Shared access

florrie03

Hi I rent a terraced house and neighbours have shared access through the garden, but for some reason from years ago most of the neighbors leave there bins in my garden in a row 8 in total,   so my n my immediate neighbors bins have to go under our kitchen windows 
I think this is wrong I have spoke to council and they said its wrong but neighbors don't think it is 
Help please 

HampshireH

Move them?

Vectis

Presumably the bins were there when you viewed the property, or is it where they are left on bin emptying days?

Talk to your landlord.

greatcrested

Move the bins to wherever you think they should be, or to just outside the boundary of the property.

Don't expect an invitation to tea from the neighbours....

Cypruseast

I’m pretty sure legally access means access and that alone. That by its definition means they gain entry via the land within the boundary of your property. I assume this is to allow them to put the bins out on the street? However, right of access does not allow for them to store their belongings working the boundary of your property. Would they park a car below your window and think it is acceptable? I’d suggest as others do that you raise it with the landlord in case it needs escalated. But also gently try and explain to your neighbours by maybe leaving a note on the bin that they absolutely have a right of access but that right does not entitle them to store their bin within the boundaries of your property and you request that they remove it soonest or that you will remove it for them. 

florrie03

HampshireH said:

Move them?

Myself n neighbour did but someone's put there's back 

dan958

florrie03 said:

HampshireH said:

Move them?

Myself n neighbour did but someone's put there's back 

Move it again, and keep doing so.

Comms69

Access means to go through, not to use. Simply move the bin and if anyone complains just tell them their property is unlawful on your land and if it happens again you'll dispose of it. 

zagubov

I'd move them and thank my lucky stars I'm only renting the place, with neighbours like that.

princeofpounds

To understand the legal background to this, google 'easements' (essentially, rights over land you do not own, typically rights of way and similar). Easements can be awarded in a number of different ways. In this case, it's most likely that they will be granted through the deeds of your property and/or your neighbours' properties. You can download these and the title plans at the land registry for a couple of quid. 

The set-up you describe is quite common in terraces. In 95% (?) of cases, it is only a right of access, not a right of storage. However, it's not impossible to have a communal bin storage area on your land, so it may be worth checking if you want to do things properly. If the right is for access, that's all it is for, and as other posters have suggested you can remove the bins from your property as long as you take reasonable care (you can't just take them to the tip, for example - you should make an effort to return them).

Easements can also be established by long-term use. You may get some people thinking that because they have been doing this for a long time, they can keep doing it. Whilst that is often true for rights of way, it's much harder to establish easements that give rights to storage, and highly unlikely in this situation.

The overall situation here is a civil dispute, and doubtless you'll get friction from neighbours as a result of enforcing your rights. Try to approach it through discussion first.