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

[BasinHaircut]

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?

I drew on the blue line and the yellow smudge sorry if that wasn’t clear! The red line is the boundary on the title plan.

@hasadigaeebowai is that the other doc I can download for £3? So title register and title plan? Or something else?

I think a blue line can indicate an easement over a property? It is meaningless unless referred to/explained in the title register/deeds.

Get him to show you his deeds. Why wouldn't he?

Seems to an untrained eye that it would be spurious, as there is rear access all along behind the houses so no need for him to go via your land. But right of way stuff is complex and odd, so you need to see what he thinks it says, and then check for the same on your deeds.

Yes OP. You need the register and the plan together

Is the neighbour's property registered?

Can I just say that quite a lot of the things being said on this thread are wrong.

Even if the land is 100% the OP's, he may still have right of way over it.
Even if the land is overgrown and not used, he may still have right of way over it. The new owners may choose to use that right of way, even if the current owners don't.

We have right of way over the school field behind our house. As it is written, we technically (according to the solicitor when we bought the house) could drive a car along that right of way and therefore have a garage at the end of the garden. That would be a pain for the school. Technically, as it is a legal right of way, we should have a key to the school gate, which again would pose problems for the school.
The right of way was actually written in order that we can repair our fences, but the way it is written doesn't say that.

We have chosen not to insist on a key, or drive our car down there, but we do have a garden gate which accesses the field so we can repair fences etc.

Your solicitor should have seen this if it exists when you bought the house. If they didn't, then you could have some legal right or redress against them.

You need to see your actual deeds (which, I THINK, have all the variations since the house was built) plus HIS deeds, where he claims the right of way.

From those two documents it should be clear if he does or doesn't. If he does, you do have to leave it possible for him to drive over the end of your garden.

How long ago were the houses built?

That might give some indication of whether or not there was ever provision for access to a car!

Definitely get photos now before you approach your neighbour.

If he had any permanent right then it should have come up when you purchased the property. He most likely had a licence which would have extinguished when you purchased the property. Just let him know that you’ve checked the land registry and he’s mistaken. When he lists it for sale be sure to call up the estate agent to inform them. Assuming that you don’t find anything that is.

Ok so I downloaded the title register and plan for both my property and next door. Neither make mention of any access.

The estate was built in 1933 for whoever asked so unlikely to have car access written in I guess?

I’ve knocked next door and asked that they dig out their deeds at their convenience to show me what it says. They are happy to do so. My deeds are with our lender as we are still mortgaged.

I do wonder if he is not lying, but mis-remembering the arrangement from when they used to park their car there 20-odd years ago. If there is anything in his deeds that supports his claim then I’ll approach the conveying solicitor we used to seek further clarification. I’d quite like to sort this out and if it’s all ok fence it off before they put their house on the market so that future neighbours don’t get the wrong idea about access.

And thanks @steppemum absolutely. But I’m not seeing it written anywhere so far. Is your access written down in the land registry or just the actual deeds? Would have thought something such as access would be on both but I’m clearly no expert!

If it is on his deeds but wasn’t included in any searches, then you may be able to make a legal claim from the solicitors for the loss of value by having to give access.

If it is on his deeds but wasn’t included in any searches, then you may be able to make a legal claim from the solicitors for the loss of value by having to give access.
If it's not on OP's deeds it is not for the conveyancing solicitor to obtain and trawl through all the deeds of the neighbour's properties to see if any mention rights over OP's land.

@Collaborate but surely another property’s deeds cannot make mention of any sort of claim on my land (that is upholdable) if it’s not also in my deeds? It would need to be written into both to be proper and legal right?

No. If it's on your neighbour's deeds that's an enforceable right. A previous owner of your property was responsible for first registration of your title, not your neighbour, so it's not their fault it may have been missed off. Anyway, you've looked (haven't you?) and there's nothing there.

I do wonder if he is not lying, but mis-remembering the arrangement from when they used to park their car there 20-odd years ago

Probably a mixture of remembering that he has 'access' from the path at the back and conflating that with the fact that the car port arrangement happened to make it possible for him to get his car in.

But 'access' does not have to mean via a vehicle, or across your property unless there is right of way.

@Collaborate ah ok I get you. Neighbour is going to look and let me know. It’s not noted on the documents accessible via the land registry though, no.

I hope so @yinmnblue

OP, if he does think he's got a right (and shows you something which is a deed and not just a "licence") then you also need to see what the wording says - for him to be able to use it it's invariably got to say something like a right "with or without vehicles, for all purposes, at all times" to use your land. If he's actually got a right on foot to empty bins then that won't be good enough.

If it's not on his title at the land registry it doesn't exist.

just look on his office copies. You can download these for another £3

tbh it doesn't look like the sort of property that would need a right of way. There's a road right behind the house.

sorry, OP I don't know if it is on the land registry and the deeds, or just the deeds, the solicitor alerted us to it, at time purchase.

I have to provide my neighbour with access into their garden, it’s on the deeds and site of right of way is on the land registry. Although the details of all the “rules” of access are within house deeds, for example, no vehicles are allowed over right if access.. its foot only.

I assume you have done this?
Down load his and your docs from the Land registry and read all the pages.
See what docs he produces if any.
In my experience people often spout stuff and they either don't understand the law or are mistaken.
I wouldn't worry, once he tries to prove it if in doubt a solicitor should be able to put him rightful a few quid. All the claiming rights etc people often talk about is a bit longer and more involved than they understand.

Yep @Funf nothing on the land registry docs at all. He is going to dig out his deeds to show me. I strongly suspect he is mistaken but just want to double check