Neighbours Go Through Our Garden Constantly

[SWaka1 0]

Hi, 

 

I live in a terrace and the neighbours have access rights through the yard which I have no problem with but unfortunately they use the back door as the front door and have a constant stream of visitors through the house.  We were not aware of this at the time of purchase. There are people walking through our garden up to 20 times a day and as I only moved in 6 months ago   and they have been here decades I don't want to be unreasonable but I feel like that's too much and our garden is basically a corridor.   I know in smaller terraces it's common for the back door to used as the main, but we're not in the smaller terraces and nobody else does in the houses around us does this apart from to take out the bins. 

 

We'd like to put up a fence between us and the neighbours (obviously with a gate) and to add extra security on the alleyway side as it is totally open to the road. Would this be unreasonable?  I'm new to Sheffield and I don't want to be a dick but I feel like I can't even have my dining room curtains open as so many people pass by all day. What makes matters worse is I often find cigarette butts in our garden and I've also seen their family members throw rubbish in our plant pots. 

 

According to the lease and title plan the whole yard (both us the the neighbours side) has been conveyed to/is owned by us and the neighbours have access over it all so I guess we cannot stop them? Do you think it's unreasonable to put a fence up, obviously we'd talk to them first but I'm worried that they'll continue to go through anyway so it'll just be fence doors banging all day. I doubt they'll change their habits as the lady next door has lived in that house for 40 years so it's the norm for her and her family/visitors to go through the back

Edited April 12, 2022 by SWaka1

[cressida 1,551]

I'd buy a Rottweiller or move🤔

[geared 302]

They have right of access, so they are doing no wrong by walking to their own back door.  If you didn't like this setup you shouldn't have moved in.

 

If you put up a fence with a gate they'll just be slamming it constantly, so you'll have noise problems on top of everything else.

Edited April 12, 2022 by geared

[S1 1DJ 11]

17 minutes ago, geared said:

They have right of access, so they are doing no wrong by walking to their own back door.  If you didn't like this setup you shouldn't have moved in.

 

If you put up a fence with a gate they'll just be slamming it constantly, so you'll have noise problems on top of everything else.

 

2 hours ago, SWaka1 said:

Hi, 

 

I live in a terrace and the neighbours have access rights through the yard which I have no problem with but unfortunately they use the back door as the front door and have a constant stream of visitors through the house.  We were not aware of this at the time of purchase. There are people walking through our garden up to 20 times a day and as I only moved in 6 months ago   and they have been here decades I don't want to be unreasonable but I feel like that's too much and our garden is basically a corridor.   I know in smaller terraces it's common for the back door to used as the main, but we're not in the smaller terraces and nobody else does in the houses around us does this apart from to take out the bins. 

 

We'd like to put up a fence between us and the neighbours (obviously with a gate) and to add extra security on the alleyway side as it is totally open to the road. Would this be unreasonable?  I'm new to Sheffield and I don't want to be a dick but I feel like I can't even have my dining room curtains open as so many people pass by all day. What makes matters worse is I often find cigarette butts in our garden and I've also seen their family members throw rubbish in our plant pots. 

 

According to the lease and title plan the whole yard (both us the the neighbours side) has been conveyed to/is owned by us and the neighbours have access over it all so I guess we cannot stop them? Do you think it's unreasonable to put a fence up, obviously we'd talk to them first but I'm worried that they'll continue to go through anyway so it'll just be fence doors banging all day. I doubt they'll change their habits as the lady next door has lived in that house for 40 years so it's the norm for her and her family/visitors to go through the back

Unfortunately, your garden is a right of way for your neighbours as you outlined in your OP. It's common in terraces large or small for people to use rear instead of front for a number of practical reasons. It probably wouldn't be something that simple conversation would resolve as this is the way your neighbours are accustom to living. And as Geared stated, putting up a fence will probably make a lot of noise with gates opening and closing.

[Bilge 34]

Is the back shared by 4 houses or just 2? The neighbours won't have access to the whole of your garden surely? Is it just the bit they need to access their back door?

 

You could fence off the garden from the houses. So the path to their back door and yours is clear, but you and they have to go through a gate to get to the garden(s). 

 

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Bilge

[arrowhead 21]

viewed a house once with a similar setup.

The seller assured me no one ever went through his garden to access their back doors.

But mind you, he coincidentally did have what looked like a wolf in his back garden, so not surprised!!

 

As i had no plans to get a dog, i didn't put an offer in.

[Colin Foster 70]

3 hours ago, SWaka1 said:

Hi, 

 

I live in a terrace and the neighbours have access rights through the yard which I have no problem with but unfortunately they use the back door as the front door and have a constant stream of visitors through the house.  We were not aware of this at the time of purchase. There are people walking through our garden up to 20 times a day and as I only moved in 6 months ago   and they have been here decades I don't want to be unreasonable but I feel like that's too much and our garden is basically a corridor.   I know in smaller terraces it's common for the back door to used as the main, but we're not in the smaller terraces and nobody else does in the houses around us does this apart from to take out the bins. 

 

We'd like to put up a fence between us and the neighbours (obviously with a gate) and to add extra security on the alleyway side as it is totally open to the road. Would this be unreasonable?  I'm new to Sheffield and I don't want to be a dick but I feel like I can't even have my dining room curtains open as so many people pass by all day. What makes matters worse is I often find cigarette butts in our garden and I've also seen their family members throw rubbish in our plant pots. 

 

According to the lease and title plan the whole yard (both us the the neighbours side) has been conveyed to/is owned by us and the neighbours have access over it all so I guess we cannot stop them? Do you think it's unreasonable to put a fence up, obviously we'd talk to them first but I'm worried that they'll continue to go through anyway so it'll just be fence doors banging all day. I doubt they'll change their habits as the lady next door has lived in that house for 40 years so it's the norm for her and her family/visitors to go through the back

Seriously? That's your fault I'm afraid, absolutely nothing you can do except move. 

[Bilge 34]

Could you create a shared right of way from the alleyway to the bottom of your gardens rather than the current arrangement near the back doors? Then both of the gardens could be fenced off. 

[SWaka1 0]

1 hour ago, Bilge said:

Could you create a shared right of way from the alleyway to the bottom of your gardens rather than the current arrangement near the back doors? Then both of the gardens could be fenced off. 

I had thought of this but there's a brick raised bed that would need moving on their side. 

1 hour ago, Bilge said:

Is the back shared by 4 houses or just 2? The neighbours won't have access to the whole of your garden surely? Is it just the bit they need to access their back door?

 

You could fence off the garden from the houses. So the path to their back door and yours is clear, but you and they have to go through a gate to get to the garden(s). 

 

 

 

The 4 houses used to have one larger yard but it seems to have been split over the years and at some point the plans drawn up gave us ownership of the whole yard behind two houses and the neighbours access. All 4 houses maintain access through the alley. On their side their title plan covers the boundaries of their house only.

 

[Bilge 34]

48 minutes ago, SWaka1 said:

I had thought of this but there's a brick raised bed that would need moving on their side. 

The 4 houses used to have one larger yard but it seems to have been split over the years and at some point the plans drawn up gave us ownership of the whole yard behind two houses and the neighbours access. All 4 houses maintain access through the alley. On their side their title plan covers the boundaries of their house only.

 

If you own the whole yard behind the 2 houses you could decide to define where the access to those 2 back doors goes. It doesn't have to include the whole of your garden. You could probably do this in an informal friendly way without involving lawyers. Once some fences and paths are in place they gradually become the de facto access as long as they don't contravene whatever the deeds say. But maybe via lawyers is the better way. You would need to take account of where the bins go and if there are any old WCs at the bottom of the garden etc.

 

Some years ago we lived in a similar situation except our house was like your neighbours. So, like the other outer house of the 4, we just put a fence up along our boundary and made our garden private. The inner 2 retained the problem of neighbours like us walking across to get to their back doors. No-one needed to go on our garden anyway (though visitors sometimes strayed across), but we needed access across the back of the neighbour's house to get to our back door.

 

It struck me that if I was the neighbour I would rather the access went via the shared path from the ginnel to the bottom of the garden and then across rather than straight across in front of the kitchen window. That would give me (as the neighbour, or you in in your position) a self-contained private garden which I didn't have before, at the price of a slightly longer walk. In our case that house was a rental and the landlord wasn't that bothered about sorting out the garden boundaries for his tenants. I didn't have to do that, so I went for the simple option.

 

There are issues like this across the backs of thousands of Sheffield houses. It's rarely reflected in the house prices so you have to think carefully how to make it work for you. When I was looking for a terrace I knew I wanted an outer one with an offshot and a garden I could fence off completely.

 

So you have 2 options for a change. You could (a) fence off your garden, with a gate for you to access it, as they don't need that bit for accessing their garden, or (b) make the rear access to both houses via the bottom of the garden, removing the brick bed or whatever in the process, with paths back to the back doors. You could take on most of the cost for whatever fencing etc is needed in order to sell the idea to them.

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Bilge

[carosio 186]

If you decide on a gate and with a bit of thought and ingenuity, some soft rubber stops could be fitted to contact surfaces. Also,  a camera (could be a dummy) high up in an obvious position (providing it's legal in your situation).

 

A friend in Worksop lives in a terrace which has private rear access path/roadway along the back, one end has a steel gate fitted (a key for everyone), the other is open but a middle terrace has fitted a fence/gate across to keep out undesirables.

 

Depends of the exact wording of the right of way, pedestrian access obviously, but possibly for a bicycle, wheelbarrow etc? The Worksop deeds mentions access for 'hand-carts' although it is between two side roads.

 

 

[echo beach 580]

Your neighbour's right of access is legally stated in the deeds. Also if he/she has lived there for over 20 years (which you say they have) and have openly used that access unchallenged, then they have gained a prescriptive right to use that way to their back door. So, in effect there is little you can do to stop them.

Like Bilge mentions you could fence your garden which might deter your neighbours and their visitors from going on it.  You could even fence their part, as you own it, but that might prove contentious and result in a dispute. From what you've said, however, whatever you do, they still have a right of access to the land which you can't alter. It's a communal space.

There are soft closing hinges for gates and as carosio says with a bit of rubber placed in the right place that would make them almost silent.

Many terraced houses were built directly up to the pavement without even a buffer garden at the front. Hence passers by can often look through windows. It comes with the territory, I'm afraid. That's why net curtains were invented!

 

echo.