New neighbours think they have access rights across my garden - help!

[withextradinosaurs]

I have new neighbours.

They have been told by the ex-neighbours that they have access rights through my side gate to bring large items e.g. sofas into their house if they won't fit through their door.

I allowed the ex-neighbours to do this when they moved back in (they were living elsewhere for a while) but it was as a neighbourly gesture.

I have also checked with the previous owner of my house, who says the same - when the ex-neighbours moved in for the first time, he kindly allowed them to use the side passage but out of goodwill not obligation.

The new neighbours did not accept my word that they had been misadvised.

I am very upset now as my privacy is important to me and I deliberately bought a house with no shared access.

What is my next move? Should I get a solicitor to write and set out that they have been misinformed? I fear they might have bought the house with the belief that they can come across my garden when they need to. (I am the end of a terrace built in the 1980s).

Can I be that certain just from seeing my own deeds?

Please help!

I do agree it's up to them to prove they have the rights. We knew when we bought that this right was in place for our house, I suppose what I'm saying is that if it does turn out they have a right of way, which seems unlikely, it need not be problematic.

Check the deeds, if they don't have access, put it in writing and remember that it is not your fault that the old neighbours misinformed them.

Thanks, everyone!

serafinaaa, are your deeds accessible? It would be really helpful to see what wording you have setting out that access, so I can double-check for anything similar in mine.

IsItMe, when you say access will be in the deeds, do you mean in my deeds or theirs? I'm writing off for a full copy from Land Registry of theirs, just to be extra sure.

So you have the basic Land Registry document which will say who owns the property etc. That will usually refer to other documents - eg it may say the title is subject to the terms of a conveyance dated XYZ 1930 . You then need to buy if you don't hold your own deeds and your lawyer does not have them and the neighbour does not produce them, from the Land Registry. This will include photocopies scanned of documents drawn up many years ago which may also include restrictive covenants such as not to run a brothel or other business on the site. I am not sure if only solicitors can register for a business account to buy full deeds or not. Also your solicitor who closed down their files I thought had to be passed to another solicitor to hold them so it may well be worth trying to find that out eg from the law society.

It certainly seems that some older properties do contain in the deeds a lawful right. When you bought your property your own solicitor should have prepared a report on title for you if you can find that. That is likely to say XYZ neighbour has a right of access over your garden if there is such a right.

It might not be straight forward as things change over time ...and deeds changed on selling one house but not an existing house...
I live in a 1960s ex council terraced house - 4 house block, bit different because runs down a hill, sideways on to the main road (and no vehicle access at the front).
I'm second one down from the road and person who bought it also bought the back path from the council (later than the house) which comes along the back of the first house garden (which was council owned at the time). But the original paths in our garden and the neighbours further down ran next to the houses (right past the windows). I think at some point the access was round the side and next to the first house too and at some point it got changed to along the back.
We have a gate between us and the 3rd house down (next to the house) and I queried access with the solicitor ...if the third house used it regularly they would be walking the length of our garden and then past our windows!
The path is shown as separate in our deeds and we have to allow access for maintenance (and not use it as a dog run!?), the solicitor said it was nothing to worry about - but someone else said it is a grey area - taking the bins out could be classed as maintenance!
In 10 yrs though they only asked to use the path twice - to have work done in their garden - once to have a patio made...workmen traipsing back & forth with a wheel barrow and heavy flags - wrecked my grass as had got rid of the original path by then!)
Reason for the history...
First house neighbour (a neighbour from hell) didn't like the fact we walked down the back of his garden (it is fenced off but we do regularly use the path -and cos of the slope look straight into his garden at first - but then anyone walking along the main road can do that anyway ) - he bought the house and then claimed the path wasn't on his deeds and so didn't belong to us (might have been lying though )...but he backed off when I said I had a copy of my deeds and I knew we did...(I do suspect it might not have been on his original deeds though - but a right of access for maintenance round his house would have been!)

Third house have recently sold - (they were very nice). I know they were annoyed with the guy who bought the path because they wanted to buy it with him but didn't have the funds at the time (plan was there would be a path down the end of our garden - maybe even as far as the bottom house -so we all had regular rear access). I think the gate was put in (it was their fence) to prove a point. I did vaguely offer to think about selling him use of the path and a strip off the back of our garden...but layout of his garden and my shed would have made it a hassle to sort out and he didn't seem that worried...
When he said he was selling, I mentioned the path/new neighbours and he said his access was actually around the end of the bottom house ...(which has also been sold quite recently).
That would be absolute pain for workmen though - having to go down past all 4 houses and then up 2...I'd be mean not to let them use the easier access...
New neighbour is very nice too - she has never used it...fence does need replacing soon - will share cost and I am going to suggest that we put an easily removable panel in there instead of the gate so the right of access is less obvious... or move the access to bottom of garden but that would still be a hassle cos of shed etc

OP - we have a private right of access thing with our house (i.e. as opposed to a public right of way/access). It's in our deeds, and also the deeds of the people who have the right of access over our land.

As a bit of a quirk, our deeds make reference to a covenant attached to the land our house is built on when it was sold to the developer (back in 1930s), which probably gives some businesses right of way over our land, but the land registry has misplaced it. So nobody knows what it says.

You should be buying the Title Register. Any rights of way should be shown in the Registered Charges section of it (this is where mortgages also get shown).

OP - your deeds will say something like "excepting and reserving to A,B and C a right of way/access as described in a transfer dated..."

Neighbours deeds will have a bit saying " together with the benefit of a right...etc". This may be in the initial part of the land registry office copies, but be sure to read it all. Get the title plan for each property too. You can get it immediately online for a v small fee.

Ah yes, Collaborate is right. the ones we looked at said that so we then had to go and buy the detailed transfer or original deeds as the detail was inthem and it was only referenced without details in the land registry title.

This is the Registered Charges section of theirs, from the online service. I've taken the personal and business names out:

"C: Charges Register

This register contains any charges and other matters that affect the land.

1 (07.08.1996) A Conveyance of the land in this title dated 22 August
1986 made between (1) [the builders] and (2) [someone's name - the first purchaser?] contains restrictive covenants.

NOTE: Original filed.

2 (16.08.2004) REGISTERED CHARGE dated 30 July 2004.

3 (22.10.2007) Proprietor: [BANK NAME].

4 (16.08.2004) REGISTERED CHARGE dated 30 July 2004.

5 (16.08.2004) Proprietor: [HOUSING ASSOCIATION NAME]"

Is this where the access would be recorded?

The covenants on mine include things like not keeping chickens and not putting a fence up along the road edge.

That doesn't sound like they have rights of access. If it's not on the register they won't have it, as these things now need to be registered or they don't subsist after a transfer (I believe).

Stay firm and refuse them access until they prove it, tell them they cannot take down your fence as it will be criminal damage. Say it in a nice way then you won't have a feud!

Yes, I think it would there. I just looked at one I have for a neighbouring club near here and it says under charges register:
"A Conveyance of the part tinted pink and brown on the filed plan dated xxxxmade between (1) ABC (2) XYZ and (3) 1224 Limited contains
restrictive covenants."
It also contains about 7 other references to restrictions, rights for water etc etc over the land.

Then I had to register with the Land Registry or an agent of theirs to buy deeds and then pay about £50 to buy that conveyance which contains the relevant restrictions.

So the only question might be if they had been allowed a right of access would have built up or did those rules that said if you use something for 21 ?? years you can carry on and indeed can register that right? I doubt even if that were the law as it's one in a blue moon the last owners might as a gesture of generosity taken a fence down. And separately if you do not own the strip of land they walk over then they might have a right but you do - it's your garden.

The old neighbours were allowed across three times - once by my predecessor and twice by me.

I appreciate that this makes it sound like I'm stressing over nothing!

Thank you again, everyone, for taking time to post advice.

Its not a charge but a covenant. It probably would be in that section though. If the houses are relatively new the developer would know if rights of way had been granted (since the developer would have granted them) and would in all likelihood have put gates in the fences. Its unlikely there is a right of way with a newer property. People are simply expected to put a shed in their garden, take the garden stuff through the house just the once and then leave it in the shed.

I would refuse outright unless they can demonstrate they have the right of way. They will be able to get that proof very easily if they are being genuine since they've only just completed.

Agree and the similar covenants are in that same section on the deeds I looked at earlier so I think it the rights exist they would be there and they aren't unless they had acquired a right by use.

It won't be in the charges register, as that records encumbrances that devalue a property. I think it's the first part, that describes the property (usually by reference to a filed plan) that will include the benefit of a right of way that will apply to a parcel of land.

On our LR document the access rights of our neighbouring terrace via a 4' strip of our land are detailed under Charges and this is shaded on the title plan.

www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php

This forum has a large section especially for Rights of Way issues and their associated problems. Might be worth putting your question there.

Collaborate Not sure why you think that. If you look at the example on the Land Registry website, you'll see the notes explain that rights of way will be listed in the charges register. It's where they appear on ours.

I agree it may not be a logical place to put it on the title register but it seems to come under Charges (even though it's not in law a charge). I looked at one earlier. Anyway it does not matter where it is as I am sure the poster has looked all the sections and it's not there.

Sorry - I was referring to the neighbour's deeds.

As regards Land Registry Official Copies and where you will find information as to any possible rights of way, Collaborate and IsItMeOr are both right, they could appear in the Charges Register and the Property Register. If your land is only subject to rights they will appear in the Charges Register, if your land has the benefit of rights and is subject to rights they will all appear in the Property Register.

Basically, I reckon you need to apply for a copy of that 1986 Conveyance as I would expect to see that mentioned in the Property Register too. It will say something like "the land has the benefit of the rights granted but is subject to the rights reserved in the Conveyance dated 22 August 1986 referred to in the Charges Register". You are interested in the rights reserved over your land.

Apply on form OC2 for the Conveyance
www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/faqs/how-can-i-get-copies-of-deeds

If there is no mention of a right of way or easement to that effect in either your Office Copy Entry (title deeds) or theirs (from Land Reg), then there clearly wasn't any intention to create this right when the properties were built.

They may argue that a right has been implied by the previous times that the neighbours have used your land as a means of access but, as this has been very infrequent, I think they'd struggle to demonstrate that.

I'd be inclined to put in writing that there is no right of access either express or implied and that any attempt to gain access across your land will be deemed to be trespass.

We have a problem. My neighbours have a right of way across our property in their deeds, but it is not marked in the deeds of our house. I got our solicitor to check this when I bought the property, and she stated explicitly that as it wasn't on our deeds then they had no right of way. We have recently put in a new fence; they asked my husband to ensure that a gate was fitted, and he did so! Did they have a right over our property? Have we implied that they have a right by fitting a gate?

Better to start your own thread, Zookeeper. Good luck. :)