We recently bought a house and it has an open area at the front basically there is a long path that leads to our house front door, next to our front door is a gate. We walk past our neighbours front windows on this path to get to our house. This looks like it could possibly be a communal area but we checked the deeds and it isn't everything to the right of the path is our own land.
When we first moved in we thought the new neighbour Tony put his bins and bike on our side of the land at first we thought they would be moved but they stayed there so we moved them onto his land after a several weeks. He didn't put them back.
However he keeps walking over our path to our gate outside our front door and his family and friends all come through as it is a short cut and saves him a few minutes of his journey. If we walk outside our door they would be directly stood in our way as the garden is so small.
After putting up with this we got really fed up as the gate was often left open. my wife spoke to his wife Anna and she said that they thought it was a communal area and the previous owner had never complained. Also the husband has been coming in our garden and cutting our grass and hedges without asking us which she said he has always done.
We told them that it was not a communal area even though the area was open and there was no clear boundary fences and they acted suprised, we told them we were unhappy and thought that that would be the end of it.
However they continue to use the gate and cross our land, the guy its around 6ft 4 and quite tough looking and quite intimidating just in the way he looks but has never threated us.
What do people think I should do - would you let him use the path to for access as the security issues really worry me?