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!

Yes, check about right of access.

If they don't have it, padlock the gate and put a note through that you've padlocked it due to ongoing security issues or something vague like that.

Be strong!

I don’t blame OP for not knowing about this, I’ve lived in terraces most of my life and never had anything like this - I only found out it was a thing from a thread on here a few years ago!

Also you would like to enjoy your own garden without random strangers traipsing through.
In the very likely event that the neighbours have right of access, op would like a right bloody Charlie announcing something like this.

I've had friends with terraces with shared access paths/ ROWs running through. If privacy/ garden security is a concern, I've known people put up additional fencing/ gates for their private sections leaving an accessible passage for the neighbours.

It is a common feature of Victorian terraces from the days of coalman deliveries/ putting out ashes into the dustbins. Back yards were functional places where you'd do tasks like putting the clothes through the mangle.
Locally the post-war terraces seem to be shorter with access built in to give private gardens e.g. shared passage leading to two gates and houses built around them. The function of houses and gardens had changed and houses had decent gardens to encourage vegetable/ fruit growing.

Getting a lock that is accessible to the neighbour and adding a device so the gate will close itself is reasonable to protect security.

People are clearly not reading the thread. It has been explained multiple times.

I never saw it in the South of England or in Bristol but it is very, very common in the Midlands and the North.

Ah, my terraced homes were in the south!

Same here. I’m in the south-east and have never heard of it.

I lived in a mid terrace in South London and had access rights across the middle of my neighbours' gardens and out through an alley onto the road. Never used it - just left my side gate open for the bin men on bin day as that was how they accessed the bins.

Well I know of a row of very old houses near me where this happens

You've got the 'I've never heard of it therefore it's not a 'thing'/cannot be right/must be illegal/OP doesn't know what she's talking about lot out.

Padlock the gate then "conveniently" forget where the key is.

Do you need the gate? I'd be tempted to take it off and put a fence panel in?

And they're still going... Boring.

The landlord might object to that, particularly if she's blocking someone's legal right to access.

Lots of people use their back doors as their main entrance for lots of reasons. I grew up in terrace houses, the back door was usually the main door for us. As kids our parents would hide a key somewhere in the back yard for us to get in and out (we wernt trusted with our own). Also the front room was the nice tidy entertaining room, my parents didn’t want us traipsing through it all the time. That was quite common where I grew up. Our current house I didn’t mind using our front door at first but once I had decorated and put nice flooring in I decided I didn’t want my DCs running through with muddy shoes, more did I want a collection of muddy shoes next to the front door. There were also a few dog poo incidents after my DCs stepped in it without me knowing. Also our coats and shoes are stored near the back door, so we started using the back door as our main entrance. Our neighbours have always used the back door as their main entrance since we moved in.

@KTMP16

have you been able to find out what your deeds/rental agreement says??

What on earth?! Lock the bloody thing and tell them that your PRIVATE property is not a shortcut, the entitled cheeky fuckers. Can’t believe they are demanding answers as to why it isn’t open for their convenience.

^ Note to self - read the thread. ALL OF IT. Sorry op!

Some of you people either have comprehension problems or need to read the fucking thread. The OP can't lock it and hide they key or remove and replace with a fence panel or any of the other stupid suggestions that have been made until she checks with the landlord if the NDN has right of way.

We lived in a house EXACTLY like that, it was a nightmare. They used it for daily access including riding a motorcycle through it, like yours path was right next to the house which was so loud especially as our bedroom was at the back and they would often wake us up.
I did complain about the motorbike in the end as it was driving me nuts and they then started keeping it in their front garden. Unfortunately though it was a right of access so nothing could be done about them leaving the gate unlocked all day, felt like it took all of our privacy and security.

What a rubbish setup, poor you

Padlock it and say you’ve lost the key.

Said no one on the thread ever.

RTFT!

🤣🤣🤣