What are my tenant rights RE garden access

rach_k

I'd go with learning to pick the lock - I imagine it'll be very satisfying!

If the landlord is right that you have nowhere else to go, I'd probably just put up with it.  There are lots of homes with no access to the garden from the front, and many people keep their bins at the front too.  I'm sure there are things you could try to get it sorted, but is it really worth the hassle and the risk of a revenge eviction?  

Practically speaking, I'd put the bins right in front of the gate, sideways on, so you can reach through the gate, flip the lid open, thrown your bin bag over the top of the gate and then close the lid.  If a couple of banana skins and other assorted slimy things just so happen to fall on the lock as you do so and you don't notice, the handyman can clean it up when he next visits.  

princeofpounds

KittenChops said:

I think I've read somewhere that if you don't have access to the whole property, then you are not liable for council tax.  Anyone?

No. There are rules in the hierarchy of council tax liability around dwellings with multiple occupants. But the OP is inhabiting the entire dwelling. A shed is a not a dwelling, and it has no other inhabitants.

ratechaser

princeofpounds said:

KittenChops said:

I think I've read somewhere that if you don't have access to the whole property, then you are not liable for council tax.  Anyone?

No. There are rules in the hierarchy of council tax liability around dwellings with multiple occupants. But the OP is inhabiting the entire dwelling. A shed is a not a dwelling, and it has no other inhabitants.

Damn! I was just thinking about asking my neighbour if he wanted to swap sheds 

Slinky

Have you got a friend with a rusty old banger of a car who would like to abandon it on your drive right up against the gates? Make it bloody inconvenient for the handyman. At the very least I'd be keeping the bins right in front of the gate so he has to move them every time he wants to get in.