The Lemon Fool

Hi,

I live in an end terraced property. There are 7 houses in the group. There is an access drive down the side of house 1 which then runs behind all 7. The deeds to all seven houses clearly show each house has access from the entrance to the rear of our property but no further along. There is also a walkway between house 3 (my house) and number 4 which runs from the front which adjoins the public footpath down between houses 3 and 4 and onto the rear access drive. To my knowledge, only houses 3 (my house) and 4 have use of this path. However, house number 6 feels differently and insists on trespassing up this path multiple times a day.

How can i check conclusively that I am right? On the government land registry website, as far as i can find, there are only a few pages of info which would clearly suggest I am right. However, I have quite a large amount of old paperwork in olde worlde english which as far as i can tell isn't on the government website and i presume there is a small chance could say different?

I left all the docs (both those available online and the pile of other paperwork I have which as far as i know isn't online) with a solicitor who advised I am right. But i'm not confident she read it thoroughly.

Also, if I am right, how do you stop a neighbour trespassing when they refuse to stop?

Cheers

Andy46 wrote:Hi,

I live in an end terraced property. There are 7 houses in the group. There is an access drive down the side of house 1 which then runs behind all 7. The deeds to all seven houses clearly show each house has access from the entrance to the rear of our property but no further along. There is also a walkway between house 3 (my house) and number 4 which runs from the front which adjoins the public footpath down between houses 3 and 4 and onto the rear access drive. To my knowledge, only houses 3 (my house) and 4 have use of this path. However, house number 6 feels differently and insists on trespassing up this path multiple times a day.

How can i check conclusively that I am right? On the government land registry website, as far as i can find, there are only a few pages of info which would clearly suggest I am right. However, I have quite a large amount of old paperwork in olde worlde english which as far as i can tell isn't on the government website and i presume there is a small chance could say different?

I left all the docs (both those available online and the pile of other paperwork I have which as far as i know isn't online) with a solicitor who advised I am right. But i'm not confident she read it thoroughly.

Also, if I am right, how do you stop a neighbour trespassing when they refuse to stop?

Cheers

If the footpath is shown on your deeds as part of your property, and it’s not a right of way, then unless someone else can produce a piece of paper showing they have a right of access (as your neighbour presumably could), they don’t.

1) Put up a sign saying that the path is private and with no right of way. 2) Put in a locked gate with you and your neighbour having the code / key.

In a civil claim for trespass I believe you have to prove you have suffered damage. That will be hard if the other neighbour is just walking down the path.

You would firstly need to look at your neighbour's title register to ensure that he doesn't have a legal right of way over the passageway.

Spet0789 wrote:If the footpath is shown on your deeds as part of your property, and it’s not a right of way, then unless someone else can produce a piece of paper showing they have a right of access (as your neighbour presumably could), they don’t.

Unfortunately, that's not a safe assumption.

It's possible to obtain a legally enforceable right over someone's land (known as an `easement') by a process known as `prescription'. Although it's a complex subject it basically means that if you have exercised a right over someone else's land (for example a right of way) for upwards of 20 years you can obtain a legal right.

The right must have been exercised `nec vi, nec clam, nec precario', a Latin phrase meaning 'not by force, nor stealth, nor the licence of the owner'.

It doesn't require the current user to have personally exercised the right - all he needs to do is establish use of it for upwards of 20 years either by himself or by by former owners of his property.

Of course, in the absence of any legal right of way the starting point is that he is trespassing, and the onus would be on him to establish a prescriptive right.

In a civil claim for trespass I believe you have to prove you have suffered damage. That will be hard if the other neighbour is just walking down the path.

Perhaps surprisingly, it is not necessary to prove damage. Trespass is what's known as `actionable per se', i.e. the mere act of trespass is sufficient to give you a valid claim. However, in the absence of any actual damage or nuisance you would probably only receive nominal damages.

The remedy for trespass when no actual damage is being caused is an injunction, i.e. a court order made that prohibits the neighbour from trespassing.

However, legal action would probably be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut if the neighbour's not actually causing damage or a nuisance. If you wanted to obtain a legal resolution the simplest solution might be to offer him a `licence', i.e. a written permission to use the passageway that could be withdrawn on reasonable notice. Because he would then be using the passageway with your permission it would prevent him claiming a prescriptive easement.

Clitheroekid wrote:
However, legal action would probably be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut if the neighbour's not actually causing damage or a nuisance. If you wanted to obtain a legal resolution the simplest solution might be to offer him a `licence', i.e. a written permission to use the passageway that could be withdrawn on reasonable notice. Because he would then be using the passageway with your permission it would prevent him claiming a prescriptive easement.

Would I be right in thinking that putting up a sign to this effect along the pathway would fulfil this grant of a licence?

John

The Title Register for No.6 can be downloaded ( a pdf) for £3, paid for with a credit card at the official .GOV website ( other websites are available but mark up the price).


We see from

https://www.gov.uk/get-information-abou ... s-of-deeds

"The register may give more details about rights over adjoining land"

Here's the link

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-info ... d-registry

Scroll down to the green " start now" button. Make sure to download the Title Register , not the Title Plan.

redsturgeon wrote:

Clitheroekid wrote:
However, legal action would probably be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut if the neighbour's not actually causing damage or a nuisance. If you wanted to obtain a legal resolution the simplest solution might be to offer him a `licence', i.e. a written permission to use the passageway that could be withdrawn on reasonable notice. Because he would then be using the passageway with your permission it would prevent him claiming a prescriptive easement.

Would I be right in thinking that putting up a sign to this effect along the pathway would fulfil this grant of a licence?

John

No. If he has already established a prescriptive right you can't remove it simply by denying it.

Out of interest, has the neighbour been using your path for 20 years?

Spet0789 wrote:Out of interest, has the neighbour been using your path for 20 years?

... and/or his predecessor(s) at his property...

I'm thinking if your neighbour is on the same page as you, share the cost of putting the least expensive lockable barrier or gate in place thereby putting the onus on your trespasser to challenge that if they believe they know better. If you're effectively challenged you won't have lost much to remove it. It's likely that your tresspasser will just get used to walking a bit further rather than taking a short cut.

Dicky99 wrote:I'm thinking if your neighbour is on the same page as you, share the cost of putting the least expensive lockable barrier or gate in place thereby putting the onus on your trespasser to challenge that if they believe they know better. If you're effectively challenged you won't have lost much to remove it. It's likely that your tresspasser will just get used to walking a bit further rather than taking a short cut.

Many councils have an "alley gating" scheme, where you can get a subsidised gate installed to block public access to a private right of way. The idea is to stop/reduce crime.

Random example after googling "alley gating scheme":
https://www.redbridge.gov.uk/crime-and- ... ng-scheme/