Prying Neighbor Intrudes On Couple’s Property And Weeds Their Garden, Says She Has Rights To Do So

Nov 17, 2022 by apost team

Moving can be extremely exciting but also incredibly stressful. Packing up your entire life and moving it to a new home can be a lot for anyone. However, once you make it to your new home, the fun can begin, and you can embark on a new adventure.

That is, depending on your neighbors. They say you can choose your friends but not your neighbors, and going off one young couple's situation, it's no surprise they're not exactly on friendly terms with their neighbor.

After moving into a new home, the couple realized their nosy neighbor was being quite a nuisance to them. The mother of the son in the couple decided to share their story on the online forum Mumsnet, as reported by The Sun, to get other people's opinions on what to do about their predicament.

The mother began her post by explaining that her son and his partner bought the house, which is a few doors down from her and her husband, in spring. She continued:

"They have a busy body neighbour who snoops about, asking my son's family and friends what are they doing there etc."

But things escalated when the mother took her son's partner grocery shopping one day and found the neighbor "in their garden removing weeds." She elaborated:

"We challenged her, busy bod claims she has right of way through their garden, and always has. ... in the 7 months they have lived there she has been in their garden a lot."

The mother then checked the deeds of the house and found the neighbor has "no right of way at all."

Despite the intrusion, the couple had been renovating their house and "being young," they didn't want a confrontation with their elderly neighbor so they "let it go." However, the message clearly didn't get across to the neighbor, as she kept on intruding on their property.

The mother didn't hold back and declared, "the gardening was the final straw." A "big argument ensued" where they told the neighbor "to stop coming through their garden."

"Spicy language was used but (the neighbor) swears blind she has the right."

The woman wrote in asking for help and what could be done to assist in their situation. People suggested she look up the deeds to the woman's property to confirm whether or not there really is a clause that allows her to use their garden. One user wrote:

"Show her the deeds for your kids property and theirs. Then tell her if she does it again you will take her to court and request damages. Right of way also doesn't mean you can weed and use the garden anyway!!"

Meanwhile, another person said:

"I wouldn’t even bother with deeds. She has no access unless she proves otherwise. She needs to be told if she enters the garden again that the police will be called."

It's a tricky situation as the neighbor has been told multiple times to stay off their property but clearly has no problem still intruding. Escalating the situation with the local authorities could be one way to address the problem, but may ultimately cause an even bigger rift between the homeowners.

apost.com

Have you ever had similar problems with a neighbor? What would you do if you were in this situation? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on so others can weigh in too.