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!

Diagram please

Seriously?

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Or, she will just get more keys cut so one can be left out for clients.

No she’s mid trrrace I’m end terrace so just around my garden. So clients walk up between my front garden and another houses rear garden (it’s on a corner) then down the side of my house and down the side of my garden then turn left and go along a pathway that leads to her garden and the other end terrace garden

You should get advice from a solicitor regarding the exact wording on your deeds and whether the access is only for your neighbour or can include anyone visiting your neighbours property. Sometimes there are conditions on what the access can or can't be used for and who can use it. You will also need to check your neighbours deeds which you can download.

I believe case law suggests you can put up a gate providing you give a key to your neighbour but if you post on the garden law website, there are very helpful posters who will be able to clarify this for you.

How do I find out if she is registered correctly, I don’t believe that it’s a limited company and Iv checked online for her address and nothings coming uo

You don't need to. You just need to report to the council. If all is in order, they will do nothing.
You must make sure you report how many people are coming through, the noise (with examples) and that they are a nuisance. That's important information because it's something that may make them act in itself.

Also report the times clients are coming especially if outside of ‘normal business hours’.
I would seriously look into having a sturdy gate fitted. One which is quite heavy and cannot be left open so spring loaded is it? Where it is heavy and always closes.
You could always change the padlock when you ‘lose’ your key and oh silly you, forget to give her a new key. How forgetful.
Make her do the work.
Make it inaccessible without a key so that her clients are forced to knock on her door and go through her house.
As it stands her clients traipsing past your property at all hours doesn’t affect her. You have to make it affect her.

She should have planning consent to change the use of part of her property to a business. As access is shared you would have opportunity to object if you so wished, and state your issues. I would look out a copy of your title deeds, and go to your councils planning department.

If I were you, I would just make it annoying enough for the clients that they want to go through her house. Don't block anything, but every time you hear someone going through your garden, spring out and ask them who they are. Be a bit too nice - talk their hind legs off for 20 minutes. You want them to think of you as the crazy lady next door. Then they won't want to go round your garden.

Diagram please

This won't be what it can be used for on her title deeds.

I'm the neighbour in your situation and just read my title deeds last week. It says shared access for the purpose of waste removal, coal, manure, garden furniture or items of a heavy/bulky nature which it would be unreasonable to carry through the subjects in the title and for tradesmen access and for no other purpose.

I’m currently looking for my deeds also still waiting for council to ring back. Iv rang 3 times. Just getting in car and a client turned up. I waited to in car. Client was clearly uncomfortable then next door appears from alleyway and escorts her in 😂

I'm finding it very difficult to understand the layout. But regardless, I can understand why you would offer her to enable access via her house rather than the shared alleyway.

How is the alley insured? Is it well lit and maintained? What repercussions would there be if someone tripped or fell and injured themselves?

Have you had a friendly conversation with her to explain how this impacts your family and ask that she uses her house as access instead?

Contact your local councillor and complain about the councils inaction. Start keeping a log.

We really need a diagram to understand this properly.

But I think my advice would, until this is resolved to your satisfaction, assume that everyone is an intruder. Jump out, question them or confront them, be the crazy lady next door.

Make it so they really don’t want to use your neighbours’ shed anymore,

Goodness me - ok OP here is what you need to do - Planning Solicitor here. You don't need to check your deeds.

You need to contact the Council's Planning Enforcement Team, as she is running a salon from her shed, and this requires planning permission for a change of use of the land from residential to a salon. She won't have done this part, as you would have been notified as you are a direct neighbour, and so would have had the opportunity to comment on the application. Her saying that she has permission might mean she has told the Council regarding business rates, but this is a separate department completely and not relevant to the planning use of a property. I had a similar conversation with my friend, she is using her conservatory as a hair salon, and she thought she had planning permission as she had spoke to the Council, but she only had sorted her business rates.

It is highly unlikely that she would be granted a change of use by virtue of the fact that it is a residential area and the impact this type of business has on a residential area, in terms of foot traffic and parking.

The Council will be able to undertake enforcement action to make her stop using her residential property as a business, by serving an enforcement notice to cease trading. Failure by her to cease trading once served with an enforcement notice is a criminal offence, and people have been put in prison and fined for breaching an enforcement notice. So it isn't something to be taken lightly.

Also contact your local Councillor too to make a complaint as well, as they can push the Council's enforcement and planning team.

You can see any planning application and planning permission in respect of a property on the Council's website, there is a planning section and search function for applications and permissions for addresses. So you would be able to satisfy yourself before you contact the Council that she doesn't have permission.

Hope the above helps!

I doubt your ndn is insured for business.
I doubt she passes necessary fire regulations. Ask your local fire service to chk fire regulations in the salon.

Checking her deeds can add extra weight to this though. For example, if her deeds say that neighbour is only allowed access to remove waste then clearly a client would not fall under this permitted use.

It’s pitch black at night and I have pipe work for my boiler and other things down there

Thank you that’s extremely helpful!
I have just checked my deeds, just because I want as much ammunition as poss and she even stated there is a covenant. Although she clearly didn’t read it. It states no trade or business of any kind. To me means customers cannot use it?
still trying to speak to council they are useless!!

Given that, I would seek some advice from a solicitor.

If you want to keep good neighbourly relations, and don't have a problem with her working possibly under the radar if it doesn't disturb her, have you made it clear that this could all be resolved if she just told clients to walk through her house?

Here is what google says on this

Can A Neighbour Enforce a Restrictive Covenant?

Should a neighbour threaten to breach a binding covenant, most solicitors would advise obtaining an injunction.

Such injunctive relief immediately stops any further work. It can often also rule for demolition and/or reverting the property back to its original state.

If the neighbour ignores the covenant, they could face a claim in compensatory damages for breach. This will reflect the loss in value of the land caused by the breach in addition to a range of associated costs.