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Private gardens are not public shortcuts.

Several neighbors treated one renter’s side gate like part of the sidewalk.

The route saved them barely a minute.

It cost him privacy.

Check out why this tiny shortcut became a major annoyance.

AITA for telling people who live near me they can’t use my side gate as a cut through?

Here’s a summary:

I’ve been renting this place for 6 months

It’s a back to back house

I’m facing the main road

Parking is in the back.

The back of the house is on a cul de sac street

No driveway at the front and can’t park on the main road, so my designated spot is on the driveway round back

Same situation for my detached neighbour, so we share a side gate which we use to get to our vehicles

Many of the residents who live on the cul de sac use the side gate as a cut through when walking to the shops, as it saves them about 1 minute walking this way as opposed to walking the main pathway up the cul de sac and around

It might be time to get curtains.

When they cut through they walk through my front garden, and sometimes stare in at me while I’m sat in my living room

I’ve never spoken to these residents so they’re basically strangers

When I was coming home one day I kindly asked a woman and her boy not to use my garden to cut through, as they were walking past and didn’t acknowledge me to say hello or anything which is what annoyed me.

She had attitude and said they’ve always used it as a cut through, but won’t in future

But she came back.

I seen today the same woman cutting through again

Even though I haven’t had any trouble with these residents, it’s been bothering me and not sure how to proceed and can see things potentially escalating as I plan to tell other residents not to use it if I’m out there and catch them

It feels like an invasion of privacy and inconsiderate of local residents to think my garden is a public right of way without ever speaking to me and asking for my permission to use

Don’t want to put a lock on the gate as it’s a hassle with the neighbour having to use it also

Am I a jerk for thinking like this?

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This would be really annoying. It’s not meant to be a shortcut for all the residents, but if I were OP, I’d probably just get curtains and keep them closed.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story.

This is a good idea.

Here’s another suggestion.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a person who changed their minds about donated items, only to return to the shop to find them all sold.

This person makes a very good point.

A lock is really necessary.

Residents repeatedly crossed this renter’s garden and passed his living room windows simply to save one minute.

After one woman ignored his polite request, he was completely justified in enforcing his property boundaries.

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Author

Chris Allen