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Advice needed on blocked right of way

24

Comments

  • Wig
    Wig Posts: 14,139 Forumite
    MJNewton wrote: »
    Doing so would likely be criminal damage.

    Mathew

    No it would not be criminal damage, in the same way that landowners cannot block a public right of way, the right to use a right of way, -whether public or private- over rules any damage of property that is necessary in achieving that goal. But you would be wise to make your intentions clear to the landowner (in your solicitors letter) and the likely consequences of any inaction on their part.
  • tux900
    tux900 Posts: 410 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Wig wrote: »
    No it would not be criminal damage, in the same way that landowners cannot block a public right of way, the right to use a right of way, -whether public or private- over rules any damage of property that is necessary in achieving that goal.

    That is not my understanding where an alternative route through/around exists. In this case there is a gate at the other end through which access/exit can be sought. Unless the situation can be classed as an emergency, 'self-help' is rarely looked upon favorably where due process through the legal system is available.

    Of course, this does not in any way legitimise the padlocking of the gate, and subsequent blocking of access, but I believe it plays a pivotal role in determining the lawfulness of breaking the padlock in this particular situation.

    Caveat: I am not a lawyer hence this is just my opinion as a layperson.

    Mathew
  • Wee_Willy_Harris
    Wee_Willy_Harris Posts: 7,512 Forumite
    This is just crazy. It's just a bloody gate and I'm reading about solicitors, fires and bolt cutters. Sledge hammer to crack a nut? And why aren't you also dealing with the other access point in the same way. Surely THEY have the same responsibility as the locked gate and should be approached in the same way.
  • tux900
    tux900 Posts: 410 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Isn't that what web forums, particularly those with a legal slant, were invented for - inappropriate and disproportionate advice from people who don't know what they're talking about?! ;)

    Mathew
  • Wee_Willy_Harris
    Wee_Willy_Harris Posts: 7,512 Forumite
    MJNewton wrote: »
    Isn't that what web forums, particularly those with a legal slant, were invented for - inappropriate and disproportionate advice from people who don't know what they're talking about?! ;)

    Mathew

    I agree. Why would it put buyers off anyway? You point at the gate and tell them "You have rights of access". Simples.
  • emms1981
    emms1981 Posts: 12 Forumite
    depends what you mean by "right of way" my dad has a gap between his garrage and next door that a builder kept calling a "right of way" just because he could get to next doors garden through there. He had a gate put up and put a padlock on it because he was becoming a pain in the @r.e!
  • emms1981
    emms1981 Posts: 12 Forumite
    i live in a rented house with a garden thats in a row of houses, our only way out would be the front door :s i dont really see your point?
  • KS1977
    KS1977 Posts: 66 Forumite
    emms1981 wrote: »
    i live in a rented house with a garden thats in a row of houses, our only way out would be the front door :s i dont really see your point?

    ....My point is that it should be a right of way, and right now it isn't. Everyone else in the row of terraced houses has an access point out of the back of the property. We don't! It's awkward for moving things from the front to the back...ie. Lawnmowers and garden equipment. If there wasn't any point, there shouldn't be any passage ways/ alley ways along side the houses to get to the back....but there are :)
  • KS1977
    KS1977 Posts: 66 Forumite
    girleight@ wrote: »
    Wouldn't a neighbourhood dispute put buyers off though?

    Yes, that's one thing I am thinking of. Maybe it's just worth gritting my teeth and bearing it for now. :) I don't want to make things awkward for myself really, although really, I should be able to get to the back of my house without having to 'fight' it out with the neighbours.
  • RobertoMoir
    RobertoMoir Posts: 3,458 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    KS1977 wrote: »
    ....My point is that it should be a right of way, and right now it isn't. Everyone else in the row of terraced houses has an access point out of the back of the property. We don't! It's awkward for moving things from the front to the back...ie. Lawnmowers and garden equipment. If there wasn't any point, there shouldn't be any passage ways/ alley ways along side the houses to get to the back....but there are :)


    A right is something you have to, from time to time, assert to keep.
    If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything
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