AIBU to stop neighbours from using the steps at the side of my house as shortcut?

[thelongroad]

I genuinely can't decide whether saying something would be unreasonable or not.
Our house (blue) is next to the corner house (red). There is a new build next to us, consisting of 2 semis. The one right next to us is still empty, but just before Xmas a family moved into the other one (pink).

All the houses along our road have the front entrance along the front road, but can also be accessed from the back road (we have no garden, only parking spots for the cars). Neither the front nor the back are fenced off. Front road is a dead end, so nobody going past. Back road has occasional cars and kids walking to local school but otherwise nothing (rural village).

We own the bit between us and corner house (their land is fenced off all round). It's sloping downwards towards the back, and we've paved it and put in steps (grey lines) so we can walk from front to back of house. I've also got plants growing there and we have our firewood stack on the side.

Very occasionally kids who are playing on either road use our steps as a shortcut to the other road. This is ok. We've also had workmen ask to use it when they've been working on one road and needed to get to the other. Also fine.

However, since the new neighbours moved in, they have been using it ALL THE TIME for getting from the front to the back. They have a garage at the front of the house but park their 2nd car at the back. Clearly they have no way of getting into their house at the back (we put in a back door specifically for this purpose) so they using our steps to cut through instead of walking all the way around the corner house.

Now, the thing is that the steps go past our living/dining room, and I actually see them zipping past every time. If they look in they can see us too.

It's (irrationally?) annoying the fuck out of me that they seem to think they can just come onto my property because it's more convenient for them.
I've even blocked the bit a the front with a row of plant pots to make it slightly more obvious that it's not a public way, but they're still using it.

I can't decide if I'm being deeply unneighbourly and unreasonable in wanting them to stop using our steps. I know I can ask them to stop and they will have to (from a legal point of view) but should I? Why does this bother me so much??

Apologies that this is so long. I offer a diagram as compensation of you made it through!

I think it would be best to clarify the circumstances sooner rather than later. Before the new neighbors feel that they have gained certain rights through their habit.

Maybe they just don't think about the fact that it might bother you. Therefore, I would first seek a friendly conversation. If that doesn't help, I would probably also think about a fence with a gate. After all, the neighbors seem to have fenced off their yard. So the concept of property and privacy should not be completely foreign to them.

If they had been polite and respectful, they would have asked you from the beginning if you would allow them to use your stairs as a shortcut as an exception. To simply do so without asking is either thoughtless or impertinent.

@thelongroad
Gates and a sign.
It’s an absolute pisstake!

There used to be a house near a College that had a low boundary wall.

Students would climb over the wall ( 4 feet high) and cut down the person’s garden and out to the street cutting 8 minutes off a journey to shops.

It was relentless.
In the end, they put up a high fence and side gate with lock.

I knew the lady who lived there ( Elderly) It wasn’t fair on her, as they trampled her lawn and flowerbeds .

Get a sign for the wall saying private no throughway. Or another option is you knock on their door and say sorry but I'd rather you didn't use it

They definitely think these are public steps.

Set them straight, they may well be mortified.

Haven't RTFT so apologies as I'm sure I'm repeating what everyone else has said.

This. I’d go further & start pretending to be wandering around or watching TV naked & nicely timed fake fun time with partner might have them rethinking their journey path very fast 😂

I don't understand why you need the steps at all as you have a back door. Why not remove the steps and "re-wild" this section of your garden. It doesn't look like you have much green space so some shrubs and flowers would be a great improvement.

This would annoy the shit out of me too! I’d have to say something! In the grand scheme of things though sometimes it’s not worth it if they can become a nightmare because of it! I’m not very tactful but if you can come up with a tactful way to tell them then win win

If you don't want to speak to the occupants of the new house, can you talk with the people who still working on the flats? They are semi detached, I'm presuming it's the same builder.
Perhaps they have wrongly told the new house occupants that your steps are a right of way. If you don't sort this soon, you may end up with the people who move into the flats walking past your window too.

When the flats are occupied you could have people dragging shopping through as well. Could you put a gate with a keycode in to block it off? We have an issue with old rights of way on our properties and we had to establish it wasn't a public right of way, its less than 2' wide.

Great diagram OP

Why can't pinky chops walk round the other side of his house? Is there no gap that side?

Sounds like they naively think these are communal steps to the other side of the property. Or have been told that they are

Really don’t understand the issue of talking to them. You say you own the land so does that mean you sold the house to them? If they are/were that scary that you don’t want to have a conversation with them then why sell to them and bring them into your life?

In the meantime, I'd be putting up a few obstacles to make it more obvious that the space is yours. Some garden furniture ? A fence or gate would work best though.

Please let us know the outcome- this kind of thing keeps me up at night.

I'm still confused :( I understand the CF's have no back door, why can they not turn right and down the side of their own pink house wall, which is much quicker than turning left, going past their attached new build and then your house?

You need to either put in lockable gates front and back or put up a notice that makes it clear that there is no right of way, and that they’re on private property. I’m no expert but I’ll bet that if you let this continue unchecked, eventually a right of way will be established on your property. Get some legal advice and if necessary send your neighbours a solicitors’ ‘cease and desist’ letter.

If it’s new build and the house next door is still empty can you contact the property developers and see if they will put up fencing to separate the properties? That’s what I’d do last resort would to be kicking up a fuss with neighbours

And get the solicitor to send them a copy of the Land Registry entry for your house, showing the boundaries.

Well, I can be very confrontational, and probably would be. Saying Eyh!!What the bloody hell do you think you're doing,walking on my property? I'm bloody sick of it, get off and don't do it again.
You should not have to pay for gates, post etc anything that costs you money and inconveniences you.
If they don't comply, tell em to piss off and send them a Solicitors letter

Good fences make good neighbors. Put up a gate on your side yard or fully fence it off. If they have the nerve to question you about it, say you are considering getting a dog. (Which is not a lie- you considered it but decided not to.)

Yep a fenced off area or or simply a gate at one end of the stairs with a key-lock that you can use to go through when you want and nobody else can

I have already posted, but of course they know what they are doing. The cheeky fuckers. If you don't stop it they'll end up claiming rights to do it.
They shouldn't have bought the house if they didn't want to walk round the corner.

They may have seen others using it and think it is a public right of way.

I would pop a sign up saying no public right of way, private property.

Deal with it now before it is a standard route for them. They need to put in a back door.

Maybe a chain across with a padlock and a sign hanging on the chain.

I wonder if there is such a thing that looks like a padlock but is easy to open with no key?

This could be a longer term solution when they have got used to not using the steps.

They need to stop that shit. Tell them as this can’t go on. It would be fucking annoying!!!