Neighbour has stolen garden (with pic)!

[AnxiousAn]

Please see the image as it helps to explain this situation!

We moved into our house 6 months ago, so we are fairly new to the area. This is important as we are trying to be careful as to how we approach this.

Essentially, all of the terraced houses in our street used to back on to disused land. Over the years, all of the neighbours have claimed their ‘extra’ bit of garden by incorporating the disused land directly behind their garden. Behind the ‘extra gardens’ is a footpath.

Prior to us living here, there was an elderly owner, who as we understand from the other neighbours, didn’t claim his ‘extra’ bit as he has mobility issues. This means that Neighbour 1 has not only claimed their ‘extra’ bit, but also the bit behind our garden. Whilst we aren’t that bothered about having a bigger garden, it does mean we:

• Have no access to the back of our house via the footpath.
• Have Neighbour 1 regularly walking around that bit, directly at the back of our garden (fences are low).
• It’s quite an eyesore as Neighbour 1 uses it for storage / rubbish bins / extra wood / compost. The fence they built some years ago when they claimed it is dilapidated and looks terrible. They also have a dilapidated, rotten shed on it, which they have said they don’t use but have no reason to get rid of.

Additionally, we are the only house down our road that doesn’t have the ‘extra’ bit, and the only people whose garden is now overlooked and boxed in. Neighbour 1 has admitted he doesn’t own the land and has never bothered purchasing it.

What would you do?

To reference the photo - the black lines are the original gardens and the green is the extra bits that have been claimed. N1 stands for Neighbour 1, Ours is our garden, N2 is the neighbour on our other side… (I’ve included our neighbour on the other side so you can see what everyone else has ‘claimed’.. apart from Neighbour 1). The grey is the foot path.

I live in a house with a similar land layout to yours in that there is a large cutway at the back of the house and there used to be a cutway that ran between me and my neighbour. The person who bought the house in the 1970's applied to the council to split the cutway between the houses between our house and the neighbour as it had been blocked off at the end for some time. Then they both extended their gardens about 4ft into the rear cutway again with permission from the council. When we bought the house the deeds showed that land was not included in the boundary with the Land Registry. It turned out that despite the council giving permission for the homeowners to do what they did, the council didn't own the land, but nobody knew who did. So the previous owner had to sign an affidavit to say the land had been like that for more than 25 years and there was an indemnity insurance, but now this land does come up within our boundaries.

So I would suggest contacting your council first to see if they know who actually owns the land.

OMG, it is the same area 😂😂😂 They’ve very nice, have been living there for years. I’m scared the person is your rival though. I don’t think they’ve been greedy with their bit, however.

@AnxiousAn not if her good friend is neighbour 1 😂😂😂

Timing is everything. What are on the deeds to the house. Also look at land registry and pinpoint the area using the map function. If the land has no registered owner you could effectively claim the lot (a bit selfish) but as I said, timing is everything. Have the boundaries moved and been in place for the 12 years and used continuously by the other neighbours? You and the other neighbours would need to evidence this under property law I think. Please do research but bear in mind it was bought as per details. Elevate your fench or grow a hedge maybe instead?

The key here is to find out how long your neighbour has been using this bit of land as his own and whether he is trying to claim adverse possession.

I think it cost about £8 to get to see the deeds. See if they own the end bit. It's possible they bought it from the previous owner.

Is he a nice neighbour? Could you ask if he’s mind you having that bit since all the other gardens have been extended and he’s not using it? You could offer to get rid of the rubbish/shed as well.

@PossumintheHouse Hmm maybe not then, as it is a sizeable chunk of land.

The neighbour definitely doesn’t own it, he’s confirmed that himself.

On reflection, it’s probably better to just approach the neighbour directly rather than instructing solicitors.

F

You need to establish who owns the land.
We had a similar situation and established ownership then contacted the land registry who signed it over to us as the owner no longer existed (it was a church organisation). It was quite straight forward. Ours has a right of way over it but the neighbours either side have fenced/ planted across their access more than 40 years ago so it’s not an issue. The access used to be for the bin collectors and coal deliveries.

Even a nice person would be daft to give up a large section of their garden.

From what I know, everybody on the street has taken their ‘bit’ behind their houses, including my friend. I wasn’t aware of anyone who has been a greedy land pig. I might ask them tonight and see if they’re aware of anyone with a double plot. 😂👀

Can you not ask him if he would let you clear it and fence it off to be in line with the others. If he’s only using as a dumping ground then he might agree. You might be opening a can of worms by trying to formalise it via solicitor.

Start off with a conversation about "sorting the rear access out" with him and getting that space emptied so you can extend in line with neighbours.

If he pushes back, maybe just say "tbh I don't really want to instruct my solicitor as its likely going to end up us all losing this extra land" and get him to begrudgingly agree to release it to you for "the greater good".

lots of people struggling with maintaining a garden and wouldn’t mind it going, he’s not using it except for a dumping site so worth an ask.

Say you want to start using it so can he please move his stuff, if he refuses then say you'll trace the owners and get their view.

If its a hill he wants to die on then he's at risk of not only losing his own bit of land, but losing it for the whole street too

I get you want to keep relations but this is probably the best way

Definitely if you want to maintain good relations with your neighbours.

we have this sort of arrangement too. Tbh I’d just start cheerily clearing his things out and occupying it with your stuff. He doesn’t own it or the bit behind his house and he hasn’t got a leg to stand on. Ask him nicely where he’d like his things now that you’ll be using that area.

@AnxiousAn I'd be inclined to speak to your neighbour directly, better if you can ask the PP here for any useful intel about them so that you approach in the best way.

It sounds like he's just used the land as a dumping ground come utility area and is not inclined to tidy up the view. You could appeal to his better nature and offer to initiate a make over so that you could have access to the footpath and a spruced up storage and compost section. I'm sure you could work out a reasonable scheme.

Sell it as you doing the bulk or all of the heavy work and the outcome being a much better outlook for all of you. Hopefully that's one way or sorting it out without upset and without involving any legal bodies calling everyone's gardens into question.

Talk to him and say you'd like to use the piece of land just like he and all the other neighbours do. If he is reluctant tell him you would rather not have to trace the owners to propose buying it, as that could cause issues for him and all the other neighbours, but it's important to you so you will if you have to. Hopefully he will see sense.

If he's been using and somewhat maintaining that land for a number of years, having paid for fencing, sheds etc then you'll definitely piss him off if you just try and claim it. It's not yours to claim. I appreciate it's not his either but if he's been looking after it for x long and you rock up and try and demand it, you'll ruin the relationship and possibly piss off all your neighbours if they end up losing their claimed bits as well.

He hasn't stolen anything from you. He is just occupying space around what is legally yours.

You can certainly ask the question but if he says no and you do basically anything other than accept it, you've ruined your relationship.

Wow. You bought a house and garden that were clearly demarcated and now you're going to tell your neighbour that you're simply going to take over his land, which he probably has adverse possession over. Amazing.

I hope the ensuing fuss, distress, bad neighbourly relations and legal expense causes the original owners to come and build a house and garden on everyone's baggsied gardens.

I don't understand why you think you have any right to this land, OP? It's nothing to do with you that the neighbour has fenced off this land years ago.

The best case scenario for you is that some 3rd party still owns this land and will start a battle with all your neighbours to get it back so you might, eventually, be able to buy it- at the cost of all your neighbours hating you.

The more likely outcome is that he now owns the land and you get a reputation as the cunts who moved in and immediately started demanding bits of your neighbour's garden.

It's not your land. If you are that desperate, leave it a long time, get friendly and then try to buy it off them. By that point presumably adverse possession will be certain and you just need to sort out the legal side.

Just find out who owns the land and buy it off them? At the end of the day he doesn’t own it so.

It's hard to believe you don't have the right to access the path at the back.

Presumably this is intended to be used for bins/large deliveries etc

I would try and establish that, very clearly first. Possibly with a solicitor.

Then speak to the neighbour. Something nice like "we'd like to chat about the path at the back. We need to be able to access it to have some garden equipment delivered". He's Possibly expecting it.