House dilemma (with diagram)

[OneGreyBiscuit]

Need some quick thoughts for this please as I'm on a timer. I went to look at a house through social housing yesterday, it's mine if I want it. There's a new bathroom and kitchen although everywhere else needs tlc. My main issue is that the next door neighbours have access to the back garden from their property, would this put anyone off? Diagram for looking at below. The arrows is where next door can walk through.

Would you be able to move right of access to bottom of garden and then up the side and out. You could put a fence around to maintain your garden privacy. That's the way it was in a house I lived in at one time. You do lose part of your garden (footpath width) but to me it's worth it for the privacy.

I'd take it, in the circumstances. Put up a fence or some hedging that will screen off the rest of your garden from the bit they need to walk through. Then it will be just the equivalent of having a front door that opens directly onto the pavement, only at the back, and you should still be able to enjoy the use of your garden.

Do they have direct access to their garden from their house and would really just need to cross your garden to put out bins?

Or every time they want to access the garden, they have to go thru "your" garden?

Thats key I think,

Ooohh I’d hate that too. You never know who the neighbours might be or how they’d behave. They can change any time.

The idea of putting a fence at the back and along the side, is good - if you’re allowed to do that. Then you and they get privacy.

I would accept it, if it’s not suitable in the future go for a swap.

I don't know what their layout is but pretty sure it's different to this one as the back door is on the side with the one I've been offered.

They have a back door onto the garden, so it's not like every time they want to go in the garden they come through.

Avoid like the plague imo. I had a house that had a right of access through it and it was a fucking nightmare. The neighbours were complete knobheads, I could never let my dogs out in case the neighbours came through the garden, they left the gate open all the time, they left their bins outside the window, they smoked all the time and the smell would come through the windows, I had no privacy in the garden whatsoever, all their shitty mates would traipse through when visiting and stare through the window so it was either not be able to see through the windows or be alright with someone being able to see in all the time. I could go on, it was shit

We have this and it doesn't bother me, but I have a quiet neighbour and hardly see her. The access is also at the back of the garden, furthest away from the window. Is yours right under the window?

I would hope to think they're not like that as they have at least one small child but you never know. It's the experiences like yours that is putting me right off but thank you for your honesty.

My parents have similar but gardens are private and then there is a little path that runs along the bottom of the gardens for access.

Yes so they walk literally inches from the kitchen window.

In the part of the country I live in, this is completely normal. I was a bit unsure at first, but actually I think it helps with the community better. We are on the end so we don't have people walking through but we do have to walk through our neighbours (tend to only do this when cycling or on bin day). It's really common for there to also not be huge fences dividing the gardens, everything is just a bit more shared (our neighbour and the one two doors down even share bins (by choice) so that there's not so many cluttering the gardens). We're also in a part of the world where the back door is the main door for so many people so deliveries, guests, etc all come to the back too. We have a lock on the gate in our alleyway, but lots don't. When we move ideally I'd prefer to be on the end, but it won't be a deal breaker if the rest of the house is perfect, so in your position I would snap up this opportunity

My house is like this…

the neighbours has access via their back garden…. And a pathway at the back inside via the house

It’s honestly so difficult to get any sort of decent housing at the moment I think you should take it @OneGreyBiscuit. Especially social housing which is rarer than hen’s teeth. We had this arrangement at a previous house only the neighbours walked past our living room window (at the back). They were good neighbours and put out and took in our bins once a week. The guy went through with his bike but it wasn’t an issue for us. It’s just how people lived years ago probably when folk were more neighbourly. We all tend to just want to live in our own little bubble nowadays.

My friend had this and they just moved the walkway to the bottom of the garden with a fence. So created a pathway with a fence down the side of the garden and across the bottom so that next door can use this to get to their garden. They lost some garden space but they thought it was worth it

I think if you like the house, you should take it. Social housing is such a lottery that a nice house (even if you have to do it all up) is worth compromising on.

My friend lives in the end terrace and neighbours have right of way. It is meant for bins not as a free for all going backwards and forwards. Perhaps ask for them to explain the right of way and what is allowed and not an assumption by the housing officer it may be because the house is empty.

We've got this in our terrace with a communal path between houses and back gardens which runs the whole length of the terrace - about 20 houses. The path mainly gets used by people in the terrace who are doing work in their gardens but also by children playing with each other. Several people have fenced off their gardens at the garden side of the path so that small children/dogs can run around safely, so you might want to consider that?

I thought this too and said above. Then realised that if she did this, the neighbour would then have a longer route to taking their bins out every week. They may or may not think this an issue!

That's such a cute little diagram 💜

Gosh, in nearly 60 years of life I have never heard of this before. People in mid terraces, accessing other peoples gardens to get in and out of the back/take the bins out! As has been said, it was probably normal/OK when the homes were built, and many people probably lived next to friends/family members.

In the little cottage we live in, when we moved in, (just over a decade ago,) there was a little 3 ft gate at the back and a 3 ft fence, (on the one side,) so there was NO privacy at all from the one neighbour ... When we moved in it was a 50 y.o. single/divorced man, and every time I put the washing out or popped into the back garden for anything, he appeared. Started chatting shit/talking about himself/boring the shit out of me. 😂

I was really unnerved that the 3 ft gate was there and gave him access to the dining room window, the kitchen, and the back door! (Coz he could just walk straight into the garden.) Several times he just walked though the gate and came in and started chatting when I was doing the gardening or sitting there sunbathing!

So we got a solid 6 ft fence put up. NO GATE. He complained and said he 'enjoyed our chats.' Errrr, sorry mate but I didn't. I said we wanted more privacy, and security. He was like Seemed genuinely confused that we didn't want the random man next door being able to walk into our back garden through a little gate, and peer at us over a 3 foot high fence! There was such a lack of privacy, that we only stuck it for the first summer before putting a big fence up! He never came out when my DH was out there funnily enough. 🤔

Fortunately he moved out a year after we moved in, and a lovely couple moved in who are still there and have 2 gorgeous little girls.

Oh and @OneGreyBiscuit I would accept it if I were you, with it being social housing. You never know when the next one is going to come up, and as pps have said, you could have a decent neighbour here, and the next house could have a much worse one. And yeah, as some people have suggested, cordon off/fashion a walkway for the neighbours to walk through, and privatise like, 80% of your garden. Give them a pathway to walk across to take the bins out and get them back..

I thought that too. Best diagram I’ve seen on MN 😂 🏆

I live in a terrace and have access through my neighbours garden and down the alley to the side of their house. I keep my bins out front and fenced it off and (other than making repairs to the fence) have never used it.

In my experience and others with a similar set up this becomes a problem (or not) simply depending on your neighbour. They could be like me and never use it/use it once a week for moving bins or they could be cheeky twats and use it all the time, take the piss and let mates and visitors use it and you could end up with all kinds of people walking back and forth.

This isn’t something I would be happy living with but it would come down to my current options and situation and how desperate I was for a house.

You can get privacy blinds that let light in but you can't see through (modern net curtains effect I suppose).

We lived in a terrace set up like this and the only time people actually walked through it was to put the bins out every week.

I suppose if bikes are stored in a shed in the garden then there is potential for twice a day. They shouldn't just be wandering into your garden on a whim though.

Other downside is not being able to secure the garden if you've got small children.

If the house is otherwise right for you then I'd probably go for it and hope for the best.