blocked access to communal back garden

[Turnbull2]

I have just moved into my flat in Glasgow and have a particularly unfriendly neighbour in my block of 6 flats. He has added his own additional door lock with padlock as pictured to the only door to the shared back garden of ~2000sq ft. He has used the whole garden, planting his vegetables with shallow trench beds of soil throughout the garden. It is supposed to be a shared garden, none of the other tenants care as they are students. What is the law that I could bring up and actions I can take if he continues to refuse to give me the keys to access to the shared garden?

You need to instruct a solicitor to write to him.
Don't bother with faffing about - just meet a solicitor and explain and they will write to him.

Or a four inch grinder with metal disc and remove the whole lot. He's entitled to his garden too.

Well I'd cut off the padlock and be outside putting in washing poles and planting flowers. He'll be downstairs in a shot to engage with you then.

Can't fathom why you'd would passively allow someone to claim your land in this way. Is there not some obscure law where if he can claim he cared for it for X (10?) years, and can then claim ownership? I'm sure there is a lot more to that but either way, I wouldn't be playing nice or waiting for him to reply to your letters. I'd be using my garden and telling him to fuck right off.

Don’t accept this.

if you live in a tenement in Glasgow you will most like own the garden in common with the other flat owners.

in all seriousness I would wait till he is out and break the padlock 🙈

or get the factor to break the padlock

if you ever want to sell the fact that you have no access to the garden could be a problem for an buyer

Also agree with the fire risk element

Breaking the padlock makes it possible he will just replace it and this will carry on with new padlock/ breaking it/ new padlock etc.

This needs a legal approach to keep the OP on the right side of the law.

Yeah, I would also contact the Fire Brigade. He can't argue that one. Civil matters can take a while

@Turnbull2 What are you doing about bin access? Generally in Glasgow tenements the bins are stored out the back of the tenement in the garden and people take their refuse out there.

The binmen buzz the close trade entrance to gain access to the close and then go out back to retrieve the bins. So THEY need access to.

Could people please read all of Op’s posts? There is not just a padlock, but another lock, which is part of the door itself and would need a locksmith

Sadly, women are taught that they must always be polite first. I think that’s playing out in many of the responses.
I tend to think you generally have to meet people with the energy they bring.

I don't believe that old lock would take much effort to remove, it is mainly supposed to secure access from outside, the picture resolution isn't clear but I expect the whole assembly is attached by screws which can be unscrewed.

@Turnbull2 I would remove the door lock and replace with another similar one, cut the padlock then you can open and unscrew the hasp. Return the hasp and broken padlock to him and at the same time give him a key for the new lock and ask him for keys to his other locks around the place, no need to add "or else"

So get a locksmith. It's a tenement back door, not a bank vault.
Break the padlock. Get a locksmith. Get access to your garden.

Sure, go down the legal route as well, if it's needed, but would I hell be sitting back waiting for some arsehole man to engage with my letters while he is locking me out of my own property.

Decent padlocks cost a tenner each, so he might end up getting bored of keep shelling out, when they just keep getting broken off to allow the owners legal access.

Just like, if somebody kept parking blocking a householder's drive and kept getting towed away to enforce people's legal right to access the public highway, they may just get to a point where they start obeying the law.

He might be under the illusion that he is the one in the right, but he is woefully mistaken. This is no different in principle from somebody waiting until he leaves his flat and then putting a padlock on his front door, so he's denied access - I bet he wouldn't be quite so passive, self-righteous or difficult to contact then.

Did the door previously have a lock to which each resident had a key? Did he actually remove the communal lock and replace it with his own, as well as the padlock?

Surely an outside door wasn't originally just left unlocked?

I was coming here to say the same thing.

Contact your local fire brigade and say you're concerned that someone has put a padlock on your fire escape and ask for a home fire safety visit.

I would be minded to say that there won't be a padlock on it by the time they've completed their visit!

CF neighbour has had free reign over the garden for a number of years now and is obviously looking at it as if it's his own now. Maybe, as you said, some previous students trashed the garden or left rubbish behind, but that doesn't override your right to access it.

Hopefully he'll just acquiesce and at least let you have a key to the garden, so you can enjoy it too. If the landlord of the students is happy to not let them have access, that's fair enough, but the first priority is making sure that all tenants have a fire escape if needed.

Surely blocking fire escape egress is against some kind of law too?

When you advertised the rental flat(s) to students, did it state they had access to a communal garden, or state that, within their tenancy agreements? I’m surprised none of your tenants complained they couldn’t get access if it was advertised as such? Or did you advertise them as flats with no garden access. In which case, you’ve accepted the lack of access for a considerable time. Maybe he’s just thought ‘fuck it, I’ll put it to good use’. Absolutely not within his right to do that but understandable?

And I suppose we’re all wondering whether he’s a curmudgeonly old man like Mr Tom tending his carrots or a bit of a hellraiser who’s wrath and it’s repercussions you don’t want to have to deal with?!

I’m not saying you’re not entitled to but it would influence how I approached the issue.

This is the best idea

https://www.screwfix.com get yourself to here and buy a pair of bolt cutters

on the 13th cut the padlock and enter the garden, each time the padlock is replaced - cut the padlock off

the other person will ignore your letter, they have gone to long with the padlock on the garden to keep people out

Repost this on https://www.gardenlaw.co.uk/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=24 and you will get expert advice and less opinion.

I like your suggested note, but I’d tone it down a bit by removing this part:

Dear neighbour, I am the owner of flat 2. In accordance with Title deeds, we have common rights for the cellar below and back green. Currently both are locked with the additional locks you have individually applied meaning you have sole access to our communal garden. Please give me the keys to copy so l can have access to the aforementioned by 13th of May. kind regards etc

Remove the lock, he hasn’t a leg to stand on, and he can’t just take over a communal garden like it’s his own!
Could you get a letter from a solicitor or perhaps post him a photocopy of the deeds showing you’re entitled to use it?

If it's a fire exit there should be signage to indicate so. It shouldn't be locked for usage only for two owners. The fire brigade will advise.

I think I'd do this. Just go out when he's out there. Then as you'll actually see him you can ask for a copy of the key. Remind him it's a shared garden not just his.
And he might be pissed off if the students have messed up the garden but I still don't think he's allowed to deny them access. He should have contacted the landlord and said they were causing problems if that was the case.

Sorry not read the full thread so apologies if this has already been suggested, but some fire departments offer a free advisory service. They will come and assess your home for the need for smoke alarms and offer advice on other safety aspects. If this is offered in your area you could request a visit and then point out the blocked access to the garden. They can then advise on the risk and potentially force your neighbour to remove the lock.