Neighbour dispute over shared access

[Bombshell2022]

Can someone please help. My neighbour has set up a home salon in their shed. They are using shared access for customers. So there are strangers are constantly walking down the side of my house and around the back of my garden to access her garden. I complained to council in March but haven’t heard anything. Surely this isn’t allowed. I don’t know if they are her customers or burglars!

Are they on your property?

Complain to the council about them using their home as a business.

Does she have permission to have a business there? Are they parking their vehicles and blocking you in?

They are next door, Iv put a complaint in to council twice now waiting for them to call back. She says she says she has permission but has not shown me any evidence. Personally I think it’s bs. How do I check if she has permission to have a business their?

Complain again. Try parish council and county council (parish will just refer it to county anyway). As a last resort I’d block access with a locked gate, you’ll have to give her a key but it will massively inconvenience her if you keep locking it.

Vehicles are on street but clients come and go at all times, waking my sleeping baby. I don’t know why she just can’t let them in through her house. I never know who’s coming or going or if they are a customer or intruder

Are they on your property?

Also waiting to hear from solicitor to see where I stand but just wondered if anyone had any experience before I start soending money

Do you own your property?
Does she own her property? If not who does she rent from?
When you say you've contacted the council is that planning or asb team?
What exactly do your deeds say about the shared access?
This might help.someone give you a steer

clients come and go at all times

What times?

Have you kept a diary of times and dates you spotted these customers?

I own mine outright she owns hers but mortgaged. I submitted complaint to planning portal who replied saying it could take a considerable amount of time to sort out and they would let me know the outcome. She says it’s sorted. Deeds say shared access. I need to double check exact wording. I believed it was residential access not commercial

She’s already moaned that i occasionally leave bin there which is easily passable and very rare. Don’t think I’d be allowed legally to block access with a gate

Her mortgage might not let her work from home but I think it's pretty crap to ruin her source of income. She's not running a crack den

I greatly doubt she has permission, because she wouldn’t get permission for what you’ve described. You need to hassle the council to respond. I’d be calling every day. Also if you think she’s not paying tax report her to HMRC.

around the back of my garden

Actually setting foot in your garden or just going around the outside of it?

How are people walking around the back of your garden waking your baby?

Can you draw a diagram?

Are they walking through your property and into her garden (terraced) or over a shared drive. How or why are they sharing your property access to get to hers? Shared access often have covenants such as to access garden, or take bins out etc.

Depending on where you live in the UK, you might need to apply for a hairdressing registration with your local council. If you do, they can perform an inspection to make sure you're following the correct health and safety procedures, and they might charge you a fee for doing so.

She would also need to get permission from the local

Do you pay for legal cover as part of your home insurance? They can advise you.

I believe the rules of MN require a diagram

I'm guessing form the description the OP gives the houses are likely to be terrace properties and her neighbours have a right of way over her land to access their back garden from the road, often used for bins, tradespeople or window cleaners etc quite common in many areas.

What it won't permit is for access to a commercial property such as a hairdressing business in a shed and there is no way this would have been granted permission had she gone through proper channels.

OP Is it possible for you to ring someone instead of filling in an online form??

Is this really affecting your life so much that you begrudge someone earning a living? Jesus Christ it's hard enough to earn money as it is these days without neighbours trying to ruin it for no apparent reason.

If it's shared access then it's shared access. I suppose you could see if there are any restrictions on who can use it and what for but your best bet would be to report a business operating possibly without the correct permissions.

I'm self employed and work from home but I cannot do business from my home. I can't have customers or operate as a shop. I'd need permissions to do that and probably a change of use.

She doesn't have to show you anything but she does need to follow the same rules as the rest of us and if you wanted to, you could report. If everything's as it should be then nothing happens. If it's not then she'll have to make the required changes.