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.

Would not bother me at all. It seems a British obsession about driveways. I do understand everyone is different but no, it seems such a small thing to worry about

Like this is a perfect example of how people like to make their own lives more difficult. If you have such a problem, remover the door cam or move. It looks like the setup of the path is making your neighbours walk outside your door. Get out and about more and you wont be around to see them walking by therefore it can’t upset you 🤣

It is not making the neighbours do anything. They are choosing to do so.

Love that your diminishing of the OP's concerns belittles them. Also that your remedies for the neighbours chosen actions involves the OP in expense and inconvenience.

So much pettiness on this thread. Unbelievable and depressing. And the voting! Two thirds of people seem to think the OP is right to hyperventilate about neighbours walking by her window!!!!!!

im not sure where it says the OP is hyperventilating……… but she has every right to be annoyed by people walking along her path.

Do stop making shit up.

1. She's not hyperventilating.
2. Her thread title and OP are about the house, not her window. She never mentions windows.

Because its standard new build design (around here anyway). You don't own the pathways.

It looks likes that is the main path and their path is the side path. Even though it isn’t. I have 3 paths leading to a council block door and I always take the middle. No matter what side I will end up walking. I’m not sure why. They probably see their path as the bin path and it has dirty connotations.
If you want them to avoid your path you will need to put a divider or an obstacle there.

It's even more petty if it's just a blanket, random annoyance about a neighbour walking by her house, without even seeing them through the window!!!!!!

I’d put a really big plant pot here completely covering the path that’s between the two doors. Very strange that they don’t use their own path.

You could turn left when you exit your house and use their path too. If they say anything then laugh and say you thought you were sharing paths, but did they realise they were both private paths. My guess is they don’t realise and are not doing it to intentionally annoy you.

She is right to be annoyed.
I don't know anyone in real life who would accept neighbours trespassing their personal space and privacy , not get annoyed over it and 'have a word with them'.

I often think posters on MN just enjoy the 'sport' of defending the indefensible.

Hrft but have you considered walking down past their window and fown their path.

Could give you an idea why they use yours, and also focus their minds as you peer through their window.

Astonished sone people think its acceptable.
I would put a tiny fence up if they continue to do this after a convo.

It's not.

I don't know anyone who would accept this.

The deeds say the land is the OP's.

It's an invasion of privacy.

But the OP’s title deeds and her solicitor have confirmed that she does own that path

I agree about planters/pots to block them passing your door. Alternatively, start walking past their window and using their path on the other side, they should soon realise how annoying it is! I have a nervous dog and she'd hate people walking past my window, on my property, just because they feel like it! Cheeky sods.

If someone walked past my front window I genuinely wouldn't notice, it's such a non issue.
Just talk to them op, none of this passive aggressive nonsense.

• Stop parking your car so far over your path that you're restricting access along the path. If you cause someone to have an accident because of the squeezed space, you could be liable for damages and they may even damage your car in the process which might be deemed your fault. Owning a path doesn't mean you can do whatever you like to it: you still have a duty of care to anyone who may walk over it, whether they do so at your invitation or not. It was included as your property so that you are responsible for maintaining it and keeping it in a good state of repair.

• Go and talk to your neighbours nicely and explain about the Ring doorbell going off. You can say that as they are in the corner they probably don't get people passing directly in front of their living room window and may not realise how intrusive it feels.

• Owning a path is not the same as rights of way. At no point have you answered the many questions about ROW other than to repeat, parrot like, that you own the path. If you were to say "the deeds do not show any rights of way over my path" then you would at least know that you have a legal leg to stand on as back up in addressing the matter with your neighbour. As it is you would be relying on neighbourly goodwill which will evaporate very fast if you keep up the PA behaviour of parking your car so it extends over the path.

• It is in your own interests to not fall out with your neighbour because when you come to sell you would need to declare any neighbour disputes which might affect the resale of your house.

I get that it's annoying but unfortunately you have to accept that when you're in close shared spaces everyone is going to have different ideas about what's acceptable, regardless of laws, commonsense, rights of way or just being considerate of other people.

Housing developers just don’t care about the problems their planning causes. The way they cram houses in with the idea that everyone will just get along and no one will be selfish or thoughtless. It’s utterly infuriating.

I'd walk past your front door as well. It's obvious looking at it, that this would happen.

I wouldn't like it either. I mean it's not the end of the world or anything but it's a bit annoying. I think perhaps it's something they got used to doing before you moved in? And the fact that the path between your house and the next two houses on the other side seems bigger as it's a sort of double path, probably gives the feeling that it's the 'way in'?

So when they get home and park their cars, do they park in front of their house then walk all the way round and up the larger path and past your window? They don't walk up their path or up the path between the front parking spaces. If they do that, it's really weird because it's going out of their way? Do they carry shopping in by taking this long cut too?

I think I'd put a lovely planter by your front door? If you do talk to them, I'd make it a casual chat kind of thing rather than a letter. Introduce yourselves to them, maybe exchange contact details and then drop it into a conversation when you're established with them?

Completely agree and so confused as to why so few posters are understanding this! The neighbours have their own path, they have no need to be passing OP's house in such close proximity.

Depends on what is most important to you: civil friction-free relationship with neighbours or the walking past your house. Only you know which you value more.

But, regardless of how nicely you ask, it will piss them off and they will think it’s petty, if they didn’t, they wouldn’t be doing it. I would put big pots along the path up to front door. Of maybe a huge wall. With spikes, and gun towers, sirens…