right of way

Filey

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

My initial reaction to the thread is simply to emphasise the need to seek legal advice to clarify not only the legal situation but the impact on your tenants etc.

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Many thanks to the Land Registry representative. I am indeed seeking legal advice. I am generally an easy going sort of person, but this situation with 'that woman' has really riled me and I intend to do whatever it takes to remedy the situation.

Land_Registry

Filey wrote: »

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

My initial reaction to the thread is simply to emphasise the need to seek legal advice to clarify not only the legal situation but the impact on your tenants etc.

____________________________________________
Many thanks to the Land Registry representative. I am indeed seeking legal advice. I am generally an easy going sort of person, but this situation with 'that woman' has really riled me and I intend to do whatever it takes to remedy the situation.

Filey - I hope you get the outcome you wish for as a result.
My post was simply to flag up the Land Registry's understanding of the law around such issues. However like others it is only a veiw based on experience and understanding. The law of the land though does allow both to be challenged through the courts.

Legal advice is always recommended if only to minimalise the risk of such matters ending up in court and the additional expense that can cause.
I also have experience of situations where people have put things in writing to neighbours believing that they said one thing but which are then interpreted differently and used against them in a court of law - Mojisola points to the same risks I suspect

zaax

A ROW is a ROW for ever. All you need to do is get a Solicitor to confirm that it is a ROW (which it is), then you can remove her ‘stuff’ from the ROW without damaging it too much (tell the police first is there is going to be a row) and obviously give it back to her (put it in the garden) if it costs you money to hire a workman you can get the money from her (small claims if necessary). BTW if you do this your name will mud across the village, but she is a bully and needs to be confronted.

ic

RAS wrote: »

Longer term the other option (if she gets legal), is for her to sacrifice a suitable width of land at the bottom of the land (and along the side) for your sole use, in exchange for moving the right of way away from the house.

I voluntarily did this in my end terrace house - I lost about four foot width around my garden, plus the cost of fencing and gates to do this. Worth it though - I can enjoy my garden in peace. My neighbours within the terrace have to put up with one another traipsing across their gardens.

princeofpounds

Putting a clause in your tenancy agreement with your tenants is not going to severely damage your rights. As you suggest, it is a private agreement between you and your tenants which has little effect on the ultimate issue. That's why I say it will not affect your rights much.

HOWEVER, it's still a silly thing to do, and maybe I should elaborate more on why:

- It is likely to be unenforceable. It will do nothing to affect the ROW itself or your tenants' responsibility to your neighbour. All it would do is create some kind of contractual obligation to you.

-That obligation is effectively meaningless. If they break it, what loss or damage are you going to sue for? No judge will order an eviction for something like that. It will be nothing more than informal guidance masquerading as legalese, and consequently you may as well communicate it as what it is.

- It will annoy the tenants that they feel like they are trespassing in their own home. It's always a pain when landlords try to run their tenant's lives.

- It will establish bad practice in the relationship with the neighbour. If she is used to being consulted, she will expect to be consulted in all future use, even if it's you.

- This can have negative practical consequences as a result. If the tenant's use of the ROW deteriorates then she may choose to increasingly obstruct it. Stacking items in the way, flower planters etc... this is what I mean when I say it may weaken your position. It can turn from a situation where she has to take action to change things to a situation where you are the one having to shell out for lawyers to get her to remove her stuff.

- If she gets a hold of your tenancy agreement, she may try to use it as some form of evidence. She might, for instance, imply that you had a private agreement to weaken the ROW and this was an expression of it. In the absence of further evidence that's very likely to fail, but it might mean a lawyer having to write an extra letter and argue for a further 15 minutes in court with the bill ticking up all the time.

Overall, it's simply a matter of communicating at the appropriate level. Legal contracts are for legal, enforceable contractual terms, not informal requests and guidance.

Strapped

Sorry, but I'm very blunt and bloody-minded. If my neighbour started being arsy, I'd simply make it my business to go round every single day and exercise my ROW over their land, and tell them WHY I was doing so. "Use it or lose it".