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?? 🙈

Bad idea as it's creating a new easement not on the deeds.

Check the deeds. Then stop access according to the deeds. You have a right to privacy and a private life too. And it’s as you point out security. Lock on the gate would sort it.

See I have access through my neighbours gardenThere aren't any restrictions

Can you partition off a walkway for them so you can have some privacy? It would really pee me off as well.

Doubt that's allowed

It will almost certainly be a marked path on the deeds.
Creating a walkway elsewhere has legal implications.

Well that's fair enough - but check your deeds and get legal advice if needed. People are suggesting locks on gates and alternative walkways - I don't think either of those override the legality of the easement on the deeds.

Yes would there be room to make a shared path that is fenced off from your garden? I have some friends who bought a bungalow that someone had basically built in their garden for their parents. After parents passed they sectioned off a long drive at the side of their garden and a separate garden around the bunglow.

I used to live in a terraced house in a northern city and this is very normal. None of us used our front doors as they went straight from the pavement into the living room. Neighbours had 2 annoying dogs and teenage sons. Once one of the came home pissed and puked all over our garden path. His mum was mortified, tore him a new one and was out there scrubbing it clean at 6am!

I know it’s annoying but it’s likely to be completely legal. It’s no use saying “why did you buy a house like this with a dog and young kids?” as you’ve done it now. But honestly? I’d move

You could see if you could padlock the gate while providing her with a key for access. This should be allowed so long as you aren't preventing her access.

She won't be able to provide all and sundry with copies of the key, so that would at least reduce the number of users. If she does give out lots of copies, change the padlock, again with one key for her. She might eventually get bored if this repeats as often as necessary. Padlocks aren't particularly expensive.

You basically need to make it awkward for her, while still allowing the easement that she is entitled to.

House insurance often has a legal helpline element. It's worth looking at your policy to see if that applies to you.

If so, they'll be able to help you find out just what your obligations are.

An easement is a legal right that allows someone to use another person’s land for a specific reason, even though they don’t own it. Easements are mostly used for:

• Access: Allowing a neighbour to cross your land to reach their property.
• Utilities: Granting rights for water pipes, electricity cables, or drainage systems to pass through land.
• Light and air: Protecting a property’s right to receive natural light or ventilation.

Oh, come on, this is Mumsnet, why find the facts?
Let's all play barrack room lawyer and tell OP the first thing comes into people's heads or what they have in their deeds.
No fun otherwise. 😊

@Deepblueokay check what the deeds say.

If the neighbour has access, that doesn't mean that all their visitors can have access.

A friend of mine had the same at a terrace house. They were the end terrace. They put a yale lock on the gate but low down so you couldn't reach over the fence and unlock it, and it needed a key from the outside.

They gave their neighbour a copy of the key so they still had access, but it meant that no one else could just walk round.

You could use some sort of RFID card system and give your neighbour an access card, or finger print access. It just means if they want to let someone come to their door, they will have to open the gate themselves from the inside.

The other option is sectioning off a side bit of your garden, so they have to walk all the way down your garden, across the back of it, then have a gate at the back. If you have kids then you can say this is for the kids safety. It just means it will be quite a faff for anyone walking all the way round.

Well whatever it is, it's unlikely to be a "public right of way". That title is reserved for footpaths/bridleways etc which appear on the definitive map and are able to be used by all the public.
As others have said, the terms of access should be in the deeds. My DS lives in a terrace where, thankfully he's at the 'good' end. He only uses the access across 3 other gardens when he has dirty rubble from garden/DIY works to get out to the front. Technically he could take his wheely bins out that way but it's easier for him to keep those at the front (they're hidden from road view by a hedge). Other than that he accesses his house via the front.
Our previous house also had this arrangement but again we only used it to put bins out.
I don't think your neighbour should be inviting all and sundry to use that route.

You might want to consider they have blocked off the front door entirely (as in arranged the furniture in such a way that makes using the front door near impossible). I think they are selfish and abusing the meaning of the access - it’s for bins and such like. But as they do it, they likely don’t care and you have to consider if this is a hill you want to die on.

I've always lived in terraces and never known anything like this before. Not everyone can afford a 5 bed detached.
"Just move" isn't really an option. Aside from the expense and stress and hassle and uprooting my children again, I actually love the house and the area.

I don't know if it has already been mentioned, but OP can get copies of the deeds for a few quid.

OP, apply for your deeds asap.

https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-property-and-land/copies-of-deeds

This.
Check it out.
Don't hesitate to contact your local police force and ask is there a community police officer if you feel harrassed by them.
They are treating it like a public highway...definitely worth checking out.

If it's a usual easement then there is no limit on how often it can be used or by whom as long as they are going to the house. There is no such thing as overuse. And your neighbour was right about mending the gate- legally you, as the owner, are obliged to keep the right of way clear and accessable at all times.

I had one of these and thankfully I bought the easement from my neighbour. It's utterly ridiculous of course- the intention behind them was just for bins or accessing shared outhouses and toilets.

All the rules are laid out on gov UK and there is a great website called Garden Law which explains it all

That's yours. There's an easement across my property and there are restrictions.

So this is really clever. Obviously all needs checking out both legally and insurance-wise. But really clever.

Omg I have NEVER heard of this as a thing! People walking into your garden as they wish? Wtf how is that even legal? And why have i never hard of this before? Ive heard of a shared driveway but thats it!

If the neighbour has access, that doesn't mean that all their visitors can have access

im not sure that’s right. Ime the deeds just say “there is right of access across the backyard of Number 1 for numbers, xyz.”. Never seen deeds which say “for the owner/occupier only”. 🤷‍♀️

I also don’t think there’s any such thing as excessive use.

years ago I went to view a property like this and while we were there the neighbour walked through the back garden right by the kitchen window. From the overgrown front door next door it seemed obvious they never use the front door. We didn’t buy it mainly because of this.

Back door preference seems to be a thing round here (sounds rude 😆). Neither of my next door neighbours use their front door, thankfully they’re not allowed in my garden

seems a shame the solicitor didn’t point this out to you.

can you get a self closing hinge fitted to the gate? Hopefully would swing shut then and it’s one less thing to worry about. If allowed I’d also do the padlock thing and say it’s for your security as worried about being burgled. Obviously you’d have to give her a key. I suspect she’d just unlock it all the time and “lose” the padlock. 🤷‍♀️

Go to the land registry website yourself, register and access your title documents for a very small fee. Read the easement and share it on the legal board. It does sound like her use is excessive. However I am a bit concerned that she may try to argue she has additional rights because of the way she has used it for so long and you could be drawn into a legal battle, but I’m not a property lawyer. However this is a good reason to try to nip her use in the bud now rather than let the situation drag on.