"Get off my land!"

We have to live with our neighbours so it is always best that we get on with them. Whether it is to borrow that piece of DIY that you forgot to buy at B&Q or some tea bags, if you live in the same place long enough you will need their assistance at some point. Do you know the names of your neighbours? If the answer is no then you probably will need to hightail it down to B&Q for that saw as it is unlikely that you are getting that from your neighbour. You might not be too bothered about borrowing something and see no reason to interact with your neighbours but there may be a need to get access to their property for you to carry out some essential repairs so best make some sort of effort.

No matter how neighbourly you are, there are some instances where the sword and shield of the Scottish legal system will be needed especially when your neighbour tells you to "Get off my land!".

The solution to your neighbourly problem is likely to be found in your titles. Your title deeds are likely to state that you have right of access over your neighbour's property to carry our repairs to your property. This would be on the basis that you would pay for any damage caused to your neighbour's property. In the event that your titles are silent then the Titles Conditions (Scotland) Act 2003 or the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004 should come up with a solution. If your neighbour is still not convinced then it's time to call me.

If you need access to your neighbour's property to put up a set of ladders then you have to hope that your neighbour will be ok with this. If not then a solicitor's letter is likely to suffice. Where you are doing something a bit more substantial i.e. putting up scaffolding for an extension or medium term access for building materials then it may be appropriate to put in pace a written agreement which will deal with access, timing of the access, repair of damage and who can take access. Happy to help out with that if that is needed.