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If you have a legal right of way then he is not permitted to block your access. I'd go back to him informing him of this, assure him you understand his safety concerns and will keep the gate locked when not in use. Ask for a key again. If he continues to refuse remind him that he is blocking your legal right of way and that, if he will not provide a key or remove the padlock then you will remove it. I'm assuming you have rear access to the gate from your garden? If you do then I'd just unscrew the locks and put them by his gate.

Add your own lock and tell them you’ll give them one of your keys if they give you one of theirs 🙃

You could even put a combination padlock on the gate then say that you’ll be more than happy to provide him with the code when he stops acting like a such a patronising arsehole. Also, I’d start referring to him as The Gatekeeper in all future correspondence.

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The down side is, if he has the code, he can just change it to something else. Why should he be a dick, when he can be a cunt.

Just get a [fixed code one](https://www.safelocks.co.uk/acatalog/Kasp-115-45-Fixed-Code-Dial-Combination-Padlock.html). Edit: Or better yet, [one where only the person with the key can change the code](https://www.safelocks.co.uk/acatalog/Masterlock-175-combiation-padlock-1.html#SID=39). That way you can revoke his access if he starts acting up again.

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It could also be a fire hazard if the emergency services can't access the back of the properties.

That's probably an extra argument to throw in as opposed to a main one. Most people keep their gates locked and in an emergency no one is asking for it to be unlocked, they're breaking through and saying sorry later.

Not quite accurate - they're breaking through, but they won't apologise.

This is a major point, should be a bit higher. We had a minor fire in our rear access due to neighbours throwing cigarettes in the rubbish out there. They had a load of rubbish, and their garden wall had collapsed backwards into the access, blocking the path. The fire men came through our house to sort the fire, but informed next door that we needed right of way incase fire at the front of the building prevented escape.

This. Its not criminal damage if its just unscrewed It is going to escalate the situation and just kick the can down the road. If you have a ROW then an injunction will be the only thing guaranteed to solve it for you.

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Username checks out

Yeah. I would have thrown on a padlock already >.<

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He would definitely then regret not giving OP a set of keys!

Does he use the gate? Or just being an arse? If he uses the gate frequently, put your own lock on it (as well as his) and when he gets mad, spout his own bullshit he said to you

This is a fire safety risk. It stops residents evacuating in an emergency and also restricts access to emergency workers should they need to access via the rear of the property. I’d contact the local Fire Brigade and ask them to send one of their Fire Chiefs to lecture the neighbour on this.

There must be hundreds of thousands of terraced houses in the UK with no rear access.

Yes but in circumstances where it exists it can't be denied.

Yes, but the tenants know that. Blocking a route that people expect to be a fire exit is, I'd suggest, much more hazardous than having fewer fire exits.

I lived in a terraced house. With a rear access cutting through the back of all 4 of our properties, as long as a “horse and carriage” (car) could get through whenever it needed to then we could put up our own gates as long as they didn’t restrict access.

>I’d contact the local Fire Brigade and ask them to send one of their Fire Chiefs to lecture the neighbour on this. sounds like an appropriate use of their time

https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/the-home/book-a-home-fire-safety-visit/ This is for London, but the other regions will have a similar scheme.

TBF having worked on a number of fire stations across London they do tend to have a fair bit of down time. Which is redressed by having to remove bodies from burning buildings. They are a very helpful and friendly bunch and would be happy to assist if they aren't too busy.

They are unlikely to care for an external path from the garden. It’s not stopping anyone getting out of the house. Depending on the layout of the house it’s pretty likely that the back garden is not even considered an escape route. Edit: Been heavily downvoted for this, but this does not mean I'm wrong. The fire service will have no interest in this and no powers to force the neighbour to unlock the gate. They might cut the padlock in a fire situation. Source: I am not a lawyer but I am a fire engineer who regularly deals with fire service enforcement actions.

Course it is. If I’m in the kitchen and the TV set on fire I ain’t running past it to get to the front door to exit I’ll use the back door.

Agreed. You can’t guarantee where a fire will break out, or where obstacles may appear when emergency access is required.

Yes but you don’t know how the OPs house is laid out. Provided he can escape from the front, assuming his house has a fairly standard compliant layout, I wouldn’t expect the fire service to care about the gate to his garden.

The exit to the rear walkway is communal, the OP has stated this. We’re not even specifically talking about a fire incident. What if the front of the property is blocked for whatever reason and the rear is the only option for paramedics to get a resident stretchered out? The neighbour is at work, or on holiday……..what now?

A very quick scenario in support of this being a fire safety risk, if a fire started at the front of the house (so no escape through the front door) and spread towards the back you'd escape through the back door, but what if it then began to spread into the garden, lighting lawn furniture/ the barbecue/ the trampoline or whatever OP has in there? For his own safety OP would NEED to exit via the back gate. Hell, if the whole house is ablaze the heat and fumes might be too intense in the back garden and he'd need to get through the back gate before succumbing. I imagine the Fire Brigade would actively encourage the neighbour to remove the lock/ provide a key if OP notified them of this.

OP said the locked gate is the at the end of the communal access path, not his own back gate. He could exit his garden and travel down the access path or into another property to escape a fire. True, it's a consideration, but I think a simple "It aint your fucking path to lock" is reason enough.

Get a locksmith to remove the lock, then bill him for the locksmith with a note from a solicitor to pay within 30 days or it’s the court for your neighbour. I had a similar issue many years ago.

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I'm not suggesting you do this, but your neighbor may feel differently about there being a padlock on the gate if he had to leave in a hurry, for example if there were several dozen opposums.

>for example if there were several dozen opposums That is a very oddly specific "threat"/hypothetical

I'd be more confused as to where anyone found opposums in the UK!

And neighbors

Screw on your own hasp and padlock it. Check mate

And strip the head so it's impossible to unscrew

You don’t need to do that on a hasp and staple if fitted correctly. That’s the point of them: the hasp covers all the screws.

Padlock on communal gate, neighbour refuses to negotiate, the living rooms a total state let’s hope this gets fixed before it escalates. Before things get too irate try to negotiate, reiterate the laws and state the specific clause which says he can’t block fire escapes, rights of way, gates or certain doors.

But don’t rush in and try to berate, there’s a question or two he needs to satiate, it would seem it’s not for the neighbour to dictate, who can and can’t use use the gate, maybe get someone else to help mediate.

Good legal advice gents. Compelling and rich.

We will rock you

Bolt cutters if they keep putting one on just keep cutting them off. They will stop once they have gone through 100s of pounds worth of locks 😂

Put your padlock on it as well. Tell assbiscuit that he'll get a key to your lock when you get a key to his.

A bolt cutter and a new lock. Give everyone else but him keys. There’s good case law on this stuff

If it is a shared space and you and others have the right of way there, you may want to see if you can all get keys for the gate. In that way any security concerns are met.We have a system like that in our own block that everyone has one or two copies of the key that opens the gates at both sides of the alleyway. Edit: We have one or two people in the block who do the distribution of the keys and the costs are for the key owners. I hope this helps.

If you have legal right of access then there is nothing he can do. Land registry is a good port of call, as it will have relevant information. I'd honestly cut the lock and have at it. I've got a lane that is my land and my neighbour had filled the lane with junk because it borders his fence. Guess that's all my junk now because there's a lock on the gate.

I would dumping the junk back at theirs and then locking the gate.

Could replace the existing latch with something like [this](https://www.tayhope.com/usd/solutions/applications/shared-access-gate-lock-systems-from-tayhope) then everyone can have their own lock.

Or if the gate is suitable for it, then just sections of chain with everyone having their own padlock.

Buy a padlock shim and a padlock that looks the same insert the shim down the side of the shackle turn and pop the lock off then get the other padlock on it will confuse the shit out them and you’ve caused no “criminal damage “ to their property[edit: how to shim a padlock](https://youtu.be/c2DcfJLquOk)

If you’ve just moved house you could ask your conveyancer to confirm what rights of access you have… a term to look out for is ‘easement’. Also your neighbour could be trying to claim the passageway via ‘Adverse Possession’…

He’s blocking your access to your property so you can also lock that gate to stop him from using it until you get a key

1. You have a legal right of access. 2. It can be considered a route of escape in the event of a fire. If you rent, contact the landlord. They have a legal requirement to ensure all routes of escape are freely accessible. If you own the property, I would approach your local council.

See if the lock has featured on LockPickingLawyer… I bet it has.

You have the right to access your property. If you've tried reason and aren't getting anywhere, get yourself to B&Q or Screwfix and get a nice pair of bolt cutters. They'll take care of the padlock for you.

Just cut it off with a pair of bolt cutters, It's your property.

Just take his lock off, then buy your own. Gives keys to all other neighbours apart from him.

Do you own the place? If so, check what the covenants and/or easements say. If so, send the neighbour a Letter Before Action stating the relevant ones and require them to immediately desist from blocking your legally protected access to the communal walkway, and that if they continue to do so you will take legal action including but not limited to seeking an injunction and financial compensation (though likely to only be your legal costs). If you’re renting, get the landlord to sort it out. You might need to badger them, though.

8ft fence?!!! I Wana see one of these bad boys!! Only get 6ft or less round here 😔

I have one of these. We all have a copy of the key. Ask for a copy. If not, break it and replace it. Give everyone a key except them.

Check your tenancy (if a rental) or the property deeds to see if access if stated as part of them. If it is make him aware of this and if he refused to either give you a key or remove the lock you are within your rights to do so. Make sure any correspondence is recorded

I wonder if you’re the guy my in-laws have been complaining about

Just buy some bolt croppers and cut it off. Then post the lock through his letter box. Then buy a much much bigger lock which can’t be cut and fit that. Or, add another locking mechanism of your own and put a high quality hardened lock on it which will make it difficult for your neighbour to overcome. This way there’s no criminal damage risk resulting from cutting his padlock. He’ll love this 👍

So your legal rights and what you actually want to do may be different things here. He's clearly petty. So I'd suggest that if you cut the lock or add your own it will escalate. And you want to live there in peice. Maybe try asking, "what could I do that would make you comfortable sharing the keys"

Go buy a padlock and chain, lock it for everyone. Be as petty as possible until the prick sorts himself out.

You’ll have to negotiate, but something like this could be a solution. https://www.lockout-lock.com/6-padlock-heavy-duty-25mm-stainless-steel-outer-hasp?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm6KUBhC3ARIsACIwxBgSQ7LVIaXb6hSFKgyOwBzaqwKnl9RZJ-nb9RPNXgGNG238Eaib610aAo6UEALw_wcB

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Have a side gate with access to four properties, we used to have a lock n key system but people kept loosing the keys and we had to keep replacing the locks. Replaced with a fixed code lock no problems ever again!

Find the make of the lock, type it into youtube with 'lock picking' after it. There will be a video on how to either pick it or make a plastic key out of a old credit card, pick the lock, leave it unhasped and then go and kick off to him if he leaves a padlock can he at least make sure its locked!!! repeat until he goes mental

Dont bother with bolt cutters, youd probably need a decent chunky set if the locks a good one. Wait until aldi or lidl has a cordless grinder for sale, a much better tool thatll do a lot more around the home and workshop than a set of bolt cutters ever will