Advice needed on alleyway ownership clearance

jrobson18

Hi everyone,

As part of my Title plan, I own a small alleyway at the back of a row of terraced houses. The alleyway is the only external way into the garden but I'm unable to use it because multiple neighbouring houses have dumped loads of stuff down there; blocking access. In addition to that, the old wire boundary fence has collapsed and a neighbour has dumped it in the alleyway too. It's not clear who owns the boundary fence because it has been there for 40+years and doesn't appear on any legal document found.

In addition to that, one of the neighbour's earth retaining walls has fallen over into the alleyway narrowing the gap from 3ft to 1ft.

As I own the land, am I entitled to claim some sort of damage payment or is there some legal principle that has been broken by the blocked access?

Could you please advise whether I should speak to an authorised body (and if so: who?) or is it just my job to clear the alleyway?

Thanks for your help
Jack

greatcrested

Do any of the neighbours have Rights of Way to use your alley? It may not make any difference,or it may.

Legally, it appears neighbours are trespassing by putting things they own on your land. You could seek redress via the courts seeking either an order to them to remove their stuff,or pay the cost of you doing so.

Of course, you'd have to prove the stuff was theirs (difficult for the "loads of stuff down there", harder still for the fence since ownership is unknown.") plus have all the cost, stress, time not to say uncertaintyof legal action.

A better option is a friendly chat. Take round a home-made cake, discuss the problem and ask for a contribution towrds the cost of clearance (get three quotes ffrom clearance companies or skip hire/whatever first).

If all the neighbours refuse to contribute point blank, my advice? Clear it yourself.

princeofpounds

It's the job of whoever owns the actual mess to clean it up. However, you have no real evidence of who owns the mess (I know, I know, you can make a good guess, but probably nothing evidential enough to get a court order).

So your best bet is to discuss it with the neighbours, telling them you are clearing the alley to restore the right of way. Ask them to clear any property or refuse that has been placed in the alleyway and give a reasonable deadline. See if anyone helps, and then when they inevitably make no real effort, clear it yourself without too much grumbling. If no-one knows who owns the fence, it's just junk as well. Clear it and put your own fence in if you want.

The only compensation you could claim would be for the direct losses of the cost of clearance - the legal remedy is only intended to put you in the position you would have already been in. But again you may not do that well if you pursue a court route here.

The one exception is the landslip - that is a legal nuisance and given it is quite evident where the land has come from. You'll need to write to that landowner (after a friendly discussion most likely) to ask them formally to fix the situation. Google retaining wall nuisance (and other relevant terms) and you'll find a wealth of information online. It's a surprisingly complicated area of law so don't just assume they are liable for everything, but they are more likely to become liable if they are told about the problem and then are negligent in fixing it. But you should be able to resolve this without recourse to legals.