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Original poster

Neighbour and her fence/access

114 replies

Tohaveandtohold · 28/05/2019 15:06

Hello, please I need some advice with regards to this as I don’t want to be a cf and bring this up if I don’t have to.
We own an end of terrace house with a shared driveway. The driveway is shared between the 3 houses on the terrace. We’re responsible for the maintenance, etc if anything comes up.
Neighbour on the other end has her own driveway and drive however she drives into her house regularly from our driveway but this has not been a concern really. Now the issue I now have is that over the weekend, she has started building a fence in front like trying to create a front garden and private driveway for herself meaning the only way for her access her property/ drive would be through our own shared drive way.

I feel we should say something to her now as she is indirectly creating a right of way to her house from our shared driveway but dh does not want a confrontation or anything.
I feel that if we need to do any maintenance, etc, we would be the ones bearing the cost but she would just be enjoying it and if she sells, all this will just continue. How do we go about this.
Sorry this is long.
I’ve attached a picture.

Neighbour and her fence/access
OP posts:
Bluntness100 · 29/05/2019 16:24

She can't erect a barrier. It's highly unlikely she is the sole owner of the driveway.

I'm not sure why people keep posting like it's solely the ops driveway and she can do whatever she pleases. She can't. At best she jointly owns it. As such anything erected on it needs to be in agreement with thr other two owners.

MzHz · 29/05/2019 16:39

What does your deeds say? It grants only to the 3 terraces?

You need to get it explained to her that she doesn’t have a right of access over your shared drive and that she has no right to put up fences that result in her only access to her property being by using an access she has no right to use.

Get the lawyers to write the position now, or this will blow up

64632K · 29/05/2019 16:43

From looking at your picture, it seems there is a boundary line where the shared drive of the 3 houses finishes and her drive starts.

GreenTulips · 29/05/2019 17:02

She can put a fence on her boundary or plant pots or anything else she pleases. She isn’t preventing the two rentals from access to their shared drive just the CF

OnTheEdgeOfTheNight · 29/05/2019 17:16

That diagram looks like the neighbour has potentially messed up in a few ways :

If it's a newish development, there is usually a restrictive covenant forbidding people from fencing in their front gardens. Some people plant shrubs as a boundary instead, and the restrictive covenant may be impossible to enforce, but still...

The new fence that's on the boundary between her garden and the pavement / road should surely extend no further than the shortish boundary fence between your house and hers - it looks like she's gone beyond the boundary by a few metres.

As others have said, she's potentially creating a legal problem for you regarding access. Also, while the drive in the centre of all three houses is shared, isn't the area in front of your house solely yours? If so then you can put planters etc on the boundary between your front garden and the cheeky neighbour's garden.

OnTheEdgeOfTheNight · 29/05/2019 17:21

I'm assuming that while each of the three houses uses the shared drive near the road, you don't all share the entire front area. So you access your own drive via a shared drive. It might be helpful to see your boundary lines on the plans, and where you all park your cars.

HJWT · 29/05/2019 17:46

@Tohaveandtohold OP how does she expect to get in if there are cars on your driveway Hmm

Fairenuff · 29/05/2019 17:59

I'm not sure why people keep posting like it's solely the ops driveway and she can do whatever she pleases.

They're not. They're saying she can put a fence along the boundary that marks the edge of the shared driveway and the CF neighbour's property. And they're right, that would be the best thing to do.

OP I would go out and say, 'I see you're erecting a fence, that's such a coincidence, we are going to put one up along the boundary here'.

If she says she needs access via your drive you can say, 'No I'm sure that's not an access for your property but I'm more than happy to look at your deeds that give you right of access across our driveway if in fact they do'.

HappyHammy · 29/05/2019 18:10

As her to show you deeds. If that's your boundary just put another fence up at the side if your house or pots and plants. Ask her if she has plans to put gates in her new fence. She wont be able to gain access to her drive if any if you are parked there anyway and she may have paid extra for a private driveway. Can you access the sale detsils and see if it mentions drivewsys.

Bluntness100 · 29/05/2019 18:15

They're not. They're saying she can put a fence along the boundary that marks the edge of the shared driveway and the CF neighbour's property. And they're right

She cannot do this without permission from the other two owners. Honestly how hard is it to understand. 🤣🤣🤣

Recavanometer · 29/05/2019 18:19

Absolutely not place marking

theGirlWithManyFaces · 29/05/2019 18:44

Love a good parking thread, especially ones including diagram.

Can't believe she didn't broach this with any of you first. Deffo a CF

WhereDoesThisToiletGo · 29/05/2019 20:14

The OP can certainly park beside and at right angles to My Fence as it's directly in front of her house and won't obstruct her drive sharing neighbours. Of course the nose of her car might obstruct CF neighbour from driving on to her own drive.

MinnieMountain · 29/05/2019 20:20

Did you speak to her OP?

I think this talk of whether one or three houses own the driveway is muddling the issue. CF doesn't have a right of way and she needs to be told to stop.

RedPink · 29/05/2019 21:07

.

Livelovebehappy · 29/05/2019 21:48

Don’t under estimate people’s intentions. My sister and three terraced houses shared a courtyard attached to the end of one of their houses. Over the years the house where the courtyard is attached has slowly pushed out the others and it now has a gate and a conservatory on the ‘shared’ courtyard! They have claimed it as their own. Nothing my sister nor the other houses can do about it now as it’s been several years.

Original poster
Tohaveandtohold · 29/05/2019 22:11

I’m so sorry I haven’t been back on the thread today. She didn’t do any more work on the fence today because it was raining here.
Dh just spoke to her this evening because we spent yesterday evening thinking of the best way to approach her.
He told her that from our deed, we can see that she does not have a right of access and he’s just concerned that she’s blocking her own access with new the fence and if we all (the 3 houses) decide to raise the boundary, she won’t be able to get into her drive. She just replied that she has not really thought about that.
We’re just waiting for tomorrow to see if she will continue building the fence and blocking her access then we will try and get the details of the 2 landlords just to get their permission to raise the bricks on the boundary.
I can’t upload a proper picture in case she’s on mumsnet but if you look at the houses, it’s obvious where her land ends. She has gravel on her driveway but ours is paved. There’s brick on the boundary but the area where she normally drives into her house is lower (because she has been driving over it constantly).

OP posts:
Original poster
Tohaveandtohold · 29/05/2019 22:17

We don’t mind raising the brick ourselves as it should not cost much and it will prove our point. It’s mainly where she normally drives in that will need doing really.
To the pp asking if the drive way is owned by one of the houses no it’s not. It is shared and its just by the 3 houses on the terrace.

OP posts:
Fairenuff · 29/05/2019 22:19

She cannot do this without permission from the other two owners. Honestly how hard is it to understand

It doesn't affect the other two. OP's house abuts the CF neighbour's drive. A fence along the boundary will not in anyway hinder or restrict the other two houses that share the access.

Fairenuff · 29/05/2019 22:21

Or you could just put bit flower tubs there which do the same job but are not permanent.

Original poster
Tohaveandtohold · 29/05/2019 22:31

To answer some of the questions
We’re lucky that the other neighbours are reasonable and nobody parks on the shared drive way. House no 1 can park 2 cars on their drive (one at the side and one outside their door), house no 2 can only park one car just outside their door and we can park 2 cars as well. The shared driveway is just used as access our drives if that makes sense.
The houses were built in 1989 so they are not new. If we raise the barrier, we won’t be affecting our neighbours in anyway because it will just be returning it to how it was before she started driving over it. I can’t see why anyone would object. We just need to wait and see what she does tomorrow before we know how to proceed.

OP posts:
UrsulaPandress · 29/05/2019 22:32

So she’s been driving over a small wall? Cheeky mare.

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 29/05/2019 22:33

if we all (the 3 houses) decide to raise the boundary, she won’t be able to get into her drive. She just replied that she has not really thought about that
Hadnt thought about that? She's not very bright, is she?

Was she under the impression that she has right of way over your drive?

Recavanometer · 29/05/2019 22:35

Why would she even do it though? Surely it devalues her property to have a shared drive instead of individual access?

And she “hadn’t thought about it”Hmm

Aye, right.

MollyHuaCha · 29/05/2019 22:39

Try to resolve soon before her fence building project goes much further.

Good luck.

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