Access to Shared Shed - now a rental property

xylophone

so maybe a strong final email

I'd say a solicitor's letter would be more effective.....and if it isn't, take them to court?

csgohan4

The entitled generation next door it seems, sometimes they need to see the letter of the law for themselves and be reminded Deeds are legal currency not theirs

G_M

Formosa wrote: »

I had also been emailing them regularly but in the last email I received in reply the neighbour asked not to be emailed again as she was too busy and found it stressful. My mother also agrees that they have essentially tried to take possession from the off and tricked me into it so maybe a strong final email suggesting I may need to seek legal advice and that costs would be their responsibility and something about dividing the shed / another access door (although when I mentioned that as a possibility before they said that wasn't an option due to the redesign needed)

Emailing them is clearly having no effect. There is no point in sending another.

You have 3 options as previously stated.

* just go in and take possession. Break any lock and replace. Start storing some of your (not valuable!) possessions in there so as to establish ownership.

* a letter from a solicitor laying out your rights and specifying what you expect the neighbour to do. This will cost you (£100?) unless you have legal cover included in your home insurance, or provided by your union/employer etc

* a similar letter written by yourself (yes, letter - much more formal than another pointless email!)

The 'redesign' is a red hering. Diverting your attention away from enforcing your rights. If/when they agree to access, ten you can start discussing how the shed should be used, who gets which bit, whether a new door or dividing wall is needed etc. But that is a conversation for later.

Formosa

Thanks again for all the help so far - I will talk with my mother and decide what the next steps will be. It's annoying how much hassle this is unnecessarily!

Watch this space - if there is any change / progress etc I will let people know what happens!

EachPenny

G_M wrote: »

* take physical action to enforce the access across and into..... by that I don't mean violence (!), but I do mean breaking the lock if necessary. The lock is onto your land/property, and the law certainly permits you to break into your own house!

G_M wrote: »

* just go in and take possession. Break any lock and replace. Start storing some of your (not valuable!) possessions in there so as to establish ownership.

A small point, and a question not a challenge G_M.... but would that advice hold if the now single doorway is on the neighbour's side of the shed? I.e. that to enter their half of the shed the OP would need to enter the neighbours land (deviating from the RoW) and break the lock on the neighbour's door.

Isn't the OP potentially dealing with a landlocked property type issue? (subject to where the single door is positioned - If I were the neighbour I'd make sure it was my door that had been retained )

....and if so, would their options be limited to removing the brickwork preventing them gaining access to their shed/land without deviating from the RoW.

The relevance of the question is so the OP avoids doing anything which might allow the neighbour to make a counter claim for. This might include - for example - that the OP's builder had entered onto the neighbour's non-RoW land in order to gain access.