AIBU to padlock my gate?

[KTMP16]

Im the last in a row of houses so mines a semi and iv a sidegate....
So my problem is my next door neighbour (and often his kids) will leave the back of their house...casually stroll through my garden and out of my gate, leaving it unlocked for when they come back.

They seem to just think they have the right to do it - theres a gate in the fence (there before i moved in) its just feels so intrusive and I dont know what to do im not a confrontational person. I did padlock it in the past and say i didnt want it unlocked as my young kid would spy his chance to leg it. They just kept knocking on every other day with a plea for me to undo it for them for one reason or another so i gave up. I dont understand why they cant use their own front door?! It doesnt make things quicker!

The guy has literally just walked past my window wheeling his bike and Im fuming and thought id turn to the wise people of mumsnet for advice!

I’m sure they will have a right of access. At any time for any reason.

To be fair YOU started it blocking their right of way and dictating when they could open the gate!

99% of old terraced houses have rights of access. In previous days there would’ve been a path along the back of the houses and the gardens would’ve started behind that.

My friend lived in and end of terrace and h

I'd say it sounds like they do have the right. There are a lot of old terraced houses like that in my area. I used to live in one although my neighbours were all reasonable people and didn't use it unless they needed to bring something directly into their garden.

Lots of terraced houses don't have gates in their gardens - they have right of access through other people's gardens so they can access side streets, storage and garages etc.

Have you actually surveyed that and checked your figures because all the ones I've ever lived in either had a tunnel between house 2/3 or had a gate leading to a back path or just had no access to the rear at all. I've never heard of these being incorporated into gardens. I don't think it's anywhere near that common.

What a strange post.
They were entitled to access. You were not entitled to refuse.
You don't seem to understand that the shitstorm that followed was of your own making.

We're mid terrace and have right of access around the end of terrace. It's necessary for things like bins, getting large things into/out of the garden. Luckily our neighbour is very chilled about it. It's more than likely that they have a right to access the path, but they should definitely be closing the gate properly after themselves. I'd attach a spring to the gate to get it to close automatically, if they can't be trusted to do it

My Moms house has this.
It's a pain in the arse.
Coming and going all the time with friends, his bike, his dog. But he has right of access.
It's an end terrace with no other access to their own garden other than the OPs garden. This definitely should have been mentioned before signing the lease, but I don't think his life should be made difficult just because he happens to be the middle terrace.

I also live in an end terrace and I made sure the neighbours had the tunnel built in between their houses so that I didn't have to deal with shared access.

My friend lived in an end terraced house, and the neighbours all had gates at the top of their gardens for access on bin day. Quite often they would use this to access the path at the side of her house. It was very odd to be standing outside her kitchen door having a smoke, when someone would walk through and pass within a foot or so, without even saying anything.

My mums house is in the middle like yours op.

She has right of access through all the gardens

All 4 gardens have gates in to each other

Although to be fair they only really use it for bins going in and out.

Oh and the end houses dont even have external gates to the gardens.

I would be surprised if they don’t have a right of access. It’s very normal in terraced houses.

Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. He's got a front door. Padlock that shit like Fort knox.

You can't just deny them access - it's illegal.

No because the neighbour's house is a mid terrace

I’d speak to the LL first as they’re probably allowed to do it, especially as they have a gate between both your gardens.

If you do have shared access then you could put another fence and gate in opposite your back door. So there’s a shared path he can walk on but not in your actual garden and it won’t matter if he leaves the side gate open as much.

I don't know anyone who would take a bike that is dirty from riding outside through their front door, hallway, living room and kitchen (more or less depending on set up) making sure it doesn't mark the carpet or scrape the wallpaper, when they have a right of access through the back.

OP doesn't actually live in a semi she lives in an end terrace

The gate between his garden and yours implies he has access across your garden. I live in a house with very similar arrangements.

OP, do not block the NDN's access by locking or boarding up the gate. If they have a right of way things will escalate. The procedure you will find is they will verbally ask/tell you not to restrict access through. Then, a notice will appear on the gate saying it is required for access at any time. If you continue they will likely get a solicitor to write a cease and desist letter. Your landlord will not thank you for this.

I have posted on the other gate/access thread. I am someone with access through a NDN's garden. They rented their house out for a short while and the letting agent didn't tell the tenants about the access allegedly. I started the above procedure as the tenants blocked my right of way. Fortunately they moved out before it reached solicitor's letter stage. The owners are fine about me coming and going occasionally through their garden.

I like your drawing 😉

I would imagine they have permission to use the route, but obviously ask like everyone else says.
You could put a spring close on the gate so it shuts automatically and isn't left open if that's a concern. We have one on our side gate as we have dogs and means the gate won't be left open by accident. I would then use planting/willow fencing/trellis to make a walkway and keep some privacy in your garden and get some light blinds/voile for the window so you get light but it's more private.
It's a bloody pain but sounds like it's legal.

My back garden is similar and we have a gate and legally we can all access the pathways through our gardens but none of us do they're all locked. The fact that there's a gate there means it very likely they have legal access as why else would it be there.

You can fix a spring to the gate so it closes automatically. If there's a Yale lock on it, that will engage- but you'll need to give the key to the neighbours as they have access rights.