Nightmare neighbour and Restrictive Covenants

Lord_Percy

I am asking this here as my good friend is in a terrible situation and cannot afford a lawyer to defend herself from recent new bullying neighbours.

She was happily living for years, in a house, connected to 3 other houses which shared a roundabout (in front of the houses) which gives access to the main road for all 4 homes.

A couple bought one of the houses and have become more and more aggressive about making the whole area 'Their little love nest'. They have bought the roundabout and the drive around it from the the land owner (who doesn't live there). It has a covenant applied to it to allow the other houses access.

These people have made her life hell by bullying her and picking on her for the slightest fault and are planning to attempt to remove the covenant, which will no doubt result in her losing access to her house to park her car. These people think money can buy whatever they want. She is in utter despair and depressed with fear, so I ask kindly what anyone here can recommend she do about continuing to use the drive to gain access to her house and the main road. It really disgusts me that these people can act this way (Particularly as she was there along time before these nasty self centred people appeared.)

I'm hoping I can alleviate her pain with some good news. Never seen a person so down and depressed.

Thank you for any help.

moneyistooshorttomention

Might be helpful if it's possible to give a diagram or photo of the layout?

I'm really surprised someone could manage to buy this roundabout and I'd probably be checking what's what with the Land Registry on this - as I would have assumed it belongs to the local Council?

If this roundabout does belong to a private person/firm - then has your friend looked out the deeds to her house. These deeds should have some wording or other on there about her having a "Right of Way" (hopefully with the words by it "At all times/for all purposes/by vehicle or on foot" - ie a totally unrestricted ROW).

EDIT; Whoops - re-read and I see there is mention of a covenant. What exactly does that covenant say? AFAIK no-one can remove covenants/ROW's without paying the person/people benefitting from it..

Davesnave

Lord_Percy wrote: »

It has a covenant applied to it to allow the other houses access.


I'm hoping I can alleviate her pain with some good news. Never seen a person so down and depressed.

Thank you for any help.

If this 'covenant' is actually a vehicular right of way as defined in this lady and the other resident's title documents, ('deeds') then the good news is that it is just about impossible for it to be impeded or removed.

I'd suggest you or she downloads the title documents from the Land Registry asap (about £3 each)

https://eservices.landregistry.gov.uk/www/wps/myportal/My_Home

Go to "Find a property"

PasturesNew

They cannot remove the covenant that grants her access to her home.
That's a fact.

But, questioning deeper, is she coming/going with a regular car? Is she using their driveway to park ever?

The layout needs a bit of a picture.

Having driven across the area, where does she park her car? Has it always been so? Is that her right? Does the covenant allow her to have vehicular access, or just on foot?

Need more details really - pictures and words.

I own the freehold of my land - neighbours have a right of access to cross it on foot or with their vehicle to access their parking spots .... but they can't park there, their children cannot play there, they can only use the area to cross over to reach their house on foot, or to drive into their parking spot ... and, of course, to facilitate the usual deliveries/tradesmen gaining access. But nobody can PARK in that area, just pass over it. They can't arbitrarily decide to put their bins in my area, for example, which is 1/5th of the distance they have to lug it each week, because the rights do not extend to leaving their bins there. None have ever thought of that one (yet) .... I'm sure one will one day...and I'll have to sigh and explain.

I have had some park there in the past (they don't dare now). I have been blocked in by their visitors in the past and couldn't get out of my gate with my bicycle without climbing over their car... they don't do that any more.

Lord_Percy

Thank you so much

I will pass this information on to her.

Mojisola

Lord_Percy wrote: »

I am asking this here as my good friend is in a terrible situation and cannot afford a lawyer to defend herself from recent new bullying neighbours.

She was happily living for years, in a house, connected to 3 other houses which shared a roundabout (in front of the houses) which gives access to the main road for all 4 homes.

Would she be able to afford legal advice if the other affected householders joined in with her?

PasturesNew

Mojisola wrote: »

Would she be able to afford legal advice if the other affected householders joined in with her?

She doesn't need legal advice. It can't be done to her.

There was a nutter on Neighbours from Hell who bought a house that had land over which their neighbour gained access to his house - Susan Davenport-Hill was a right air-head doing the "hard done by/bad neighbour" face on the telly and everything.

She started "tarting up" and blocking in all that land and trying to make it so awkward for him he'd give up ....

In the TV programme the chap being prevented from his access/drive showed the camera crew that the lady had a whole separate walled garden along the road a few yards, huge it was, with grass and swings and everything...

It all went to court and was in the papers recently
http://metro.co.uk/2017/10/25/couple-left-with-200000-court-bill-after-their-childish-row-with-neighbour-7027359/

‘Little by little’, they attempted to whittle away his rights by moving plant pots, a barbecue and a table and chairs to cause ‘maximum inconvenience’ to Mr Shortland. Judge Matthews said: ‘It is childish behaviour by the defendants and reflects no credit on them or their relatives who took part in this game.’

He said the Hills had played a ‘game’ with Mr Shortland to boost the value of their home and slammed their sense of ‘entitlement’

G_M

This is not a legal matter relating to her house access or the roundabout.From what you say (needs confirming with reference to the property title/covenant) she has an access right which cannot be removed.

Sothe legal issue is one of nuisance and/or harassment.

Sttep one is to keep a log (date, time, names, event description) for a period of time. Length of time depends on frequency of events. If it's once a week, keep a log for several months. If it's several times a day, keep a log for 1 or 2 weeks.

Then go to the local police.

I do wonder if there's anoter side to this story though. Londoners are not all 'yahoos' so I wonder what the relevance of their origins is? Yes, neighbours can sometimes turn into neighbours from hell, but often there's a tit for tat escalation.......

Davesnave

PasturesNew wrote: »

She doesn't need legal advice. It can't be done to her.

In the article you quote, a judge felt that a legal injunction was required to prevent the person blocking the RoW from repeating their actions.

However, I agree that in most cases like this, which are very common, an explanatory verbal 'shot across the bows' is all that is usually required where someone has 'forgotten' another's rights.

Legal recourse is always a last resort.

In this case, at least the OP's friend has the support of others. A 'cease & desist' letter from a bog-standard solicitor, if needed, isn't expensive and GM's comment re the police is a step before that too.

Lord_Percy

G_M wrote: »

This is not a legal matter relating to her house access or the roundabout.From what you say (needs confirming with reference to the property title/covenant) she has an access right which cannot be removed.

Sothe legal issue is one of nuisance and/or harassment.

Sttep one is to keep a log (date, time, names, event description) for a period of time. Length of time depends on frequency of events. If it's once a week, keep a log for several months. If it's several times a day, keep a log for 1 or 2 weeks.

Then go to the local police.

I do wonder if there's anoter side to this story though. Londoners are not all 'yahoos' so I wonder what the relevance of their origins is? Yes, neighbours can sometimes turn into neighbours from hell, but often there's a tit for tat escalation.......

I can assure you she has done nothing wrong other than get yelled at for not cutting a hedge. These people are real over the top. The wife tried to run her over at one point. I told her to go to the police. She's keeping a record of events as they are extremely petty and hypocritical.. I have known her for years. These people have totally taken over. Hence the 'Yahoo' reference.

All she wants to do is live her life as she has always done with no hassles for the last decade or so, then these people move in and decide everything has to change, and money will get them just that.

Its sickening tbh.

moneyistooshorttomention

Re the suggestion of a "cease and desist" letter - I believe a solicitor would charge somewheres between £100 and £200 for that sort of letter.

So - divided between 4 neighbours = £25-£50 each.

Google "Protection from Harassment Act 1997" too.