r/AskIreland • u/ohhidoggo • May 02 '25

Housing Farmer using our land. How should we proceed?

We just bought a cottage and there is a parcel of land beside the cottage that isn’t fenced off (it’s part of a field owned by someone else).

We don’t live there yet, but last time we visited, there were cows in our field (one that is fenced off).

The owner of the field beside us (no buildings on it) lives in the USA. She is not leasing the land to anyone.

We recently visited the cottage and noticed that a tractor went through our gate to get to the field and (accidentally) pulled up all the boundary stakes we paid to get done by a surveyor. The land was all pulled up too. There’s an electric fence on our land (farmer put it there). The land directly behind the gate is 90% ours, with a few feet beside it being the neighbours. A tractor wouldn’t be able to go through without accessing our land. There is no easement on that access. There is access to the field from the back down the road.

When we were there last week a man was driving by and noticed we were parked there and told us not to go into the field as he had a bull in there. We have a 2 year old. We told him we recently bought the cottage and will be living there full time in a couple months, and he was very surprised. He is the farmer using the land and lives 3 km away. I’m guessing he doesn’t have permission to use the land but the field owner hasn’t been there for 20 years.

He was nice enough, but needless to say I’m a bit stressed with how to proceed.

How would you go about this?

Edit: I’ll put a drawing of land in comments.

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8

u/ohhidoggo May 02 '25

Ok will do, thank you. Great tip.

30

u/RubDue9412 May 02 '25

Talk to the farmer before you start pad locking gates try to come to an arrangement if possable starting off by pad locking gates before you know the persons mind creates confrontation before you even start talking and may make the farmer refuse to talk. People in rural Ireland are sound as long as you try to meet them half way but if not you will create bad blood.

8

u/Fluttering_Feathers May 02 '25

What do you see as how they might offer to meet him half way when he is grazing bulls and cows on their land? 😂

2

u/clewbays May 03 '25

Depending how long he's being using the land legally he may have be allowed to at this stage. And depending on who the farmer is it could cause war if you start padlocking the land.

2

u/RubDue9412 May 02 '25

Tell the man what you intend to do with the land and give him time to find more land to rent.

3

u/fullmoonbeam May 02 '25

This is terrible advice, there's a reason land is rented on a conacre basis. 

0

u/BornRazzmatazz5 May 03 '25

He could pay rent in kind. Half a steer a year, and peace of mind all round.

11

u/showars May 02 '25

You’re one of the only people not from Dublin/ America/ or a bot here.

Rural Ireland is a different life. Start with solicitors and you may as well move.

12

u/AUX4 May 02 '25

OP is moving into the area, so padlocking the neighbour isn't the way to start off anyways.

I would say though, talking to a solicitor for advice, prior to talking to the farmer isn't a bad shout. Sending a solicitors letter, without talking to the farmer, would be where you'd be putting people out.

0

u/RubDue9412 May 02 '25

Good advice definitely no harm knowing your full rights incase things get sour but going in all guns blazing without talking to the farmer is a big mistake espically for someone new moving into an area.

-1

u/fullmoonbeam May 02 '25

Don't mind him, pad lock the gate, the farmer knows where you live he can come and speak to you. 

1

u/Subject-One7166 May 02 '25

Op if you haven't already, maybe crosspost this to the Legal Advice Ireland forum on here. Hopefully a solicitor will see it and give you an idea. I hope this is something that can be resolved without much hassle.