right of way blocked

[shaz68]

I live in a in a block of 4 houses. Each of the middle houses have a right of way(in the deeds) for access round the outside houses. Had no probs with either of the 2 previous homeowners over the last 12 yrs but now new owners have padlocked the side gate. I spoke to them and said about getting my wheelie bin through and my daughters bike for her paperround. they initially said that they would give me a key which i was ok with. Then the father of the young man told me that i was wrong and that the neighbours would put the bin out but that was all. i was no longer to use it and it would stay locked. My solicitor sent them a polite letter reminding them that they had been informed about the ROW when buying the house. Today i got a letter from their solicitor(same as mine) that they would not provide a key incase i lost it or gave it to someone else.They did not want my daughter taking her bike round as it was disturbing them(she does try to be quiet) and that i could either agree an time on a sunday night that the gate was unlocked for me to put the bin out or they would continue to put it out for me. Apart from that i would need to ask them if they would open the gate if i wanted to do anything else like take the lawnmower round or move bulky goods. I'd like advice on getting this sorted without it costing a fortune! Although i think i may have to go the lawyer route as i think the dad could be quite aggressive and i dont cope with aggression well! Thanks and sorry its so long-winded

[albaqwerty]

had a similar problem, contact the fire service,'cos if they need access they aren't going to be polite when it comes to cutting the gates.
good luck
alba x

[Postdog]

Sorry, I can't advise, but I do find it strange that the same solicitor acted for both sides. Surely there is conflict of interest here, and if so, maybe it goes against law society regulations.

Whatever, I'd be peed off if I paid to have a letter sent by someone supposedly acting for me, only to get one back from them effectively telling me I was wrong in the first place.

[Rollo]

I am assuming that there is no legal restriction on when this right of way is available to you, and that it is 24/7.

I am not saying this is the perfect solution here, but if I were you and they blocked my right of way showing such an unreasonable attitude then I would just break their gate down, and continue doing that until they saw sense.

[shaz68]

Solicitor hasn't really acted on behalf of anyone, only sent a letter to each of us stating the others position.
He then went on to say that if we wished to go down a legal route he could act for neither of us

I think i'd end up getting done for criminal damage if i kept knocking it down. I think i'd be entitled to remove the padlock intact as long as i returned it to them,but i know they'd either just keep putting one back on or get the "in your face" dad to my door

[albaqwerty]

superglue the padlock at night.
eventually worked for us

[Rollo]

Then get a solicitor of your own and go down the route of getting your rights enforced through the courts.

[albaqwerty]

the council were useless for us,took 2 years to get it sorted.we were promised keys etc but they never materialised.

[paraffin]

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can provide free legal advice, although they wouldn't "act" for you, just give you advice. Worth a try.

[stonekicker]

keep cutting the padlocks off with a pair of bolt cutters and put the pieces through their letterbox or in an envelope attached to the gate. if you have right of access, then you have right of access. tell the brute that you are going about your lawful business and suggest he goes to a solicitor or call the police. keep your head down and try not to cause confrontation - but stick to your guns. the superglue route sounds quite fun, too! x

[brenda]

If you have access along this pathway and this is written in your deeds, then you do not have a problem.You
will need to see a solicitor and get him to make this clear to the difficult neighbour.Stating that you want and are entitled to free access at all times along this route., without hindrance.
He should also make clear that should access be refused then you will take legal action against them.

Do not get too stressed about the agressive Dad , just do not allow yourself to get into confrontation.Tell him to get in touch with your solicitor if he has a point to make.
The very best of luck..

[Androcles]

Since you have a right of way and are interested in your own security, rather than damage their lock by supeglue, why not put a padlock of your own in the gate, so they have to ask you for access as well?

I would also suggest that you notify your local Neighbourhood Policing team that there is a problem, so if anything blows up they are aware of it and you got yours in first!

Also take up Albaqwerty's suggestion and ring your local fire station and say that you are having a problem with access and can they advise if it is likely to be a fire hazard.

Finally, if they are going to put your bin out for you pro-tem, make sure you put some very badly wrapped prawn shells, fish skin, old kippers or whatever and leave it all day at the gate.

[Twenty20]

......and go back to your solicitor. If you've paid them money for advice or letters then they are working for you not your neighbour. It would be totally inappropriate for the same solicitors to be advising both sides in a dispute.

[shaz68]

I didn't instruct my solicitor. I only phoned for advice and he told me that they had acted on behalf of neighbours on the house purchase and that they had been told at time of purchase about the ROW and that he would drop them a letter reminding them of the situation. My dad currently has the letter i received from them and i'm not sure now if the letter said that the solicitor would represent neither of us or that they had been asked to act on behalf of neighbour and wouldn't be able to act for me. I'll phone for clarification tomoro