Advice on shared access and keeping on the neighbours good side

Sarahjane12345

Can anybody offer any advice?

I have just bought my first home, we moved in last weekend and the gate that led to our shared access has been replaced with a fence panel

We have a parking area and at the back was a gate to go along the neighbours drive through their garden gate, through their garden and through another gate into our garden. Both of the gates are on fences owned by the neighbours and both have been swapped with fence panels. The one to our garden is on a hinge and the other is screwed in but you can see where the latch used to hooks in.

I went through the gate with the estate agent and have a picture of it before hand. The access was put in around 5 yrs ago when the house was split into two cottages and the neighbours have been in about 6 months. Now that the gate is gone we have to go out onto the road and round (and the few cars that go by tend to go by at speed) through their driveway gate. As its a cottagE this is how we had to get all our furniture in - the back door is much bigger.

The neighbours are lovely and friendly. My other half has just left with work for 6 months so I need to sort this myself - my inlaws are pushing me to ask them right away if I can put it back the way it was but I am very anxious about creating an argument. I'm 23 in my first home and out in the countryside with a neighbour on each side, I really don't want to be any more isolated and I really don't want any bad feelings.

The deeds say we have right of access but don't show anything on the plans.

How do I approach this and do I even have any right? I can still get in just in a bit of a roundabout route...

I thought of offering to fit a latch and hinge to the fence panel so it looks no different on their side of the fence..,

Any thoughts?

DRP

Classic passive-aggressive from your neighbour.

They obviously don't want access for you or they wouldn't have (apparently) removed the latch and replaced with screws. So, i don't think
you offering to 're-latch' the fence panel will be successful.

I'd make darn sure I know what the deeds allow you to do in terms of access, and then approach the neighbour in as polite way as possible - speak to your conveyancer first.

I_have_spoken

Speak to your solicitor who handled the sale to make sure that access rights are 100% clear.

If so, drop by neighbours perhaps with FiL in sight and say you appreciated their thoughtfulness in securing the property while it was empty by blocking off the gate, but now you've moved in you'll be needing the access restored.

muckybutt

We have shared access too. Our deeds specifically say we can walk up our neighbours steps and access a gate into our garden, we don't have vehicular access.

There have been several occasions recently where the wife of our neighbour has come storming out effing and Geoffing at our friends that they can't use the access... until we pointed out she can't do Jack about it as it's all in black and white in the deeds.

If it say's you have access and they have blocked that access then a polite "can you reinstate the access in line with the deeds" should suffice. Time to get narky would be if they refuse, then I would get a solicitors letter draughted up giving specific time limits to reinstate the access.

DRP

I think a solicitors letter would definitely be plan B.

As soon as this becomes official, then it'll escalate massively and cause potential issues when you come to sell (you'll have to declare neighbour disputes).

Norman_Castle

Very sneaky!. Altering the fence between residents. Check you are correct and have paperwork ready to prove it. Advise them, politely, that you think they've made a mistake when fitting the new fence as you need to use the access as you did when viewing the property.

These "lovely and friendly" neigbours are removing rights on a property you are paying for. Don't be fobbed off by them.