Can we extend garden into alleyway behind our house?

plzhelpmesave!

Hi Just want to pick brains please!

We live in a terraced house with semi's on either side, good relationship with both neighbours. There are about 10 houses that share access to a 10ft wide alley at the back of our houses with a locked gate access. We have never used it in 7 years AFAIK none of our neighbours have.

My neighbour has appoached me as they would like to extend their garden out into the alleyway, and wanted our permission. We are happy and would also loveto do this at some stage. I assume we would both need to ask permission from her next door neighbour on the other AFAIK.

Does anyone know if we need any official legal permission/authority to do this? Is it officially our land? All the other houses 'before' us would still be able to use the alleyway - and our gardens would both be fully fenced.

Any comments welcome and thanks in advance

hcb42

you would need to refer to deeds to know if it is your land.

cyclonebri1

What about the person in the middle, could they claim access from both ends if you get my drift.

Sounds dodgy to do anything just on the agreement of 1 or 2 neighbours as from what I know of human nature 1 of 10 of those house owners will be a "dam awkward sod", to put it mildly;)

sandraroffey

is it a common 'right of way' for everyone on the block?? check with the deeds and the council first. if it is a designated emergency 'in and out' alleyway, it could be a problem. it may actually not belong to any of the householders.

Hintza

And what happens if the neighbour then applies for planning permission?

Doozergirl

Yes, you need to check exactly who owns the land first.

Then, when it's established that the land belongs to you/your neighbour, you need to know exactly who has right of way over that land. You will need to get it in writing from everyone that they will relinquish that right of way. Deeds need to be changed and I suspect (though I'm not entirely sure) that every mortgage company involved may have to be informed and permission obtained from them for the deeds to be changed.

I think if you want a house that is saleable at the end of the build process, it has to have been done correctly.

ic

In my own run of four terraced houses, there is a defined pathway on the deeds - which originally mapped to wide, open alleyway. We've all extended out to use the space. For the three houses next to mine they've extended to fully enclose the alleyway, and now have to cross one another's gardens when moving wheelie bins, gardening or taking the kids bikes out. At my end I retained the alleyway, but reduced its size. It was originally 9 foot wide, but this is reduced to 4 or 5 feet, but still plenty of space. We're all happy with the arrangement, and means my garden remains private and secure I don't the neighbours traipsing through at their leisure.

If you do decide to use the space, retain gates between your neighbours. All it takes is for someone to move in in the future that demands their access as described in the deeds.

Catbells

I've got the same situation at the back of my house. The footpath - (I was told it used to be for coal deliveries to the back of the house) is still there for some residents but when we moved here our section had already been incorporated into the garden behind us (we're back to back with other houses). It doesn't seem to serve any purpose nowadays and could be a safety hazard as burglars could access the back of your house via it. Handy for bikes though as someone mentioned.

plzhelpmesave!

THanks everyone for the replies. I definagtely need to check deeds and with council, as to risky to just reaach and sign an agreement with each other,so thanks.

All other hosues are semis, except for us and they all have side access alleyways to their houses. The back is dissused AFAIK, and everyone else would still be able to access 'thier part' of the alleyway except me, my neighbour and her neighbour, and we all are happy to extend out. Both neighbours still have access to the road via their side alleyway and gate but we all get bigger gardens! Of course I am the only terraced house (no idea why!!), but we have great neighbours on both sides and can use their side entrance if we need to.

DVardysShadow

plzhelpmesave! wrote: »

.... but we have great neighbours on both sides and can use their side entrance if we need to.

Famous last words. The reason for deeds is that great neighbours don't always last forever and you don't want to be renegotiating important accesses every time a new neighbour moves in.

Mojisola

You need to check the deeds of your house and the neighbouring houses. If the track is an official "right of way" on any of them, you are creating future problems by taking the alleyway into your garden without official paperwork being done.

The other owners would have to give up their rights and mortgage companies probably wouldn't allow this.