Inadvertently granting neighbours right of access to garden?

karie

Hi there

Really not sure where to post this so please say if it should be elsewhere.

My partner and I have a semi-detached house with unusually large and long garden. Our next door neighbours (directly attached) have a much smaller garden (maybe 1/3 size).

We get on very well with them and they recently asked us if they could put some raised beds down the bottom of our garden, as they are avid vegetable growers.

We didnt see a real problem with this as we have so much space and the area where they'd put them is well hidden at the bottom of the garden (plus it means some free veg for us). They can access it from their garden (through the fence), and we were planning to agree frequency, times of day etc so it didn't inhibit our privacy.

However, having given it some more thought, I'm just a little concerned now in hindsight about whether or not we are inadvertently granting them any rights to accessing our garden.
What I'm concerned about is what it would mean if/when we come to sell the house. Would this be a form of precedent, which means that they have permanent rights to access our garden (if such thing exists... perhaps after X months/years).

I'm thinking I should consider consulting a solicitor before we go any further (the raised beds aren't in yet) - is that a bit drastic though? Or at the very least draw up an agreement between us which states that they would lose access if we sold the house.

Any advice gratefully received!

HappyMJ

You need to rent them the garden space for a token amount for a set period of time. Say £1 for 1 year. Get it all in writing.

Catblue

As the previous poster says, you could just rent it to them for a nominal sum.

Legal issues aside though, are you sure you want them in your garden? You can try to agree times and frequency but the weather in this country might mean that they'd rather be in your garden on sunny days rather than wet ones. Precisely the same days that you want to sit out reading your book and get some peace.

Wouldn't do it myself, not because I don't want to help neighbours out, but precisely because it might jeopardise good relations in the future.

That's why a response of "Sorry, no, we were thinking of putting a shed there" is easier in the long run than "Yes, no problem but we don't want you stealing our land or blundering through our family barbecues in the future so sign this now". I'm exaggerating this but you know what I mean.

And then if you do have a written agreement and then do want to put a shed there later, it will be hard for you to say "you know that land you've cultivated for 3 years? Well, we don't want you to do it anymore". Even if really nicely said, a lot of people wouldn't be happy to have the land taken away as it were.

karie

thank you both, rental seems so logic, don't know how I didn't think of it!

Catblue - you make some great points, and I do mostly agree. The thing is that we have more or less agreed now, and it wont do too much harm. But I think I do need to lay some firm groundrules, and also talk to them about their expectations. Realistically I think we will move in 2-3 years time, and they may not realise that...

CLAPTON

bad idea

high walls good neighbours make

may make it difficult to sell do

just say you have thought about it and don't feel comfortable

Catblue

karie wrote: »

Catblue - you make some great points, and I do mostly agree. The thing is that we have more or less agreed now, and it wont do too much harm.

No you haven't more or less agreed to it.

And you are already talking about "it won't do too much harm" in relation to this (meaning that it will do some harm), which probably is your instinct trying to tell you not to do it.

This is the sort of woolly thinking that inadvertently drags really nice people down the path of neighbour disputes.

And even if you had already firmly agreed to it, you have every right to change your mind at any time. It is your land and you decide what happens to it and who has access to it.

Think it over, but let them know quickly if you decide not to go ahead. You don't want them spending money on materials thinking that it is all sorted.

googler

What happens when you sell, and the new owners ask how much garden there is, and they don't want to share it with your current neighbours...?

What happens if your neighbours move, fall ill, or die? Will you want to take over the upkeep of the raised beds?

paddy's_mum

Offer to sell them a bit of your garden - if they agree, everyone's happy. If they decline, you're off the "but I already almost agreed .." hook.

Mojisola

If you give your neighbour permission to cross your land or use some of the garden, you can withdraw it and they will have no rights.

You need to get in writing, signed by both parties, exactly what you're agreeing to and how much notice you will give them and that they will have to leave the fence in good repair. If they are going to spend money on your garden - building raised beds, buying veg plants, etc - you may want to agree a settlement sum with them to compensate for their expenditure.

Yorkie1

paddy's_mum wrote: »

Offer to sell them a bit of your garden - if they agree, everyone's happy. If they decline, you're off the "but I already almost agreed .." hook.

I don't think this is a good idea. For a start, if the OP has a mortgage then the lender will have to agree because the value of their security will decrease.

Then, irrespective of that, you will need to find a decent way to assess their increase in value / your decrease in value / what to sell it for. This could cause difficulties if expectations are different.

And solicitors fees will run into the hundreds.

more_money_for_me

http://www.landshare.net/listings/7688/