Right of Way Access End Terrace

ElleT711

sammyjammy said:

moneysavinghero said:

Maybe the best approach would be to just speak to the neighbour in a friendly way and point out what happened (im sure their parents have already told them) and request that visitors don't use the ROW unattended.

I have ROW across the back of my neighbours house, that was why I purchased the end house as I didn't want anyone walking across my path kitchen window.  If one of my neighbours insist I announce my intention with a "just popping through" I'd laugh in their face, most people in my street don't use the front door so its a very common occurrence.

I would never insist on an announcement, but would think they might if we were in the garden, or the dog was in the garden for example. This is all new to me, and we've not had any info on how the access works, so it will take some adjustments I guess.

Mojisola

ElleT711 said:

We moved into a rented property a week ago. We are the end of a row of four terraces, and our neighbour has a gate into our garden for access.
I am now wondering whether right of access for our neighbour's includes any Tom, !!!!!! or Harry just letting themselves into our back garden when they feel like it?

We have a dog

Here's a viewpoint from the other side -

www.justanswer.com/uk-law/3rsjl-live-mid-terrace-right-across-middle.html

There's a good reason that your neighbour with the right of way is known as the dominant tenement and you as the servient tenement - the land belongs to your house but the rights belong to the neighbour.

ElleT711

Mojisola said:

ElleT711 said:

We moved into a rented property a week ago. We are the end of a row of four terraces, and our neighbour has a gate into our garden for access.
I am now wondering whether right of access for our neighbour's includes any Tom, !!!!!! or Harry just letting themselves into our back garden when they feel like it?

We have a dog

Here's a viewpoint from the other side -

www.justanswer.com/uk-law/3rsjl-live-mid-terrace-right-across-middle.html

There's a good reason that your neighbour with the right of way is known as the dominant tenement and you as the servient tenement - the land belongs to your house but the rights belong to the neighbour.

I get that, and luckily our dog is not aggressive. I am more concerned about people who do not like dogs in general, or the side gate being left open. Which is why if we knew people were about to use the right of access we would make sure the dog was inside. We can't do that if we don't know someone is coming in, as you can't see people approach due to the layout of the house. You would only know someone is coming through when they are already at the gate. The dog is not outside without someone home.

RelievedSheff

Unfortunately this is the situation you find yourself in with older terraced houses. You should perhaps have done a little more research before signing up to the property.

More modern mid terraced properties tend to have their own footpaths along the rear of the gardens which does mean you get smaller gardens but removes the need for rights of access across gardens.

There isn't really much you can do about the situation. They have the right of access so you can't stop them using it.

Perhaps a beware of the dog plate on the access gate will alert people to the presence of the dog?

lookstraightahead

ElleT711 said:

Mojisola said:

ElleT711 said:

We moved into a rented property a week ago. We are the end of a row of four terraces, and our neighbour has a gate into our garden for access.
I am now wondering whether right of access for our neighbour's includes any Tom, !!!!!! or Harry just letting themselves into our back garden when they feel like it?

We have a dog

Here's a viewpoint from the other side -

www.justanswer.com/uk-law/3rsjl-live-mid-terrace-right-across-middle.html

There's a good reason that your neighbour with the right of way is known as the dominant tenement and you as the servient tenement - the land belongs to your house but the rights belong to the neighbour.

I get that, and luckily our dog is not aggressive. I am more concerned about people who do not like dogs in general, or the side gate being left open. Which is why if we knew people were about to use the right of access we would make sure the dog was inside. We can't do that if we don't know someone is coming in, as you can't see people approach due to the layout of the house. You would only know someone is coming through when they are already at the gate. The dog is not outside without someone home.

I've lived in the middle with a right of way to the end and us. I used it daily, as it's a right of way. Also, you shouldn't block it with anything either.
It's your responsibility to make sure your dog is safe/not dangerous to others. 

Bit of a nightmare but that's just how it is with right of access. 

RedFraggle

Bisected gardens are extremely common in some areas. Norwich is like that and in situations where the intended lounge is behind the front door and a bedroom (e.g. student houses) all occupants and visitors will enter round the back. 

Tokmon

ElleT711 said:

Mojisola said:

ElleT711 said:

We moved into a rented property a week ago. We are the end of a row of four terraces, and our neighbour has a gate into our garden for access.
I am now wondering whether right of access for our neighbour's includes any Tom, !!!!!! or Harry just letting themselves into our back garden when they feel like it?

We have a dog

Here's a viewpoint from the other side -

www.justanswer.com/uk-law/3rsjl-live-mid-terrace-right-across-middle.html

There's a good reason that your neighbour with the right of way is known as the dominant tenement and you as the servient tenement - the land belongs to your house but the rights belong to the neighbour.

I get that, and luckily our dog is not aggressive. I am more concerned about people who do not like dogs in general, or the side gate being left open. Which is why if we knew people were about to use the right of access we would make sure the dog was inside. We can't do that if we don't know someone is coming in, as you can't see people approach due to the layout of the house. You would only know someone is coming through when they are already at the gate. The dog is not outside without someone home.

Do you have any smart speakers in your home such as Google Home or Amazon Echo? 

I've got Wi-Fi connected motion sensors that run on batteries which cost less than £15 (but you may need to consider different one's for outdoor usage). These can be setup to send notifications to your phone or a smart speaker when someone passes. So if you placed one of these down the side passage you would get ample warning someone was coming. 

Gavin83

ElleT711 said:

Mojisola said:

ElleT711 said:

We moved into a rented property a week ago. We are the end of a row of four terraces, and our neighbour has a gate into our garden for access.
I am now wondering whether right of access for our neighbour's includes any Tom, !!!!!! or Harry just letting themselves into our back garden when they feel like it?

We have a dog

Here's a viewpoint from the other side -

www.justanswer.com/uk-law/3rsjl-live-mid-terrace-right-across-middle.html

There's a good reason that your neighbour with the right of way is known as the dominant tenement and you as the servient tenement - the land belongs to your house but the rights belong to the neighbour.

I get that, and luckily our dog is not aggressive. I am more concerned about people who do not like dogs in general, or the side gate being left open. Which is why if we knew people were about to use the right of access we would make sure the dog was inside. We can't do that if we don't know someone is coming in, as you can't see people approach due to the layout of the house. You would only know someone is coming through when they are already at the gate. The dog is not outside without someone home.

That's good, because if your dog attacked someone who was walking through you'd be held liable in the same way as if it attacked someone in the street.

It is annoying but it's what you sign up for in houses like these. We used to rent an 1800's terrace with similar access and we'd often have our elderly neighbours wandering through. We even looked at a rental that literally had a public footpath running through the garden which would have been considerably worse!  

leonj

This is why they are called terrace houses.  It might seem strange to you but it isn't to the millions of people that live in them!  People often fence the garden off behind the terrace if they have a dog for example

warby68

Its a bit odd that it didn't come up when you discussed having a pet there.