Right Of Access To Property

The general rule is that you need your neighbour’s permission to go onto their property, but there are exceptions. Very often, you will have rights of access in your title deeds. Where these rights exist, we can explain the legal effect of this to your neighbour and warn that if they continue to refuse you permission, we can apply to the Court to force them to give you access.   

If there are no rights of access in your ownership documents, then the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 may help. This Act gives you the right to apply to the court for an Access Order. If a judge grants the order, then the neighbour must grant you access onto their property for a specified purpose. 

To get an Access Order, you must show the judge that access is needed to: 

• Maintain or repair your property
• Clean or repair drains, sewers, pipes or cables
• Fell, cut back or replace a diseased or dangerous tree or plant
• Fill in a ditch

The court can impose strict conditions on the type of work you can do, when you can do them and timescales for completing the work. 

You may also be ordered to pay your neighbour compensation.

You do not have to allow your neighbour access onto your property unless he has a legal right of entry. Someone who comes onto your land without your permission is trespassing.  

Of course, if a court grants your neighbour an Access Order, then you must comply with it. However, a judge will only grant the order if access onto your land is reasonably necessary, and the work your neighbour is intended to carry out does not cause you hardship or inconvenience in any material way. If you think that your neighbour’s proposals are excessive, then you can defend the application in court. 

At Osbornes, we help homeowners who are on the receiving end of a request for permission to access. We can determine whether the request is reasonable, and help you come up with acceptable limits on the work. ‍

Only the court can grant an Access Order under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992. However, if you need to access your neighbour’s property for a legitimate reason, it is always advisable to try to get your neighbour to play ball in a friendly way first. We will always attempt to resolve the dispute by negotiation or mediation which, more often than not, means you will not have to go to court. 

If there is no other solution but to take the case to court, you can rest assured we have the expertise to represent your best interests at all times.