End terrace right of way access

NameUnavailable

There's two issues here. First there is a legal ROW that has been blocked off and now a neighbour wants that reopened. That is perfectly reasonable and I would want the same if it were my property.

Second is the issue with the neighbour leaving your gate open, which is inconsiderate but something you can take some steps to resolve (sprung hinges etc as already suggested) and maybe a sign on the gate to remind people that it should be kept closed.

Locking it is the same as blocking the ROW and will be illegal (unless by agreement of all affected parties).

hellenoftroy10

bouicca21 said:

DoaM said:

bouicca21 said:

Check the gate is closed before letting the dogs out?

I guess you're not a dog owner then? 🙄

Sadly my lovely dogs are no more, but I would never have let them out in a garden that was not secure.  Doesn’t seem too much of a hardship to me to check the gate is closed.

Yes the garden is secure unless someone comes back at 4 in the morning and leaves all the gates open. For me to check all the gates I would have to put dressing gown and slippers on and walk out down the passageway.  It's not much of a hardship for a grown man to close someone else's gate whilst using the access across their property in my opinion. 

hellenoftroy10

NameUnavailable said:

Barny1979 said:

Why would anyone buy a house where people have to cut through your back garden to access theirs?!

Because a lot of older terraced properties were built exactly this way, to allow access for coal deliveries etc., stuff you don't want to drag all through the house to get into the rear garden/yard.

Yes I think most terraced houses have this in agreement. My previous semi detached house actually had a right of access for neighbours to use the well on the land although the well had long since been covered up and the neighbours would not have need for use of a well but the house was built prior to running water to houses was the norm...

hellenoftroy10

princeofpounds said:

You are interfering with a right of way. If they want, they can take you to court. They will win, and you will have to pay costs and comply with an injunction to open the right of way again. (Obviously if you are at all sensible, it wouldn't get that far). It does not matter that the right of way was previously blocked up for many years - this is a not a way that it can be legally extinguished.

You can try leaving it shut for now, which is a bit naughty. But if they or their landlord presses you to open it, you really should.

If you want to secure your garden, you will need to either fit a spring as Soot2006 suggests, and/or place a barrier that separates the ROW from the rest of your garden (and no, you can't make it unusably narrow - that is also interference). That is your responsibility, not theirs.

So yeah, you broadly have to lump it, but you should be able to live with it fine with some adjustment. This is not an uncommon situation.

I will look into the spring option for the gate at the start of the alleyway, not sure how it will work but I have thought about trying to fit a spring to it in the past, its difficult as it's a metal gate but will look into this option. Possibly I could just fit a bike padlock to the gate and that would prevent him from opening it in the first place as he only uses it when drunk and probably would not remember the code to get through. 🙂

unforeseen

Locking it is the same as blocking the ROW and will be illegal (unless by agreement of all affected parties).

Unfortunately, if it has the standard wording for these ROWs then the affected parties are ANYBODY who has a reason to visit. 
As for putting a padlock on then that is still obstructing the ROW for legitimate visitors

onwards&upwards

hellenoftroy10 said:

bouicca21 said:

DoaM said:

bouicca21 said:

Check the gate is closed before letting the dogs out?

I guess you're not a dog owner then? 🙄

Sadly my lovely dogs are no more, but I would never have let them out in a garden that was not secure.  Doesn’t seem too much of a hardship to me to check the gate is closed.

For me to check all the gates I would have to put dressing gown and slippers on and walk out down the passageway. 

So until you sort out a lock, that's what you have to do.  When you have animals you are responsible for you have to do what they need even if its a bit inconvenient.

hellenoftroy10

onwards&upwards said:

hellenoftroy10 said:

bouicca21 said:

DoaM said:

bouicca21 said:

Check the gate is closed before letting the dogs out?

I guess you're not a dog owner then? 🙄

Sadly my lovely dogs are no more, but I would never have let them out in a garden that was not secure.  Doesn’t seem too much of a hardship to me to check the gate is closed.

For me to check all the gates I would have to put dressing gown and slippers on and walk out down the passageway. 

So until you sort out a lock, that's what you have to do.  When you have animals you are responsible for you have to do what they need even if its a bit inconvenient.

Yes well that is what I've been having to do, unfortunately I wasnt there on the occasion that my dog ran down a busy road, but for the moment its screwed shut until someone complains about it and I sort out a spring and lock for it.

hellenoftroy10

Barny1979 said:

Why would anyone buy a house where people have to cut through your back garden to access theirs?!

It's fairly standard with most terraced houses having rear access. That's not the only access to their back garden, they can obviously go via their own house 🤣

Soot2006

hellenoftroy10 said:

princeofpounds said:

You are interfering with a right of way. If they want, they can take you to court. They will win, and you will have to pay costs and comply with an injunction to open the right of way again. (Obviously if you are at all sensible, it wouldn't get that far). It does not matter that the right of way was previously blocked up for many years - this is a not a way that it can be legally extinguished.

You can try leaving it shut for now, which is a bit naughty. But if they or their landlord presses you to open it, you really should.

If you want to secure your garden, you will need to either fit a spring as Soot2006 suggests, and/or place a barrier that separates the ROW from the rest of your garden (and no, you can't make it unusably narrow - that is also interference). That is your responsibility, not theirs.

So yeah, you broadly have to lump it, but you should be able to live with it fine with some adjustment. This is not an uncommon situation.

I will look into the spring option for the gate at the start of the alleyway, not sure how it will work but I have thought about trying to fit a spring to it in the past, its difficult as it's a metal gate but will look into this option. Possibly I could just fit a bike padlock to the gate and that would prevent him from opening it in the first place as he only uses it when drunk and probably would not remember the code to get through. 🙂

If you haven't got the tools, then any handyman can fit a gate spring to all three gates. Will probably cost you no more than £100 all in, and seems worth it for  peace of mind.

Takmon

hellenoftroy10 said:

bouicca21 said:

DoaM said:

bouicca21 said:

Check the gate is closed before letting the dogs out?

I guess you're not a dog owner then? 🙄

Sadly my lovely dogs are no more, but I would never have let them out in a garden that was not secure.  Doesn’t seem too much of a hardship to me to check the gate is closed.

Yes the garden is secure unless someone comes back at 4 in the morning and leaves all the gates open. For me to check all the gates I would have to put dressing gown and slippers on and walk out down the passageway.  It's not much of a hardship for a grown man to close someone else's gate whilst using the access across their property in my opinion. 

Considering you have a rear access that you can't lock then personally i would put a camera facing the unsecured area because it would be perfect for burglars to come in and take their time braking in the back and stealing items without fear of being spotted by other people. The camera could then also be quickly checked before you let the dogs out to make sure the gate is closed so solves two potential problems.