Is the grass outside your house for public use?

T

Toby

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Just wondering if homeowners are obliged to let members of the public walk on the grass outside their house or if they can tell people not to walk on it? A relative has gotten in trouble for ordering passersby not to walk on his grass and I would be of the opinion that he has no right to tell people to stay off it but I could be wrong though. I'd appreciate if anyone here could tell me his rights please
Thanks.
 
You need to clarify where outside the house the grass is. Is it within the boundaries of the house, ie;

Front garden between footpath and house which runs beside the driveway

or grass verge between footpath and road?

Also what type of house/estate is it?
 
Sorry, its a grass area between the road and footpath. Its much larger than the usual strip of grass. Its an urban house estate.

Edited to add its larger than the usual strip outside a house because its on a corner site. Its outside the house garden walls.
 
If the Council have looked after it in the past such as planting trees or cutting the grass there then the home owner doesn't have any say IMHO.
 
But why would the council be cutting grass in a housing estate?

Surely the house owners in the housing estate pay to have it cut either through management fees or resident fees?


Marion
 
If it's a grass area that is adjacent to a Public Road, then it likely to be public.

If it's a grass area in a housing estate then it's likely to be owned by your Local Authority or the original developer.
 
Hi Guns n Roses

I live in a housing estate and while it was built by a developer the residents have to pay for grass cutting.

The local authority will not do this.

The Local Authority look after lighting and drainage on the roads only.

Also, If the Tarmac on the roads needs to be replaced it will more than likely be Replaced by an equal contribution from the council and the residents. This has been the experience of other estates in my area.


Marion
 
Where we live, there are no management or residents fees. Most if not all residents look after 'their' patch of grass outside their own house, between public footpath and road.
 
Hi RonanC

Who looks after the other green areas? Perhaps there are none?

We have a number of large green areas that must be maintained. 50 houses or so in the area. The immediate areas outside houses is maintained by the house holder. Planting of trees / shrubs and maintenance of these is paid by the residents fees.


Marion
 
Its a private estate surrounded by green areas but the council look after them all, grass cutting, planting and so on. The Parks Department in South Dublin Co. Co are pretty good like that.
 
As long as the general taxpayer is not paying for this It seems like it's working well in your area.

Marion
 
Can the relative legally erect a fence or a sign that says ''keep off the grass'' ?

It seems kind of inconsistent to just pick on people randomly who step onto the grass especially if there is no warning for them that this is not a public area. I doubt it is a private area. If nobody is maintaining it except him then maybe he could tarmac it. Someone might complain about that but the chances must be small if nobody else but him is maintaining it.
 
Sorry for delay in getting back to this. It sounds like he has no rights over it as I expected. Its beside a public road not in an enclosed estate and would be maintained by coco I'm pretty sure. Thanks for the feedback.
 
Marion said:
I live in a housing estate and while it was built by a developer the residents have to pay for grass cutting.
Click to expand...

Hi Marion,

Just because the residents in your estate pay for the grass cutting does not make the green area "Private". The green area in your estate is most likely still under the ownship of the original developer or your Local Authority.

Local Authorities rarely cut grass in housing estates. They should however replace the road & footpaths.
 
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