AIBU to object to neighbour using my garden as their main access?

[Deepblueokay]

Fully expecting to be told this is my own fault for not looking into it properly but need a vent all the same!

A year ago I moved into an end of terrace house. There is the usual easement arrangement with the adjoining neighbour that they can get access to their back garden via my back garden. I know that is pretty standard and I was obviously aware of it when I purchased. Since moving in however it's become clear that they use it as their primary entrance. They never use their front door. They have a sign on the front door telling post man/ couriers etc to go round the back. Again, wouldn't necessarily be a big issue except that there seems to CONSTANTLY be someone walking through! It's an older lady living there with her grandson. He is late teens/ early 20s maybe and in and out like a yo-yo, no exaggeration. Ditto her boyfriend, her dog walker, her cleaner, her food shop, couriers (she gets at least two packages a day!) .... The latter particularly pisses me off because they often don't close my gate behind them. I have an OAP dog and 4 children, the youngest of whom is 4. It'd take literal seconds to slip out of the garden without anyone noticing 😠 And frankly, now that its summer time it just feels quite intrusive. Strangers walking in and out while my children are playing. I stupidly feel awkward sitting outside to read a book even though it's my fucking garden!

Is it even a legal thing to say that they are over using their access?!

Should also add that I would probably mind all this less except that at the end of last year the handle of my gate broke. It was the week before Christmas and I didn't have time or money to fix it and it wasn't particularly a priority for me, but I told the neighbour I would sort it after Christmas, quite reasonably I thought. (I have a side door so actually rarely use the gate). Neighbour told me I had to fix it because it is "YOUR gate" and "a public right of way" (it isn't 🤣).Then proceeded to tell all the other neighbours that I was "refusing" to fix it because I didn't use it and that she "couldn't even get her food delivered" and would "rather die than use the front door"... After a week of hassle and harassment I ended up getting a friend's husband to fix it for free and neighbour has since apologised but... I don't know, it just left a sour taste.

Is there anything I can do? Do I just have to wait for her to move/die?? 🙈

The easement is for the property. Sadly, unless it says otherwise, an easement means anyone can use it if they are going to the property. So post, deliveries, friends, window cleaners the list goes on. If you want to read horror stories the Garden Law forum is the place to go.

I do wonder why people post with such certainty about things they know nothing about

Deleted; crossposted.

I also wonder if it would be a breach of the easement to put up a fence a few feet inside the bottom boundary, so that the neighbour could only access a sort of passageway along the bottom and get into her garden that way. She'd still be able to cross OP's garden, just not the full length of it.

I wouldn't buy a property where the neighbours could walk across my garden, personally. For many years, I had dogs that had free access to the garden via a dog flap. One of them would have been fine with people coming into the garden, but the other two wouldn't have stood for it.

When I bought my first house, the vendors showed me the right of way and explained who used it when I viewed the house, and my solicitor explained it, too. The solicitor seemed far more concerned than I was!

I'd go back to your solicitor and ask them to write a letter based on the lease, explaining what is reasonable. Then put a lock on it and maybe a security camera on it.

The one on the houses in my old road was restricted to residents of that road.

Our houses were built at the turn of last century, and at the time were the only houses in the street. Some more were built at the other end of the road in the 1950s and then on the opposite side in the early 70s.

I often wondered if the easement applied to the newer properties as well.

I'm not sure that reasonable would come into it, tbh. It's entirely possible that it's an absolute right, and if the neighbour wanted to go to and fro across OP's garden all night long, she might be perfectly entitled to do so!

A security camera would surely be allowed, but I'm not sure what it would achieve.

If you put a lock on the neighbour is entitled to a key as are her partner kids her gardener her cleaner etc if you give her a code she can give the code to anyone she wants. If you keep changing it she could say this was a barrier. Just a self closing gate would stop children dogs etc getting out. If it's a general easement the neighbour is fully entitled to use it as a front door and for her family friends couriers carers etc to use it. However none of this are entitled to stray from the path
You can't move the path to any other part of the garden without her permission.

I agree that it's a private matter . It's not blocking a public right of way, which the council definitely would get involved with.

There was a massive rights of way case at the council I worked for, it went on for years and the amount of evidence was so huge that there was an entire committee room given up to accommodate it.

We are the end of terrace and we too only need to give access for bins, everything else they ask.

Definitely create a fenced off path for them and a separate locked gate for you only

This is what we have. We are the middle house in a row of 3 and have a right through one of our neighbours garden for bins and emergency access. We never use it as I wouldn't feel comfortable just going through without asking first. We keep our bins at the front so we don't disturb them.

I have been pleased we've got it though, not least when we were out for the day, there was a massive thunderstorm and my neighbour went and got my washing in for me and put it in her tumble dryer 😁

I used to house share with my friend who had a terrace. We used to walk across the back of next door the ginnel went up the side of their house and then our access was straight across the back of their house. We did not use the front door, the previous owners did not use the front door. We all came round the back it was just the way it was, only time I used the front was when I moved in and moved out. They didn’t have gated access though, we had the gate to separate the house from their garden

This.

Neighbour blocking off her own front door, which is also an emergency exit, is against fire and safety regulations. Presumably she’s got a couch in front of it, which in case of a fire, she wouldn’t be able to move in time.

How did you find out about the previous owners efforts? Did they tell you presale? Or have you been told this by third parties?

I'm asking this because I would have thought, that just like when you sell a house you have to say if there is a border dispute or issue with neighbours, that the previous owner should have explained this issue as it directly affects your enjoyment and legal use of the property?

I'd explore that further if I was you, maybe speak with your solicitor who dealt with the conveyancing.

I found out from my Deeds that it isn't an Easement in my case. I actually have shared ownership. I know it isn't what you want to hear but they're not doing anything illegal. Just rude.

My husband is so polite he refuses to use it not even for garden waste. Even though we have a "Right to Use a Wheelbarrow" down it. My neighbour has put pot plants and hanging baskets down it so it reminds me of something from Nintendo. Just a thought for you...

Maybe the previous owner saw nothing wrong with it.

My husband is northern. Even though it is quicker to leave the house by the front door, he will always use the back door. We amuse each other with our preferences.

He will walk across the back garden, along the path that runs behind the terraces, down the side of the houses and then turn right for the shop. Whereas I will walk through the front door, across the much smaller tiny front garden, turn right along the front of the houses and keep going to the shop.

I used to used the back door too, but the gate went straight out on to the public area but not through someone else's garden.

I am Northern too and wouldn't dream of using that type of access except for necessities as I wouldn't like it either and its not the way things are done here.

The point is that is the person she purchased the house from had a similar issue which she tried to address, it should have been mentioned in the sale, along with any neighbour dispute and it wasn't, if it was the person she bought from of course and not a prior owner.

I have nothing to add that hadn’t been said but I am now fully invested in this thread. Good luck OP. Bad neighbours are the worst.

Yes, but if this gets legs on and a lawyer gets involved, its best to show you have been reasonable and tried to solve it amicably surely?

have you RTFT?

Hope this helps:
'blocking your front door can invalidate your home insurance, as insurers require your property to be kept secure and accessible for emergencies. If a fire or break-in occurs and the door is blocked, your claim will likely be denied due to "failure to take reasonable care" or obstruction. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Why it invalidates your insurance
Failure to Secure: Insurance policies mandate that you keep all external doors properly locked and secured. If a burglar breaks in and the door couldn't be properly secured, the claim will be rejected. 1, 2, 3, 4]
Fire Safety Restrictions: Blocking an exit route is a major safety hazard. If a fire occurs and insurers find that a blocked or barricaded front door caused injuries or prevented emergency services from gaining access, the payout will typically be voided. 1, 2]
Unapproved Modifications: If you block or alter the door in a way that modifies its structural integrity or certification (such as blocking a certified FD30 fire door), the policy can be voided. 1, 2]

What you should do instead
To maintain valid coverage, always ensure your front door is fully operational, closed, locked, and completely clear of debris, furniture, or heavy decorations. If you have added additional security devices, make sure your insurer has been notified to avoid any breaches in your policy's fine print.

It’s irrelevant to the OP, the fact is that the neighbour with the easement has every right to use it however she wishes within the terms, and her preference for using her back door is none of the OPs business. The OP cannot legally impede access along the right of way and her dogs and children are her own problem which she should have considered before buying the property. Based on a lot of the responses here most people have no idea how easements work and would assume it would be something they could sort out after purchase. It isn’t. There’s no point getting all irate about it, all you can do is stick to the terms as written.

The bit where op said she didn’t want to din this because it would make her garden smaller? I’d take that over drama and having strangers in the garden with my kids?

Please let us know what you decide to do and how you get on.

My thoughts -
If the gate is left unlocked day and night, then the back of your property is not secure. This would worry me. Anyone could walk in off the street and take anything out of your garden if they so wished. The neighbour is being incredibly selfish to not consider this.

A bolt on the back of the gate would secure it from the inside and wouldn't stop her getting out. I can't see why any reasonable human being wouldn't agree to this. She could come out and unlock it to let people in (if she must!)

A key that both of you could use to get in and out would also keep it secure. Again, I can't see why any reasonable human being wouldn't agree.

House insurance - would it affect your house insurance in any way if (god forbid) you were burgled and the back garden was how they got in?

As someone said upthread, did you mention something about previous owners tried to do something about it and it didn't go down well? This suggests a dispute that may not have been mentioned at any point during the sale. Worth asking about this.

I would definitely be making an enquiry with the conveyancing team to see if there's any restrictions on what the easement can be used for. Or take some legal advice (often a free helpline with your home insurance) and find out what you can do whilst staying within the terms if the easement.

I'd be bolting it at night at the very least - she can get up and unlock it in the morning if she's that bothered. Tell her you thought someone was in your garden, or tell her you're worried being on your own, does she have a better nature that you can appeal to, or is she just entirely selfish?

no the bit where people have said that whether or not you can fence off a path depends on the terms of the easement.

ah and there you have the nub........that little word "REASONABLE" If the neighbour had been reasonable, this thread would not exist.