Neighbours walking past our front door to leave the house

[Bluesea14]

our new neighbours keep walking past our front door and squeezing past our cars when they go out. We have checked our deeds and title and this is part of our property, not a public footpath. We would never dream of walking past their house when we go out so we can't understand why they think it's acceptable to do it. They recently had furniture delivered and this was also carried down the path past our front door instead of going in between their cars.
I have attached a image which is similar to the layout of our house and the blue line is where they keep walking. Any advice on how to deal with this please? We haven't properly met them yet so we don't want to come across confrontational but we also want to make it clear that we don't want people regularly walking on our property and setting our ring doorbell off.

Yes they do. Thank you for your suggestion

Is their path the exact size like on your photo? It looks very narrow which in turn would be difficult to walk down. Could it be that their path is too small for them to comfortably use it?

Definitely incredibly petty. If it didn’t set your doorbell off you’d be none the wiser. Unless your car is also parked on the path I don’t see how they would have to “squeeze past”. You should’ve perhaps chosen a more private and secluded spot as houses generally have people traffic “walking past their living rooms “ everyday.

this is definitely a way to make enemies of your neighbours without even trying

LOL. What a thing to be upset about! Someone's walking past your living room window. Oh no! Faints in horror.

Yeah that would drive me mad, do people not like pay attention when people come to their house? Do you only notice someone has come to your house when they ring the doorbell? If someone's coming to my house , on my path or driveway or infront of my window I'm aware of them and essentially on alert until they knock or go.

If you have a canopy like the picture use that screening stuff to make like a little fence, you get ones with leaves or flowers or little twinkle lights. Say its to add a bit of privacy between the doors as you have a ring camera and it feels like you're spying on them.

If you know they’re in, walk past their window & use their path. Then have a conversation about how it might be better to use your own paths. In fact if you have small children, make it a game that you go one way (past the neighbours) and they go the other to meet in the middle.

I wouldn’t write a letter just yet. I think it’s too much too soon. I’ve had massive issues with neighbours before and it’s to be avoided at all costs. It doesn’t sound like they are doing it maliciously. They just think it’s the way like on an ordinary street of terraced houses.

I think at first I’d try to divert them. Park your car further back towards the house for example to make it more inconvenient for them to walk that way than it is to walk on your path.

Definitely not a letter. Surprised you haven’t said hello to your attached neighbours yet. You need to say hello and explain the path is your private access.

I used to live in a house (but converted to flats) that was like that. I was “you” but upstairs but my front door was where yours is. It was really irritating having my ring doorbell go off constantly (I had two families walking back and forth) but I did just live with it. The elderly lady downstairs hated it as well as she said having a sudden looming shadow walking right up against her living room window scared her. But again, she just lived with it and ended up keeping her curtains closed permanently.

I’d try and catch them. Introduce yourself and say can I just ask why you’re not using your own foot path? It’s just your setting my doorbell off and I’d rather you stick to your path and I’ll stick to mine 😊

This is even better!

We had a similar arrangement at our previous home, and it wasn’t until much later when they were planning some work that it emerged our neighbours had an easement for a right of way across the front of our property. They’d never used it before and our complex deeds hadn’t made it clear, but their deeds did. I’d want to be very sure something similar wasn’t in place before making a big fuss. I was glad my neighbours had been polite enough not to access their right of way for over five years until it was needed for a good reason, our friendly relationship probably being the reason. I’d start off trying to build that with your neighbours and try to resolve it from there.

Totally agree. No wonder everyone is miserable nowadays. Imagine seeing someone as the enemy for walking past your house.

Where is the pavement? It’s not clear from your picture?

It's wide enough to fit their bins so wide enough to walk down

If there is an alleyway between houses as indicated in your photo, I can see why the neighbour thinks walking in front of your house is acceptable. That is, if they wanted to go down the alleyway for something then go back to their house, it would seem odd to have to walk all the way back to the road.
A friendly chat to set the record straight is the better approach imo

Yes my car is on the path as I park far back from the road.

Can’t imagine getting worked up as someone walked past my house, am always surprised at things people get all upset over on here.

anyway just say to them you don’t like people walking past your house so could they not do it. Don’t come over all it’s called respect, they will be side eyeing you for ever as it is,

I would hate it. Most people I know would.

This would drive me nuts. Exit your property on the path past their front window, see how long it takes. Guarantee they'll want to talk about it.

Is it actually your property? Does your deeds show as that land is yours? If so planters to avoud the walking across.

However many new estate's are set up like this and they are communal areas and if so they have every right to go that way abd you cant add planters.

I can't believe some posters are calling this petty!!!

If they have their own path, the same as yours, I would be proper pissed off about them using mine!

Put large plant troughs in the way. If they say anything, which they shouldn't, you just say you always bring the planters out at Spring every year.

Get one of these and pop it between your houses:

Planter

It'll look lovely with a climber on the trellis.

I'd be infuriated with someone walking so close to my front window and I don't think YABU. It would feel intrusive, and I'd never buy a house with that sort of open front garden because I know it would wind me up. I'd hate to live in a house that has a front wall abutting the pavement, too, not even one of the lovely Georgian ones in the centre of the town where I live.

Yes they show it's ours. Thanks for the suggestion.

I'd assume they think it is public access and they're making a point of squeezing past your car to show that they don't appreciate you blocking what they think is their right of way. Or they're just ignorant inconsiderate twats. Either way, talk to them - not a letter.