Terraced right of way access changed

YoungBlueEyes

I'd be having a firm word with no3. Something like - "this is going on longer than I thought and it's summer now, I want peace to enjoy my garden in. I'm rescinding the temp access in x days time". That might produce a flurry of activity for those remaining days, but the end will be in sight. 

Ideally you and 2 should say this together, so they can't wiggle round it. The problems 3 and 4 are having are not your concern. 

If you get on well with 2, would they let you round so you can do something about blocking that access? It's 3's builders job to put it back to how it was (in my opinion), but you need a unified show of strength now. 

A thought - do 2 own their house or are they renting? Maybe get their landlord involved (if applicable). I doubt they'll want someone traipsing over their land through a gate they decided to put in to make it easier for themselves... 

ThisIsWeird

1) Confirm what the deeds say.

2) Work in conjunction with No 2 if you can - point out the likelihood of continued damage and lack of privacy as long as this continues (and No2 should theoretically have full privacy - more than you! - since no-one should be crossing their land!)

3) Speak to No 3 as YBE says above. Matter of fact.

stuhse

 

It good news that there was a fence between 2 and 3, as it suggests (but does not prove) no right of way exists.  Stopping no 3 will be easy enough if they have no rights, but you need to confirm your belief that they only have rights across no 4 before proceeding.

The fact that they have walled up between them and number 4 and installed a new gate between them and number 2 suggests (but does not prove) that either (a)they have done their homework and ascertained they have rights to come through your garden, or (b) that they are happy to only be able to access their garden by going through the house from here forward.... Option (b) would seem unlikely to me as it would drastically affect the usability of their house and hence its value.

You can down load deeds of yours and the other houses for just £3 on the link below.  Id suggest you need at least yours and no 3s.  

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

Section62

stuhse said:

 

It good news that there was a fence between 2 and 3, as it suggests no right of way exists.  Stopping no 3 will be easy enough but best to confirm your believe that they only have rights across no 4 before proceeding.

You can down load deeds of yours and the other houses for just £3 on the link below.  Id suggest you need at least yours and no 3s.  

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

The fence between 2 and 3 doesn't suggest there is no RoW between 2 and 3 - because just as someone has now built a wall between 3 and 4, it is possible the fence between 2 and 3 was added by someone in the past. 

The wall between 3 and 4 doesn't extinguish the RoW 3 has over 4. Nor would a fence between 2 and 3 extinguish that right of way if it existed.

The only place to find the answer to what rights of way exist is in the deeds, and the deeds of all four properties need to be cross-checked before taking any kind of action against anybody.

stuhse

Post amended

m0bov

Just tell 3 you can't have them coming through your garden anymore.

Section62

m0bov said:

Just tell 3 you can't have them coming through your garden anymore.

What if 3 has RoW through 2 and 1?

pinkshoes

This is a simple case of needing to be assertive.

Go and see neighbour number 3 and politely say that you gave them permission for 3 months to access their garden via your garden, but that 3 months expired in March/April so you are just reminding them that they no longer have permission to use that access as you were a little surprised to see their builders still using it.

If they keep using it, then put a lock on the gate and give a key to the neighbours in number 2.

nicmyles

Section62 said:

m0bov said:

Just tell 3 you can't have them coming through your garden anymore.

What if 3 has RoW through 2 and 1?

The OP has said this is not the case, so presumably they want advice on that basis.

Section62

nicmyles said:

Section62 said:

m0bov said:

Just tell 3 you can't have them coming through your garden anymore.

What if 3 has RoW through 2 and 1?

The OP has said this is not the case, so presumably they want advice on that basis.

The OP has indicated that.  But as pointed out by multiple posters multiple times, the deeds of all four properties need to be cross-checked to make sure 3 (and 4) don't also have RoW through 1 via 2.

The OP has also indicated that they haven't yet made these checks, therefore following advice from forum members to take precipitative action such as "Just tell 3 you can't have them coming through your garden anymore" risks the OP finding themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Step 1 is to find out exactly what rights and responsibilities each of 1 to 4 have.  That means cross-checking all the deeds, rather than making assumptions based on recent practice and/or who has a gate or fence.