Right of access

Do they use this access for bins?

Irredeemable- oh dear. Offering money’s no good then.

Guess it’s all going to hinge on that word “service”.

And how much each party wants to spend on a legal argument 😱

*They don't seem to need to ask (though thst would be polite) re drain access or electricity for example.

It certainly sounds as if the neighbours are taking the mickey a bit here, but your son does need to get proper legal advice here, as the laws around servitude can be extremely complicated. I know this from previous experience - we live in Scotland.

This is a right for services I believe.
Not general access.
If they are just coming into theirr house. No.

Unfortunately your son can't even buy them out though because it's "irredeemable".

I do not have to ask for access.

I was brought up in a terrace of houses that had an access path running along the back of the whole row by the kitchens, with the gardens then behind the path. Everyone used it to avoid trudging through the “best room” at the front.

I notice now, when the cottages come up for sale on Rightmove that every cottage now gives onto its own garden and the service path doesn’t exist anymore.

Presumably the owners reached some sort of agreement, probably involving compensation for those that lost the facility. Would your son consider offering a sum of money to remove the servitude? It would increase the value of his property because it might put buyers off in future, so could be worthwhile.

Indeed perhaps it’s what the neighbours are hoping by being so awkward🤔

This is obviously a Scottish legal term, not one which we would use in England. It may be restricted to a right to use and access any services (drains, cables etc) within the pathway, or it may not. Your son needs to consult a Scottish solicitor to understand what rights the neighbours have over his property. It’s impossible to make sense of the wording by applying English legal principles to it.

As the rear of the neighbours property is not the only point of access for their shopping, it does look as if they're not abiding by the legal definition of the right of service access.

You say that he has already asked them to desist so I suggest that he asks them again. He should point out that accessing their property in order to take shopping directly into their kitchen is not covered by this right of service access and if they continue to do so, he will be taking legal advice.

I moved into a mid terrace house my first house oblivious to small print when signing the contract. I realised after a short time the neighbour to my right was using my back gate to put the bin out and allow access to anyone workmen utilities etc. I was at work all day and would arrive home to see my back gate was open. When I questioned the neighbours I was told it had always been allowed by the previous owner. They had assumed it was acceptable that I allow access for bins etc.

To be honest I didn’t look at the small print and padlocked the gate I considered it was an invasion of privacy. Needless to say we often had disputes with the neighbours and eventually moved. On paper legally I might have been wrong but I never looked into it but I would do the same again protect my own space.

Sorry if that not clear. They basically park outside their front door. They then walk over driveway and sometimes past sons window and looks in that direction which he says is weird. They have access to use the yellow tinted area which goes around his drive way, not through it. They then access his garden so they can go straight to their kitchen, via their backdoor. No reason for this, surely? Son accesses kitchen by entering his house via front door and walking to kitchen. They are taking a detour for some reason.

They can get to their garden via their front door. They park outside their front door and then walk through sons garden with shopping to take it straight to their kitchen, which they can access by entering via their front door and accessing their kitchen.

The key phrase there is right of service access rather than the word servitude which can give a general right of way.

Fom the Oxford English Dictionary

Servitude: Law: An obligation attached to a piece of property which restricts the owner's use of it or permits others to exercise specified rights over it; a restriction on property for the benefit of a person or party other than its owner.

Easement is a similar term.

Scots Law. A restriction on property for the benefit of a person or party other than its owner;

Generally, servitude would allow the benefited property (i.e. the neighbour’s) to utilize part of the burdened property (i.e. your son’s) for specific purposes, such as rights of way, access to utilities, or drainage.

See:

www.rocketlawyer.com/gb/en/property/manage-rental-property-in-scotland/legal-guide/servitudes-and-public-rights-of-way-in-scotland

A common example of a servitude is a right of access. A neighbour could have the right to cross part of your property to allow them to get from their house to a public road or path. Other common servitudes are the right of drainage, the right to lay utility cables, and the right to take water from a private source.

Servitudes can have a big impact on how you use and enjoy your property. If you’re buying a house, it’s important to know about any servitudes giving other people rights to use the land in a way that would spoil your enjoyment of it.

However, the deeds specifically say right of service access. This typically refers to a legal right, through an easement or servitude, that allows someone to access another person's land for the purpose of providing or maintaining services like utilities (water, gas, electricity) or telecommunications infrastructure. This right allows them to install, repair, or maintain the service lines that run through the land.

In general, a servitude must be reasonably required for the comfortable use and enjoyment of the benefited property. The existence of the right has to be obvious from the relevant facts and circumstances. In other words, is there another route the neighbours could reasonably use to use to get to their garden and to take shopping into their home?