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?? 🙈

Snap! Was just coming back to add exactly the same to my post above

We did a self close Yale lock too. Worth every penny

My two neighbours are the same. We have identical houses with hallways. I don’t understand it. 🤷‍♀️. Thankfully one neighbour has moved as their back gate creaked and would wake me up late at night and then early in the morning. New neighbours have installed a less noisy gate.

These are not your deeds (title information document) for your house, this looks like a report from your conveyancing solicitor from
when you bought the house.

You should have something that looks like this either in that pack or when your purchase was confirmed. That will contain the details of the right of way or the easement and what the terms are

My house is semi-detached and on the end of the row. I still don’t have side access because the land next to my house belongs to the neighbours across and not us. Access would have just been through the garage but the extension means it’s now through the garage and the dining room. Annoying but really not the end of the world.

We live in a terrace that sounds like this and we have full access over our neighbours land to get to our yard/garden.

We don''t use it other than for bins and if we are doing any gardening that needs things taking around the back but we have every right to use their pathway (which includes their back yard) as a right of access whenever we want.

When we bought the house we knew that we would rarely use it but there is no way in hell I would buy a house with access through my yard!

Check the deeds, and if it's only for ad hoc access and bins get a code lock such as padlock on the gate and let her know you'll happily accommodate by arrangement her bins coming in and out weekly and any other access that necessitates direct garden access, other than that you're garden is a private restricted area, end of and should not be the exclusive access to her home. There is not a neighbour in the street who would think using your garden for constant access to her home is appropriate when she has a perfectly functional front door. I would actually think many of the people using it find it awkward embarrassing and inconvenient to trail through your garden.

ummm no, all it shows is that the neighbour is using the ROW as though there are no restrictions, which is a different thing

You need to check the exact wording in your deeds. We’ve just sold an end terrace cottage and the side access was only for the neighbour to use for special circumstances- such as a gardener doing work etc. definitely not for them to use as their main entrance nor tell everyone else to use it! I’m sorry I don’t remember the exact wording but you should go back to your solicitor and get them to confirm what and how much access is allowed! Good luck.

And so you had to pay for the fence on your own why? She has to contribute according to those specifics. Also sounds like you have a right of access over her garden - assuming that is correct, start using it and she might not be at so much pains to let all and sundry use yours when you start directing the Tesco delivery man through her garden! In all seriousness, pay for half an hour of a lawyers time to sort out who can do what and when and who is responsible for what and if necessary get a letter sent to set out the terms. That way if she is being a CF, you know exactly where you stand

I live in a house like this (mid terrace) and had never heard of access through someone’s garden! We just access our garden through our house, no options to access it any other way

I'm not one for a side argument but I was clearly not suggesting denying access, just setting boundaries back to what the right of access was originally for. Access through the garden wasn't intended so that her garden was the main route to the home. I doubt this will end up in small claims.

I've never heard of this setup before but it would annoy me too. I don't know if its reasonable to try to change how your neighbours live despite them being nuisances.

I guess the modern day solution is what my friend has as the middle of a newbuild 3 house terrace; a path that fully encircles the neighbours garden round to their own gate.

Have a look on 'The garden law forum'. There are people in the know on there that will be able to help with this.

What are the " reciprocal rights noted above"? And it looks like they should have paid for half the gate! It's obviously not a public right of way, just for the specified neighbours. I guess its legal advice as to exactly what that covers.

All the ones I've seen have always had an alley at the back with individual gates. I lived in one for years and wouldn't have imagined similar houses without an alley.

Not true. The "dominant tenement" means the property itself, not the people occupying the property. The neighbours rights of access will depend entirely on the precise words used in the relevant title document (assuming this is England or Wales).

Check your deeds. If they have a right there's nothing you can do and it be illegal to lock the gate etc. my friend had similar situation and didn't realize as she will hold her hands on this but didn't read the legal bits... anyway she resold as legally nothing could be done.

Yeah, same. I know I didn't look into it properly because I was just so desperate to get away from my ex by the end. It just never occurred to me that anyone would use it like this 😩

I’m still confused - does anyone have an image of how this works?
So do the NDNs have a gate into someone else’s garden and they walk through someone’s garden to get to their gate?

I think I would get a lock for the gate and give her a key. I reckon it needs to be a keyed lock, preferably self locking, so she can't just give the code out willy-nilly. I'd be tempted to go for multiple gates/locks if it was feasible.

I have similar access rights across the back of mine but thankfully the neighbours only use it occasionally. It was a risk I knew I was taking when I moved in, but it was the only way I could afford a house rather than a flat so I felt it was worth the risk.

We have a similar arrangement but our neighbour only ever comes through our garden if she needs to show a workman/gardener her garden . She goes through her own front door for everything else!

Im in a mid terrace and have the same thing...but in 5 years ive only used my neighbours garden gate once to access mine after i locked myself out...this woman should not be using your garden like this...i would be locking the gate and taking legal advice.

Ok at my place to get access to back door from outside you walk round, through neighbours garden and into mine to get to the door. Rarely use it but did so more when kids had bikes there so they could go in the shed in garden

You could do a lock that can be opened from the garden side so she can take bins out etc but not so people can enter from other side

So if its a long row say 9 houses could someone have 4 neighbours who walk through, next house has 3 neighbours entering etc?

Could you need access via a neighbour and also have to grant access to next house along? Genuine question here and hope doesn't sound too daft or ignorant. Thank you