Can my neighbour come through my back garden to get to his?? Ok

[dg8484]

I've moved into a rented property before (never rented before, recently divorced so moved out of mortgaged home)
I was in my kitchen today cleaning and getting ready for Fridays removal van. When out the corner of my eye, I saw a man directly walking past the kitchen window. It is a row of town houses, I am the first one, so instead of using his front door, this man is opening the side garden gate to the house I'm in, and going through to his garden. I will be phoning the rental company in the morning, but surely this isn't right!? I am going to tell the rental company I want to put a lock on the gate. Also, I have a heavy garden table which I've put directly next to the gate. If I see him climb over it then I won't be happy. It's not a communal garden, it's individual gardens. Any advice??

Will no longer be checking or replying to the new threads on this post. I feel some people are quite rude :( but thankyou to all who have give useful information

so may take a while find out what's what

Honestly, all you have to do ask the neighbours....

I had this in a house I used to live in. It was quite nice because the milk man used it so our milk was at the back door.

As an aside I know lots of people who don’t use their front doors. My parents house doesn’t even have a front door.
I’ve only ever seen my PIL use their front door once and that was when the undertakers took FIL out feet first!

Why would you walk all around the fecking block to get to your back door (including tramping across next door’s garden, just because you can) instead of just walking in the front?

Because people use the rear access to have wood or coal delivered, or remove garden and other waste without tramping it through their house. Which, with a ROW, they are perfectly entitled to do.

I think you might struggle tbh, if you can't respond reasonably to even a genuine confusion in your OP.

It makes sense now, when it didn't to me before, and I have offered you advice around your situation and rental price.

Has your agent called you, have you followed it up?

You shoukd be in possession of this information a week in.

Anyway, hopefully you will see its not so out of usual for this to happen, and I would definitely assume that as there is a gate in your fences on both boundaries that there is right of access, which was evident when you viewed the property.

It would be glaringly obvious if theres a gate in your fence to a neighbours property!

Thought I'd put on an update for those wondering. Turns out, there is NO right of way, gardens are private and require no access from other residents, but the person using my back gate was going that way to smoke drugs in the back garden with the son of the couple who live next door! (Doesn't really reflect the area as the area is nice, but, it happens everywhere) So il now be dealing with this a different way. Glad i used the lock!

Turns out, there is NO right of way, gardens are private and require no access from other residents

So why do you and your neighbours all have gates in your fences?? A gate implies a right of way. If you are not allowed to go into each others gardens why do they all have gates?

I find that beyond baffling.

My house is exactly the same. I'm on the end of 4 houses and you have to walk through my garden to get to the side gate to get to theres. I didn't know this until after I moved in, one day I saw the neighbour and her boyfriend walking there bikes through to get to her garden. I explained to her that I've got kids here and I don't want randomers walking through and accidentally leaving the gate open. She tried to say it was her right but I told her if anything happens to my kids she will be responsible so I put a padlock on and now she can't get through. Been two years now and she hasn't said anything and just goes through her house.

Glad you've found it & it's worked out in your favour. I'd knock on & just let them know that you've added a lock to the gate as don't want your garden to be a cut through

Looking back, my parents house had a gate in the fence with some neighbours... Used by the children to make it easier to play together. It's no longer there now we are all adults and not living there. No right of way.

It's good you have an answer (and I would ask landlord to permanently block access)

Very convenient for you.

I would make sure you have locks on both side of your garden, i.e. the gate to the alleyway, and also the gate between you and the neighbour.

Have you met your neighbour yet? I would be inclined to tell them what you are doing and why.

Good luck with the move and new baby.

@HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone never in
Posts have I stated all neighbours have gates in their fences, only next door

@NigellaAwesome
Thankyou! Yes I have but I intend of speaking to his mum and dad later when they come home from work

@HeadsDownThumbsUpEveryone

Earlier in the thread I gave an example of why that could be.

In the house I grew up in, we had a gate between our garden and our neighbours. We had no right if way but the gate was installed as a fire escape. If we had a fire and ended up in the back garden when getting out the house, then we'd be trapped in the back garden. Gate was installed as an emergency exit.

My childhood home was like this-terrace of three, all three had right of way through each other’s garden so not able to lock gates.

Even though you could access the gardens through the houses, you still had right of way through the back.

but the person using my back gate was going that way to smoke drugs in the back garden with the son of the couple who live next door!

Was this the son's answer? That it was a friend of mine coming to smoke drugs with me so he had to walk through your garden? I'm guessing so, as how else would you know this.

They have a gate also. Yes, lock both gates and request ll to remove unnecessary gate, however, it might not be ll's boundary to replace gate with fence so put your bin against it or something!

So a complete non problem that could have been clarified on day 1 by simply talking to your next door neighbours as suggested

Why so dismissive @MrsDimmond?

OP doesn't know neighbours, had just moved in, and sensibly sought confirmation of what the legal position was via her landlord and letting agent before taking any action.

@NigellaAwesome thankyou!!
@MrsDimmond just wow

Nigella

Im not sure you read that OP has spoken with neighbours, I doubt that the LL or agent was in a position to say 'my friend crossed your garden to come smoke drugs with me'

Are they.

Its not really clear tbh, which is why I asked.

That's good news OP
I wouldn't have asked the neighbours. It would give them a chance to claim they have access when they don't

@IfIShouldFallFromGraceWithGod very true, it would be nice to live in a world where everyone knew their facts and/or told the truth when approached but I waited a while to put a lock on, contacted landlord via letting agency and waited to see what was what.
I feel I have another issue with the reason for the original issue but il sort that one, thankyou

OP doesn't know neighbours, had just moved in, and sensibly sought confirmation of what the legal position was via her landlord and letting agent before taking any action.

That's not what happened. OP locked the gate before finding out anything. As Truth points out the information about who the man was and his drug habits is unlikely to have come from the letting agent.

Shared access is not uncommon in many terraces but it now appears that there was only one gate. Having not asked about it when viewing, OP got in a panic about it when she saw someone using it and contacted the agent. When she didn't hear back immediately she took action by putting a lock on it.

All I was saying was, she could have avoided her distress with a quick chat with the neighbours!

I did not suggest she shouldn't get confirmation from the LL or agent, just that the information was probably readily accessible by talking .

For the record I am happy that the OP is happy. And my response was hardly offensive.

@MrsDimmond I beg your pardon? After contacting the letting agent and not hearing back immediately I put a lock on? Haha....no I have waited since I posted thankyou.