Right of access for neighbours

bouicca21

What are the terms of the right of access - not just for them but for you?  It may be that you should not be parking there at all.

Babies24

bouicca21 said:

What are the terms of the right of access - not just for them but for you?  It may be that you should not be parking there at all.

Hi we've went through the terms very carefully when we purchased the house and many times when we've had problems. We have a wide drive which u could park 3 cars next to each other they need to pass on the left so they can get to their house at the end of our fenced garden, we always make sure we park to the left they've got large cars so make sure our car we have only one and a bike are far over as we're always concern of the speed they drive past and also we want to ensure they can get a fire engine down there or supermarket delivery van. Funnily they have more restrictions than us they can't have commercial vehicles and caravans on there drive.

MobileSaver

Babies24 said:

bouicca21 said:

What are the terms of the right of access - not just for them but for you?  It may be that you should not be parking there at all.

Hi we've went through the terms very carefully when we purchased the house and many times when we've had problems. We have a wide drive which u could park 3 cars next to each other they need to pass on the left so they can get to their house at the end of our fenced garden, we always make sure we park to the left

As bouicca21 asked, can you type out the actual wording of the clauses regarding the shared drive?

Marvel1

You want to move because they commented on your garden which is none of their business and I would tell them too.

Parcels is their problem, not in, then don't order online.

Read another post, ignore them, they say something, walk away, pretends they don't exist.

Section62

Babies24 said:

Hi we've went through the terms very carefully when we purchased the house and many times when we've had problems. We have a wide drive which u could park 3 cars next to each other

The width of your drive is irrelevant. What matters is what the terms of the access rights say, particularly about your own use of that area.

Babies24 said:

...they've got large cars...

The size (and speed) of their cars is irrelevant, unless the terms specify the size of vehicle the neighbours are allowed to use and the speed at which they must drive (unlikely).

Babies24 said:

...they can't have commercial vehicles and caravans on there drive.

Is that in a covenant? If so, it probably means they cannot park commercial vehicles or caravans (e.g. overnight or long-term). It is unlikely the access rights will specifically exclude using those types of vehicle (but you have the exact wording), and if the matter ever got to court it is probable they would find it unreasonable (in the modern era) to prevent the neighbours having commercial vehicles using the access, e.g. for deliveries or tradespeople.

AnotherJoe

Q; Do the terms of the covenant allow you to park a car on the shared part of the drive ?

Forget whether there's enough room, do the terms let you park there at all? I previously had issues with neighbours doing this, either blocking the shared part or "leaving enough room" which meant a fag papers width.

When i got new neighbours, who were very considerate and never parked there i moved house, before inconsiderate ones appeared again (the place was a rental)

 

Jeepers_Creepers

Babies24, I think folk have offered as much advice as they can with the limited info you have provided.

It would really help to (a) have the terms of the deeds and (b) the plan in the deeds which shows the drives involved.

Meanwhile, verbal aggression and driving without care are both unacceptable. Probably time to fit a camera, discrete or otherwise.

If these folk are Narcs, then you need to build evidence of unreasonable behaviour. Narcs can be put in their place, but they often need a higher authority to put them there; they are always aware of how things are 'perceived' about them - their personal image is everything - so the risk of having them 'publicly' exposed as trouble-makers often puts them back in line.

Meanwhile, you follow the terms of the deeds to the letter, and start to insist that they do so too; eg if they have a RoW across your garden and this 'pathway' is pretty obviously defined, then they and their workers do not have carte blanche to wander all over your garden, and you are entitled to ask "Excuse me - what do you think you are doing! This is a private garden." And you do so calmly, firmly, and with a bemused expression on your face as tho' you are dealing with infants. Which you are - their brains have not developed beyond the simple self-interest of a child's.

You need to start recording (at the very least writing down, but much better to have witnesses and/or recordings) their unreasonable behaviour.

If a direct-line pathway across your garden is not defined, perhaps it's time to do so.

If you have an issue to bring up with them - the way they squealed into the driveway that morning - approach them about it when you have someone else there, not by your side, but obviously within earshot. See if their manner changes to more 'reasonable'.

You always be calm, and try and make your points in the form of questions; "What would have happened if a child had been in that driveway when you turned in at that speed?" "Why do you think it's ok to walk a round our garden - can we walk in yours?" Focus their minds - don't be led sideways - and bring it back repeatedly to the issue; "Show me the pathway you have RoW over. Nope, you are wrong. Show me the pa..." 

I bet the way they speak and act towards you and hubby when you are on your own with them is completely different to that when there's someone else present.

Section62

Jeepers_Creepers said:

You always be calm, and try and make your points in the form of questions; "What would have happened if a child had been in that driveway when you turned in at that speed?" "Why do you think it's ok to walk a round our garden - can we walk in yours?" Focus their minds - don't be led sideways - and bring it back repeatedly to the issue; "Show me the pathway you have RoW over. Nope, you are wrong. Show me the pa..."
 

I bet the way they speak and act towards you and hubby when you are on your own with them is completely different to that when there's someone else present.

The lack of detail from the OP makes it hard to understand the full extent of the problem, but I think you might have conflated two issues with that point - it sounds like the workmen were carrying out work for the neighbour and had to enter the OP's garden to be able to do so. The driveway appears to be a separate issue, albeit within the overall situation of a developing neighbour dispute.

If the OP is serious about selling up then they need to be aware of the impact a neighbour dispute can have on the sale process and property value.  Starting WW3 over a shared driveway isn't a good plan.

If the driveway isn't fenced off from the rest of the OP's garden then that would be an obvious first step to keep the neighbour to the RoW, and ensure the safety of the OP's children.

Until there's more information (if the OP wants to share that is) we can't really see it from the neighbour's side. Until we can, it might be better for folks to hold off on the amateur psychoanalysis. If the situation is anything like the one AnotherJoe (and many other people have) experienced then the neighbour's actions would have to be considered in a different light.

The important thing for the OP is to resolve the issue amicably - especially if they do plan to sell in the future. In which case doing anything to up the ante is madness.

mortgage_noob

The neighbours sound like a nightmare but an illustration and wording on the deeds would be useful. 

Wes121708

Before we moved in here the drive at the top of our garden wasn't used. When we moved in and started parking our two cars on it the neighbour got annoyed as they couldn't easily drive on to their drive. But instead of being grown up about it and asking us politely if we could possibly move our cars over slightly there was an up roar. They knew they couldn't make us move but a neighbour used to park a car on the lane opposite our drive which made it even harder for them to get in. They marched over to our neighbours threatening them and blocking them in! Not once did they speak with us. Some people think they're just entitled to things as they've lived there longer!
You can safely say we don't get on with them and they'll probably throw a party when we move next month. Good luck to the next family that live here, hopefully they'll have a massive van! (By the way it's a rental)