Neighbour blocked garage with fence

westernpromise

Can you afford to extend to the boundary?

Johnny123123

westernpromise wrote: »

Can you afford to extend to the boundary?

I cant extend to the boundary to allow me to access garage because my house is 1.25m away from part of the fence, theres no way I can get a car into my garage anymore. I will just use it as a shed for storing stuff.

Johnny123123

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Looking from afar - and I think York looks like one of the dearer/better areas for housing? (Nice city btw).

We don't know whereabouts OP's house is - ie whether it's in a nice city or a run-down northern or "brown town" (I gather that's the name for "former glory for holidaying seaside area - now "brown" with drug-taking) or what...

Its a nice city, 4 bed semi detached houses cost aproximatly £400k each on my street.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

Johnny123123 wrote: »

Spoke to solicitor today and he said same thing as you. Are you a solicitor as well? I think this now pretty much has sealed the fact theres nothing legal I can use to object to this fence.

I am not a solicitor in any shape or form, no.

On the plus side, once you have sorted out parking at the front, your house may actually have increased in value. The shared access will put a lot of people off buying (as you can see from this thread alone) and having secure parking at front and no potential hassle may well be more desirable than having a garage but with the additional negative of shared access. It certainly would be more desirable for me.

AdrianC

Johnny123123 wrote: »

Yes I will apply for a drop kerb and change my front garden into a parking space

I hope you mean apply to widen the existing drop kerb?

If there's no drop kerb there currently, then you have no vehicular right to cross the pavement in the first place, so whether you can get the car to your garage or not is irrelevant.

Johnny123123

AdrianC wrote: »

I hope you mean apply to widen the existing drop kerb?

If there's no drop kerb there currently, then you have no vehicular right to cross the pavement in the first place, so whether you can get the car to your garage or not is irrelevant.

Yes I mean to widen existing one. There is an existing drop kerb but now only a small chunk is on my side of the fence, so yes I mean widen that bit. :beer:

westernpromise

Johnny123123 wrote: »

I cant extend to the boundary to allow me to access garage because my house is 1.25m away from part of the fence, theres no way I can get a car into my garage anymore. I will just use it as a shed for storing stuff.

I was thinking more that as you can't access your garage any more the space is wasted so you'd extend right to the boundary, block the neighbours' light and so on - unless of course they agree to a right of way to the garage. If they are as massively and spitefully selfish as they seem, I would reciprocate.

ScorpiondeRooftrouser

westernpromise wrote: »

I was thinking more that as you can't access your garage any more the space is wasted so you'd extend right to the boundary, block the neighbours' light and so on - unless of course they agree to a right of way to the garage. If they are as massively and spitefully selfish as they seem, I would reciprocate.

How is not wanting people driving over your garden "massively and spitefully selfish"? Having the OP driving their car through right next to their house, something they have no legal right to do, is clearly a pain for them as it would be for most people. The new setup is much more pleasant for both parties in every way except car access. Why can you not see both sides of this? Even the OP understands their position.

Not everyone is so "massively and spitefully selfish" as to spend thousands of pounds building an extension they don't want just to block the neighbours' light.

westernpromise

It's clear from what we've read that all these houses were built this way with garages accessible only if access were shared, something evidently not put into the original titles because nobody in the 1920s imagined anyone would be so staggeringly selfish as to obstruct their neighbours' garage access.

This being so, why not improve your own property at the expense and direct loss of the neighbours? What can they possibly say?

m0t

I have a similar arrangement but the builders in the early 30's weren't so smart because my house is on a shallow hill and my neighbours half of the drive is half a metre higher than mine. I can't reach my garage with a car because it's too narrow (I've got the small retaining wall on my side). My neighbour can get his 80's car in and out with less than an inch clearance.

I wish he didn't use his garage though. The noise of his car echoes between the two houses and wakes me up (as does the noise of opening and closing the garage). You might find that they have done this so they don't have to hear you getting up for work etc.