Tenant obstructing access rights.

GDB2222

What are the front gardens used for? Is there room for a bike shed?

silvercar

Solid lines are walls or fences, dotted line is a boundary without a fence. It may be that the 2 adjacent end of terraces have a shared driveway rather than a boundary, it’s actually very open in the front and between those 2 houses apparently.

silvercar

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990393#Comment_81990393

These are small 2 bed houses, front garden is a driveway with off street parking, no room for anything other than a car. Even if there was a bike shed it wouldn’t solve the problem of garden waste etc

WIAWSNB

There is a RoW. End of.

If needs be, it can be enforced.

Any chance the end house is a buy-to-rent, ie mortgaged?

And, this bolt - it can be slipped from the eot side? So your friend's tenant could access it from the road, through the neighbouring garden? Or is that locvked too?

Seemingly you can remove the obstruction provided you don't cause damage - are the hinges accessible? ('Abatement')

What actually happens when the tenant tries to gain access - what does the eot tenant say or do?

silvercar

Don’t know whether EoT is mortgaged. Would that make a difference?

Friend did say the EoT back garden was open from the shared path with the adjacent EoT, so I suppose the Mid tenant could go all the way round the front garden open the bolt and access that way.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990600#Comment_81990600

There is a RoW. End of.

…assuming someone has checked the exact wording to see if it covers what the tenant wants to do.

WIAWSNB

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81990679#Comment_81990679

It's something that came up with Googling - 'soft' pressure; lenders can be cagey about anything that can affect the property's value, and a dispute over such an issue might. No idea if there's mileage in this.

It is astonishing that such a blatant breach doesn't have a risk & cost-free process to resolve it. The miscreant can sit on their hands knowing how hard/costly it can be to enforce.

Ultimately, if it went to judgement, the end tenant would lose, and most costs should be apportioned to them. But it just isn't clear, and if you engage a solicitor, costs will accumulate for both sides quickly - it is very unfair.

Have I asked - do the tenants have Legal Protection included in their contents policy? Does your friend have ditto in the 'buildings'?

Who is your friend with - 'Direct Line' for example? Don't they have an included legal service?

That is what your tenant/LL needs - a paid-for legal service, when the end tenant/LL does not (and it wouldn't support them even if they had).

Once the tenant/LL sees the process begin that'll cost them £ks, but not the other party, they'll wise up pdq.

Meanwhile, all other approaches can be tried;

Mediation/reason - the mid tenant magnanimously suggests they will try and be as considerate as possible; quiet, discrete, trying to time major (garden) work to when eot house is at work, etc. (Implication obviously being they just do not have to do any of this.)

Suggest to your friend he joins Property118, and ask on there.

Q - do you know whether the eot tenant began renting the property without having been informed about the RoW?

silvercar

Thanks @WIAWSNB I will discuss some of those points when I speak to friend at the weekend.

The EoT tenant claims they weren't aware of the RoW, though arguably it is their responsibility to view a property before signing a tenancy agreement and the gate wasn't hidden, so it would be reasonable to assume that a gate is for access.

TroubledTarts

I would suggest if the tenant is claiming ignorance then the LL of the end of terrace property should have made this access clear as it is a negative to renting that property.

I suspect there is more to this like a neighbour falling out or kids that now make a lot of noise going past multiple times of the day maybe not being particularly sensitive and neighbourly.

user1977

No idea if there's mileage in this.

None at all. A lender is not going to be bothered in the slightest.