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Original poster

My neighbour reckons he has right of access (with a car) over my property

140 replies

BasinHaircut · 04/05/2020 07:46

Between my back garden and the one over the back is an alleyway/road. It’s pretty wide at the start and then narrows (at the point of my garden) to where you could just about drive a car down there if it wasn’t completely overgrown.

Our garden stops about 6-7ft short of next doors garden, but the land registry plan clearly shows that our boundary is in line with next door. Therefore we plan to extend the garden and wanted to stick a garden room up there.

The bit of next door’s garden that is currently longer than ours houses a shed that has been there for as long as we have lived there and clearly much longer. There is ivy with a stump thicker than my leg all over it and running down the very very old gates that serve as a fence there. Once upon a time my neighbour apparently had a driveway there and parked his car accessing through the bit of our houses land that isn’t currently incorporated into the garden.

He says that it states on his deeds that he has access. We don’t have deeds as only lived here 5 years so just got the land registry print out. He said that he isn’t bothered if we extend the garden and build a room there but he is selling up after the pandemic ends and so wanted to warn us that it could be an issue if the new owners wanted to put a driveway or garage up the end of their garden.

Fair enough for him to tell us this but I’m not sure I believe him. He is a bit of a know-all and likes to tell us how things are. The land in the alley/road (outside of all of the boundaries) is unclaimed land and is used from the point it narrows (our garden) as a dumping ground for all of the houses garden waste (I hate this and is one of the reasons I want to claim our bit back, it’s basically been used as a massive compost heap for 20 years by the looks of it). Because ours is as far as you can walk up before it gets narrower and completely overgrown, outside our house is the worst bit.

My question is how do I find out if he really does have access? And if it’s in his deeds then is there any cause for saying it’s now void as it hasn’t been used for 20+ years?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
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Qgardens · 04/05/2020 10:03

Your theory sounds plausible.

Original poster
BasinHaircut · 04/05/2020 10:04

Thanks @GU24Mum that’s useful. I will download those shortly

OP posts:
NoMorePoliticsPlease · 04/05/2020 10:06

Get this clarified with a solicitor. Boundary issues are a nightmare. It needs soerting before anyone tries to sell

ReadilyAvailable · 04/05/2020 10:10

Boundary issues are a nightmare.

But sometimes neighbours don’t tell the truth about what suits them. It may be that neighbour was hoping to try to tell potential buyers of his house that they could make a driveway where the shed is (and access it over the lane, which is actually your garden just not fenced in) but won’t be able to do that if you build something there. So he’s trying to convince you that you can’t do it because of a right of way that may or may not come up if you ever want to sell, rather than coming up with some other spurious objection.

Whenwillthisbeover · 04/05/2020 10:18

We have similar and I agree with downloading your deeds and those of your neighbours.

Our property and land is unusual in that it was built on an old site of rented garages. One of the garages remained even after the rest were bull dozed and the house built. That garage owner has a right of access down our private drive to get to his garage either on foot or by vehicle to put his car in the garage.

It is quite clear in his deeds that he has vehicular access. What he can’t do is leave his car outside the garage or park it there and work in his garage etc (which he tries if we aren’t about).

It may be that your neighbour only has an access right on foot and he has manipulated the access to include his car too.

Original poster
BasinHaircut · 04/05/2020 10:18

@ReadilyAvailable that’s exactly what I was thinking. He has probably said that the property has rear car access to the estate agent.

OP posts:
Ariela · 04/05/2020 10:23

I'd download a copy of the deeds online, it's very cheap to do.

crustycrab · 04/05/2020 10:27

Sounds like he's trying to do you a favour rather than take the piss as PPs are saying!

He might be right, or not. Either way it's worth checking before it costs you anything.

OrganTransplant123 · 04/05/2020 10:42

Is the disputed area where there is a blue line on your photo? That could indicate an easement for your neighbour.

tenlittlecygnets · 04/05/2020 10:43

If access is through the red box, which is yours, then tough. You fence off your land, and he has no legal comeback. Sounds like he may have had an agreement with the previous owners but that doesn't mean he has one with you! Sounds like it might be a moot point if the access is so overgrown that you can't even walk down it?? Doesn't look like it's intended for cars at all.

jellybean85 · 04/05/2020 10:45

The fact that it's marked like that and his hello smudge is on the plan means something is written about it in the deeds/one of the previous conveyances. It's not as simples as 'just fence it off' you could end up having to tear it down. Doesn't really matter if he hasn't used it in a while. You need to look at the words that accompany that plan!
(L

OrganTransplant123 · 04/05/2020 11:04

Of course it isn’t as simple as ‘tough’ if you own the red box. Easements and rights of way are very common and as the OP’s map has a blue line where her neighbours alleges he has a right of way, she needs to look at this further. It should have come up as an issue when you bought the house mind.

Collaborate · 04/05/2020 11:12

If I were you, and his title makes no mention of rights over your land, I'd go ahead with my plans and enclose. He doesn't need to go over your land to access the back alley from his shed.

crustycrab · 04/05/2020 11:13

"If access is through the red box, which is yours, then tough. You fence off your land, and he has no legal comeback"

@tenlittlecygnets this is not true at all. Dangerous "advice"

SoupDragon · 04/05/2020 11:15

I agree that you need to know what the blue line is. I think it could well be a right of way. Unless you drew it on 😂

RHTawneyonabus · 04/05/2020 11:18

Surely if he has a right of access over the land this would only be if it was either recorded on the land registry doc or if there was one at the moment actually in use, that he could claim had existed for years which there isn’t.

Think as people have said you need to take photos as it is at the moment to show it’s not been used in that way and clearly hasn’t been for years

MarieG10 · 04/05/2020 11:19

I agree with @Collaborate. As long as you have done the due diligence yourself that there is no right of access in the deeds, the. I would enclose it and through the ball in his court. You could spend a fortune on lawyers otherwise at £300+vat an hour. If he has a claim, then let him launch that legally and hopefully you will already have a legal expenses policy that gives defensive cover.

Unfortunately there are a small number of people like your neighbour who take the piss. It's uk to him to lay out any claim in writing but I wouldn't encourage him. Just get it done

Itwasntme1 · 04/05/2020 11:20

I have a shared driveway. Red is land I own, blue is land my neighbour can access but not park on.

Definitely look into the blue line. It makes sense that it is access to the garage

Collaborate · 04/05/2020 11:30

The blue line is meaningless unless it is referred to in the title to OP's property.

YinMnBlue · 04/05/2020 11:45

I assumed that the blue line is a line that the OP drew to show where her fence is?

Rather than a line that is on the land registry drawing.

tenlittlecygnets · 04/05/2020 11:56

All right, @crustycrab, I had assumed that the blue line had been drawn on by OP to show where her garden ended, as she didn't say differently.

If this is a line showing access, then that's different.

Sounds like OP needs to talk to her conveyancing solicitor and find out what the story is.

But surely this should have been mentioned when she bought the house??

And do things change if the easement has not been used for years, as in the OP's case?

YinMnBlue · 04/05/2020 11:59

@BasinHaircut did you draw the blue line or is it shown on the land registry drawing?

HasaDigaEebowai · 04/05/2020 11:59

Im a solicitor. You need the office copy entries for both properties not just the title plan. If there is a right of way it will say something like

"The right for the owners of the property known as Ivy Cottage and their assigns to pass and repass on foot or otherwise over a strip of land 3m wide and marked in blue on the plan."

You can't rely just on the plan. They are often wrong or not detailed enough. If there is a right of way the wording will be there.

swimster01 · 04/05/2020 12:06

I think a blue line can indicate an easement over a property?

ClientQ · 04/05/2020 12:06

Some people will try anything. I live in a block of 4 apartments, there is 1 garden
Neighbour tried to claim it was a communal garden. Um.. no. It's mine so bog off Grin

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