Where do I stand regarding right of way

Catpuss66

Woolsery said:

Norman_Castle said:

Catpuss66 said:

I am a homeowner live in a small row of Georgian terraces which have a right of way between each of the houses, the fence on the right hand side is got a massive hole in I have had to put chicken wire up when I got a rescue puppy that was last year. I have been trying to get in touch with the landlord via them to replace this fence not only is it unsightly it is unsafe, they would not give me contact details. Anyway I put a bike lock on the gate at the request of the rescue the tenants choose the code.

The layout and row is unclear. Can't you secure part of your garden to secure your dog?

As I interpret the descriptions, it seems the RoW is about 2m from the buildings, which may mean the bulk of the garden lies beyond. This is quite a common set-up in parts of a town near me, residents passing through each others gardens at will. Of course, if one of them wants to open their garden to the public, as sometimes happens on a Sunday for charity, then the general public also traipse through! It isn't a problem for those who understand the legal position, which is almost impossible to change.

The dog owner here wants the animal to have access to the house and garden, but if there's a RoW between one and the other then goodwill and diligence on the part of the immediate neighbours will be required. That could be a difficult ask, especially if new tenants move in next door who don't like dogs or who want their Amazon stuff delivered there for security reasons etc. In short, the OP can't rely on the cooperation of others to secure the part of the garden crossed by the RoW.

The bottom of next door garden is open to public land any Amazon delivers neighbours take in for each other, everyone is pretty easy going only the landlord of next door property has caused a problem .it was worse when the landlords son lived there he trashed the house. I am cat sitting for this week, they dog sat for me yesterday. There is only 4 of us, the end neighbour lives with her boyfriend ( she is over 80) comes home once a week, think the coal fire got too much for her.all I wanted was the fence removed or repaired or replaced. The landlord created a problem with the ROW when everyone when asked appeared happy, if they weren’t  & I have asked not sure what else I can do.

jimbog

Catpuss66 said:

If I injure myself on her fence is that my fault or hers?

Much depends on how you were injured. If the fence crashes on top of you as you walked by then her. If you trip over the puppy and injure yourself as you hit the fence then you 

Catpuss66

jimbog said:

Catpuss66 said:

If I injure myself on her fence is that my fault or hers?

Much depends on how you were injured. If the fence crashes on top of you as you walked by then her. If you trip over the puppy and injure yourself as you hit the fence then you 

😂 being more specific I cut myself whilst weeding on her fence. You cannot see from the picture the fence has warped so pushes out onto my garden.

martindow

Catpuss66 said:

jimbog said:

Catpuss66 said:

If I injure myself on her fence is that my fault or hers?

Much depends on how you were injured. If the fence crashes on top of you as you walked by then her. If you trip over the puppy and injure yourself as you hit the fence then you 

😂 being more specific I cut myself whilst weeding on her fence. You cannot see from the picture the fence has warped so pushes out onto my garden.

If you cut yourself when you know that there are sharp edges to the fence, you are at least partly responsible.  Even if you think the neighbour is at fault, what loss would you be able to claim for - a plaster?

I think you need to be cautious as you do not want your requirements for fences, gates and locks to escalate into a formal dispute with one or more neighbours.  You will have to continue to live with them and if you came to sell you would have to disclose a dispute which could frighten off potential buyers.

doodling

Hi,

It should be noted that those who have a right to use the right of way do not have to accept the presence of locks and, more relevantly, are under no obligation to close any gates or make sure that your puppy does not escape.

You have a responsibility to ensure that your puppy does not escape (and if you need to put up your own fences to do that because the existing ones are insufficient then that is your cost) and that those using the right of way are not injured or harassed by your puppy (especially when it grows up).

In the situation described, the only real solution is to fence off the bottom of the garden from the right of way so that  those with a right of way do not come into contact with your dog.

This isn't what you want to hear but unfortunately that's the house you have bought - if it isn't what you want then you might want to consider moving as changing a right of way will be probably be more cost / work than that.

Catpuss66

Just had a text from the tenants, I asked them if they had heard back from the landlord, she is happy for a padlock on the gate. Which we are all happy about. She refuses to email me directly , she will come round to see me.

Titus_Wadd

I may have missed it but the starting point must be to ascertain what RoW or common land is, who owns it and who has rights to use it and for what purposes.  You could download the titles for each house that appears to have access or ownership and see what the legal position is. 

I think the advice is correct that OP has responsibility for keeping her dog contained and safe within her own garden, without diminishing any of the neighbouring owners' rights.  To be on the safe side, find out what those rights are.

Catpuss66

Not really sure on my deeds there is nothing according to the other neighbour the ROW is jointly owned by all of us. When she moved in she told me there was a problem with one small square of land in my garden actually in the greenhouse. It was originally where the toilets were in the outhouse, but it had not been changed on the deeds, I was unaware of what was going on, think they legally moved the land over to me.

powerful_Rogue

Be careful what you wish for. Start talking about making claims and the neigbour is quite within their right to take the entire fence down and leave it all open.

Catpuss66

powerful_Rogue said:

Be careful what you wish for. Start talking about making claims and the neigbour is quite within their right to take the entire fence down and leave it all open.

Great that means I can then make it good on my side. Doubt that will happen. They do very minimal to maintain property.