Neighbour taking over our cellar space

[stretto]

How should we deal with this and how concerned should we be?

We have a upstairs flat conversion which we let out. The downstairs neighbour is the letting agent for the property and lives there.

There is a small cellar space which is ours. The neighbour has had permission to use some of it (not in the title deeds, just an act of goodwill from us). There are laundry facilities in the space but the neighbour, in capacity as letting agent, has told the tenants they can't use the laundry, and they have to go to a laundrette. He has now put a combination lock on our cellar space without asking us, and we had to ask him for the entry code, i.e. we were locked out of our own space.

He has put his own filing cabinets in the space, which in principle is OK, but the combination lock issue is worrying.
We have been allowing him access for three years. Is it time to put a stop to it?

can't to just talk to him?

Elegant solution, stretto.

Hope all goes smoothly for you!

Thank you all again. Yes, we will try to speak to him about it.
It's tricky though. I think the sort of person who would be very reasonable would be unlikely to do this in the first place, so by definition, he will probably be offended.

Well indeed. Definitely a good move to have the cellar emptied for the tradesman before having your polite but firm chat.

Although him "being offended" isn't in itself an issue; just whether he actively causes problems because of it.

With this much brass neck, he must find himself "being offended".

..."being offended" all the time, that was meant to say