the night before bin day so they can take their bin out!

But why not use your front door if it means not intruding on someone else’s space? And you say your business clients go through there too. I find that mind boggling.

Find a copy of the documents your solicitor sent you with that report OP. And get your thread moved to Legal.

I lived in a house just like this except two houses had access. I would never buy a house like that again. You aren’t being unreasonable and you do have some options.

As many posters have said, a right of way grants access, but that isn’t necessarily the same as giving an entire household, their visitors, deliveries, dog walkers and cleaners the right to use it as their permanent front door. Whether what’s happening here legally exceeds what the original easement intended depends on the exact wording of the 1989 plan, so that’s worth digging out. Get it at the Land Registry online for £3, but if not your conveyancing solicitor or mortgage lender will have copies.

A friendly conversation would then be my first step before anything else. A formal dispute is expensive and the outcome never guaranteed. The case law on excessive use tends to involve more dramatic situations than frequent garden gate use, so I wouldn’t go in expecting an easy win through the courts. I would consult a solicitor if the chat didn’t go well and you are still unhappy.

In the meantime, a camera covering your gate and garden might discourage people from leaving the gate open. Just make sure it isn’t pointing directly into her property. If it covers the shared access route you may need to register with the ICO for around £40 a year. I would mention to your neighbour first that you’re putting it up because you’re concerned about strangers coming through where your young children play, which is true and won’t put them on the defensive.

You’re not totally stuck, you just need the right information before deciding how far to take it.

Oh dear I must be in the minority! I'm the person at the end of the row of terraces - I have to walk through three people's gardens past their kitchen window to get to my back door which i use as my main entrance. There's nothing in my deeds that says I can't do that. It's my right if way. I must go through our neighbours garden at least twenty times a day, plus the postie, Amazon driver, Tesco delivery and I have business clients 😂. I just thought that's normal for terraced houses. Everyone uses their back door as their main entrance on our row of terraces.

@Deepblueokay , check the deeds. Most of the replies on here will be from posters who have zero experience of this. Sleep peacefully.

I’d check the deeds it may say to access bins only or something it shouldn’t be a main route at all.

My brother in law was viewing a house with this arrangement and he was in the garden on the second viewing and the neighbour came over and went batshit saying she had an arrangement with previous neighbour that she could use this as her main access etc - it was wild

she also had a structure at the bottom of the garden that had a window that overlooked the garden - the fence stopped at the structure (the building then continued and had a big window)

I told him not to buy and he fed back to the seller (son of owner who had died) and he spoke to the neighbours and put a fence up

Yanbu this is wild

It says the access is subject to their contribution to the maintenance... Do they contribute to anything? For example when the gate broke? Might be worth talking to a legal advisor to find out what their duties are, not just your rights. Also since the contract mentions reciprocity, I would look into that. But really, go and speak to that person explaining the situation. The dog, the children, the constant flow of people and your right to peaceful enjoyment of your property...

Exactly.my next door neighbour never uses his front door and chooses to come and go through his back garden gate.leaving it blowing open and shut for hours on end

Absolutely no way are you being unreasonable. You have the right to privacy on your own property, especially as you have young kids and a dog. Anyone could be coming and going checking out your situation. Tell your neighbour your concerned about the safety of your kids so the back gate will no longer be accessible to anyone apart from yourself .

I would add something to make it more difficult for them to use, like the carabiner mentioned above, or make it a Chubb lock that auto locks when it closes (and give them one key only “for bin day”) and say it’s for security. Also give them a copy of the deed where it says subject to them contributing and ask them for money to help with the repair you had done!!

Do you own or rent this house???

if you own it why on earth did you buy a house meaning people could come traipsing thru???
if you rent it I’d be looking for something else asap