What is the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992?
Sometimes you need to go onto a neighbour's property to carry out work on your own home: repairing a wall, fixing guttering, or treating timber on the boundary. A polite request often works. But when a neighbour refuses, essential repairs can stall or cause further damage.
The Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992 provides a legal route to apply for a court order allowing you to enter neighbouring land for certain preservation work. It does not give you an automatic right of access. It offers a framework for asking the court to grant permission when your neighbour will not.
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The Act covers situations where you need access to neighbouring land to carry out preservation work that would otherwise be impossible or substantially more difficult from your own property.
Work that may qualify includes:
- Maintenance, repair or renewal of a building or structure
- Essential maintenance of drains, sewers, pipes or cables tied to your property's preservation
- Treatment, cutting back, felling or removal of trees, hedges or vegetation causing or threatening damage to your property
- Filling in or clearing a ditch
The work must relate to preserving something on your own land. The Act does not cover improvements, extensions, or new construction: only preservation and repair.
Before granting an order, the court will expect evidence that you asked your neighbour for permission and were refused, or that they failed to respond to a reasonable request. The court will only grant an order if it would be fair and reasonable, would not cause unreasonable hardship to your neighbour, and would not harm their enjoyment of their land.
Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.
Applying for an access order
If your neighbour has refused access, you can apply to the county court or High Court. This is a formal process with costs involved.
Your application should include details of the work needed, why access is necessary, and what steps you have taken to reach agreement. Supporting evidence such as written correspondence, contractor quotes, or surveyor reports can strengthen your case.
The court will consider:
- Whether the work is genuinely necessary for preservation or repair
- Whether you made reasonable attempts to get agreement
- Whether the work can be done without unreasonable disruption or damage
- Whether the order would harm your neighbour's enjoyment of their land
- Whether you are willing to pay compensation for inconvenience or damage
If granted, the order will set out specific terms: when access is allowed, how long it lasts, what work can be done, and any conditions. You may need to give notice, restore the ground afterwards, and pay compensation.
Court proceedings can be time consuming and expensive. Legal fees, court fees, and compensation payments add up quickly, so most people treat this as a last resort.
Limits of the Act and practical steps
The Act does not cover improvements or development. If you want to build an extension requiring scaffolding on your neighbour's land, this law will not help unless the work also involves repairs to an existing structure.
It does not give rights to ongoing or repeated access. An access order is for specific, time limited work. For regular access, you may need to seek an easement: a permanent legal right to use part of someone else's land for a specific purpose.
The Act cannot force your neighbour to carry out work themselves. If a problem originates on their property, you may need other legal routes. If your dispute involves a boundary, party wall, or structural work affecting both properties, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 may apply. GOV.UK has guidance on party wall rules.
Before considering legal action, try voluntary agreement. Put your request in writing, explaining the work and why you need access. Be specific about dates, times, and duration. Keep copies of all correspondence and follow up conversations in writing.
If communication has broken down, mediation can help. A neutral third party may find a way forward that both sides accept. Local mediation services exist in most areas. Mediation is usually quicker and cheaper than court, and preserves the possibility of a workable relationship.
Getting legal advice early is sensible if the work is urgent or the relationship has deteriorated. A solicitor with property law experience can explain your options and advise whether a court application is worth pursuing. For general information on property rights and neighbour disputes, GOV.UK and Citizens Advice offer free guidance.
We were granted planning permission a few years ago for an extension both sides of our house.
We completed one side without any issues 2 years ago.
The next part of the extension was a small and on the other side of the house for a en-suite bathroom. As mentioned, the planning permission was granted with no issues- the neighbours did not object.
Since then, we have come to build the extension which actually is building on top of an existing part of our house.
However, because our house is up to the boundary line we need access granted from our neighbours for a few scaffolding poles. We will not need access to their land just scaffolding for a few weeks.
We asked for permission the end of last year as I have a chronic illness and the en-suite is now something I need. They refused and although it was frustrating it went no further.
Now four months later I am worse than I was, I now have a disability badge and I really need this en-suite for my chronic illness which is life long and incurable. An en-suite would truly improve the quality of my life.
But my neighbours are still refusing because it’s inconvenient for them having poles.
Is this something a court could overrule due to the disability?
I welcome any advice.
I am now suffering from damp on that extension wall again. Can I access my part of the property and some of his in order to move his material from my wall? How can I prevent him from placing it there again?
In June 2022 our neighbours wrote to tell us that they were erecting scaffolding in the disputed area to repair their garage roof. Our lawyer advised that we consent because we couldn't reasonably object, so we did.
The scaffolding has been in place for 18 months, and we are into our second winter. A year after it went up repairs were carried out as a DIY job, requiring simple caulking around the metal roof panel fasteners. The work involved working on top of the flat garage roof, and could have been accessed with ladders.
Our lawyers have written to them to tell them several times to tell them to remove the scaffolding but they just ignore the letters.
We called our own scaffolder to take it down, but when they arrived our neighbour climbed onto the scaffolding to prevent it from being removed. He produced a receipt to show that he purchased the scaffolding from the erector at the time that it went up.
Can a neighbour legally have scaffolding that he owns erected permanently to mark a boundary, having said that it was for repairs?
We fear that the scaffolding has become unsafe since it was first put up 18 months ago. Does he have a legal duty to have the scaffolding inspected from time to time?
Should I involve the police, and do they have a reason to take an interest?
We are a married couple in our seventies and find this all very upsetting. Is there any other course of action that we can take?
We own a parcel of land on a unadopted road, the land is accessible from the unadopted road and all the other sides have gardens! we have two or three fence panels that are boarding the unadopted road, at the moment we can park one or two cars on there but would have to shuffle them around to be able to get in & out, so we want to take the fence down so we can drive straight in & out onto the road. The problem is there’s a vehicle parked next to the fence, firstly the vehicle shouldn’t be parked there as vehicles need to get up and down the street, it’s also untaxed and no mot etc (private road) and we need to have access to our land to park our vehicles without having to shuffle the vehicles to get in and out so basically he’s blocking our ability to park on our land/drive, we also need to fell some trees and do work on the land, the vehicles not in working order either, my partners spoken to him but he doesn’t seem concerned.
I feel No 12, 14, 16, 18 have no right to contribute as that would lead them getting access to the Alley way on. And I do not want them included. This matter only pertains to No 4,6,8,10 properties and they outsiders.
Please help.
As part of the building process they have removed all of the hedge. There operations have meant that the ditch is now full of mud which has flowed from their land and needs cleaning out. They now have access to clean out the ditch from their side and I will ask them to do so. The site plan indicates that they will replace the hedge with a new hedge.
The issue is that I want to plant trees ideally close to the ditch which will prevent future cleaning of the ditch from my side.
Would this be an issue? and how should I inform them? or could i ask them to pipe the ditch?
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