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Legal matters

Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have any legal concerns we suggest you consult a solicitor.

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Original poster

Shared drive access

46 replies

Joy5 · 17/02/2022 19:10

I bought a house last year and have been renovating it internally with the intention of having the drive paved at the front and back completely on my side during this year. The drive between the houses is shared. I spoke to my neighbour across the drive when i moved in who told me they also wanted to pave the full drive so i thought we'd agreed to share the cost of the shared area.

A few months ago the neighbour had their front garden, and over half of the drive between the houses paved - i was told a few days before it was happening.

Today a fence has been put up on my side of their paved area, meaning i've struggled to get my car onto the parking area in front of the house this tea time, Normally to do it i need to go a few inches onto the middle bit (a sort of no mans land) between both drives in front of the houses. It also means i can't now drive from my front parking area up to the parking area at the back of my house.

So car access to my garage and parking area has been cut off by my neighbour putting a fence up today.

Can anyone advise me on what i can do about it, i bought the house because it had a garage for my car - and i've a JCB booked for March to remove concrete paths in my back garden and do the footings for a conservatory i've ordered but now they can't get up my drive to do any work

OP posts:

Fleur405 · 19/02/2022 08:31

If the fence is wholly within your boundary you can remove it. If they want a fence they have to put it on their own side! But yes check your home insurance for legal cover - obviously not ideal to get into a legal dispute with your neighbour but you can’t just accept this. Standing what you have said about titles you should be able to get an injunction fairly easily.

Auntieobem · 19/02/2022 08:31

If fence is on your property then just get it taken down.

k1233 · 19/02/2022 08:35

What is the lease that you are referring to?

HomeHomeInTheRange · 19/02/2022 08:38

They have no right to put fence posts on your part of the drive.

Say the fence has been put in the wring place, and needs to be moved.

Explain that the fence makes it difficult to use your drive.

If they don’t agree immediately, get a solicitors letter sent. The solicitor you used to buy the house might be a good first person to ask.

Tonsiltrouble · 19/02/2022 08:40

I’m struggling to follow. A diagram might help. You keep referring to a ‘shared drive’ but then your half and their half. Either it’s wide enough for two vehicles at once, in which case you both have separate but adjacent driveways, or it’s not, in which case it’s shared (of course backed up by what the deeds say). The diagram on the deeds, and the wording of the text should tell you which part(s) is shared and which is not.

Original poster

Joy5 · 19/02/2022 08:53

We both have parking spaces in front of our houses which are adjacent to the middle bit of the drive from the road and through between the houses and is the shared area, it then opens up wider for each house to have a parking space at the back of the houses.

The fence is closer to my house on the shared bit of the drive in the centre, and goes up to both houses leaving no room for a vehicle to go any further up the drive.

OP posts:

HomeHomeInTheRange · 19/02/2022 09:13

Well you have established that they have no right to block your access, they have put the fence more than half way across, so on your bit… so your options now are:
Ask them politely but firmly to move the fence and explain why
Remove the fence, because it is on your land
Send a solicitors letter (having given them the chance to put it right first)

FurbleSocks · 19/02/2022 23:01

If the fence is on your land AND they're claiming the shared bit as theirs then doing nothing isn't an option. It does sound as though paying for legal advice will be necessary.

peridito · 20/02/2022 16:43

It really would help to post an image of the relevant bit of your deeds .The address and identifying bits will be at the top of the document and could be cropped out .

How are the diamond bits in the middle referred to /described ?

beautifullymad · 20/02/2022 17:55

I expect it's a bit like this set up. The purple hatched area is joint access so can't be fenced as it enables both parties to access the garages to the rear. But not enough space to give access simultaneously to both cars.
Cars can pass the houses and park in front of their garage. But to fence the middle denies access for a car to reach the garage on both sides.

The blue is the neighbours new fence.

I'm guessing the set up but it sound like this, friends has this set up years ago.

peridito · 20/02/2022 21:28

Yes ,that looks spot on !

GeneLovesJezebel · 20/02/2022 21:32

Many, many years ago a relative of mine was having trouble with a shared drive. She spoke to a solicitor who said that she could put up a fence but that she had to give a certain amount of notice first. So that’s what she did.

Easterbunnyiswindowshopping · 20/02/2022 21:33

Surely when they aren't in you take it down?

Original poster

Joy5 · 21/02/2022 20:57

Thanks for the diagram it’s just like that.

Can’t take it down it’s concreted french posts.

Now speaking to a solicitor tomorrow so will make a decision on what to do after that

OP posts:

peridito · 23/02/2022 08:56

That's such a pain Joy .How awful having to fork out for solicitors and not having a cordial relationship with neighbours .

I'm normally all for resolving issues like this with neighbour discussion and often feel there's an over reaction .But in this case I'm with you .

Let us know how you get on ?

Collaborate · 23/02/2022 12:00

You can remove the fence even if it's on their side of the boundary provided it blocks your right of way.

Original poster

Joy5 · 23/02/2022 20:46

Legal advice is what I was told when I bought the house, neither of us can block the equal access part of the drive and neither of us can repair or replace the old drive without the others agreement and it should be at equal cost. Despite the neighbour insisting she was following the lease.

JCB booked for March to start work on the back of my house. and that’s going ahead now.

Having a day or so to think but most likely my next step is a letter from a solicitor explaining the lease and what happens legally if my access is blocked.

OP posts:

ClarasZoo · 26/02/2022 09:51

Why do you have a lease? It's a house. The shared right of access either arises under an express easement (in the land registry documents) or under a prescriptive easement (over 20 years use). If you have not got an express or prescriptive easement then you are stuck and you would claim against the solicitors who bought your house and did not advise you that you might not be able to access your garage. However, it is likely that you have an express or prescriptive easement. a solicitor would charge about £300 to write a letter explaining this to your neighbour and asking them to remove the fence.

Original poster

Joy5 · 26/02/2022 20:31

Have a lease as pay ground rent, is normal for the city I live in, right of way is in the lease, no idea what the terms you mention are, but I bought just over a year ago, and have spoken with another solicitor this week, hence a letter being sent early next week

OP posts:

InexperiencedDogOwner · 08/03/2022 22:56

Any update @Joy5 ?

Original poster

Joy5 · 15/03/2022 18:43

Letter been sent, not heard anything back and fence is still up.

Also had Covid for past few days, been laid on the sofa for most of that time so not been outside either for neighbours to approach me.

OP posts:

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