Entitled neighbor demands to use 26-year-old’s woman’s backyard as path to get to the beach, she refuses, causing neighbors to turn on her: “You’re ruining a lot of people’s way of life by blocking off this path”

Author image for Briana Viser
Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Mar 14, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Welcome back. Having neighbors can sometimes feel like you have roommates. You still can't be too loud, you can't have huge rager parties that will keep everyone up all night, and you have to deal with the qualms of others. If one really wants peace and quiet from the world, try moving to a remote cliffside somewhere, or the middle of a dense forest. Then, you only have the trees to hear you. 

Whether you live in a suburban neighborhood, or a cramped apartment complex in a city, there will always be neighbors. It's in anyone's best interest to have good relations with their neighbors, because if not then they can make your world a living nightmare. And we've all heard the daunting stories of the Karen neighbor whose entitlement goes as far as to expect that she'll have full access to your backyard pool when you're not home, or the neighborhood creep who always drives by a little too slowly and stares in your window for a little too long. 

In the story below, it centers around a woman and her neighbors. The woman in question has a huge backyard that she's beautified to be her private oasis. Her neighbors on the other hand have  a different idea for her backyard, but you'll have to read the full story for all the details. 

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  • 01

    AITAH for not letting my neighbors use my yard?

    "Are you really going to block off the beach path?"
    via brians101 from Getty Images Pro / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I (f26) recently bought a house with my husband. Our house is a beachfront house with an amazing yard. The backyard is designed to basically look like a hidden oasis. It has a pool, hot tub, water fountains on the side, and a small slide all surrounded by trees and other plants. The trees give us privacy from both
    via u/OddTry3520

  • It's insane that this Karen neighbor expect that an entire condo complex will just walk in and out of this woman's backyard. That's incredibly invasive, and 5 minutes is nothing. Yes, now they'll have to walk 5 minutes instead of 1 minute and they'll just have to get used to it. They can't break in after she's already told them they can't enter. 

  • 03
    houses next to us but still gives us the view of the beach. The backyard is why we bought the home and we already spend the majority of our time being back there, even when my husband works. The entire backside of the house is mostly glass so it's also what we see when we are in the house. It is definitely the focal point of our home.
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 04
    Yesterday, we started the construction on a new fence. This fence goes around the backyard with a gate only to the beach, so you either have to go through the house to go through the beach to get to our backyard. We didn't think anything of it before I got a knock on my door this morning from someone who lives in the condos across the street from us.
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 05
    I have seen her a few times but we never really talked. She introduced herself and then asked about what we were building in our yard. I just told her that we wanted to put up a fence before tourists start coming (this was recommended to us by our realtor).
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 06
    Cheezburger Image 10479229952
    via oneillbro from Getty Images Pro / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 07
    Marie kinda looked shocked and asked if we were putting a gate on the front or anything. I said no and that we already had a landscaper come and look to get more plants put around it. She then asked me if I could put a gate on the front. I didn't really understand this so I asked her to clarify when she explained that
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 08
    the previous owners would let people from the condo walk through their yard to get to the beach because otherwise they have to walk 5 minutes down the street to get onto the beach where there are a lot of tourists (our street leads to private beach so there isn't as many people). She said that mostly everyone in
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 09
    the condo started doing this over the past few years, especially people with kids (or even just letting their kids go to the beach alone). She also said that they would let people use their pool if they texted as asked.
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 10
    I immediately told her that no one would be in my yard unless I knew them. She obviously got upset by this and then said that basically everyone in the condos would be upset by this. I told her that I understand why they want to use my yard and that it's just to pass through but I hate the idea of being in my backyard and
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 11
    having random people walk through. She started getting mad at me for it and saying that I am ruining a lot of people's way of life by blocking off this path. She claimed that a lot of people let their kids during the summer go to the beach through this way and a lot of kids can't walk to the popular spots (the beach is kinda quiet where we are). I did get
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 12
    annoyed and told her that I don't really care and that I will not let people into my yard. She tried to bring up the pool but I just told her that I wasn't going to talk about it anymore.
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 13
    This was yesterday afternoon and I've already seen people standing outside the condos and pointing to my house. I even had someone run over to talk to me and ask if I was really "gating off the beach path". I've talked to both my neighbors who agree with me but my friend and sister are both saying I'm in the wrong. So AITA?
    via u/OddTry3520
  • 14
    Slightlysanemomof5 Put up cameras all around the fence and yard because condo owners are going to not respect your fence. Or worse damage property fencing, try to climb fence especially since condo people consider you have stolen something from
    via u/Slightlysanemomof5
  • 15
    them. Might also talk to an attorney about options if condo people retaliate. High resolution cameras with recording. It really wasn't very nice of previous owners to warn you that this would be a problem.
    via u/Slightlysanemomof5
  • 16
    Cheezburger Image 10479230720
    via 1643606 from pixabay / Canva

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 17
    MrsWaterbuffalo Omg NO. Install a Locked gate. Send a lawyer letter to the Condo board of directors, stating under no circumstances is your private property to be an access. point in any circumstances.
    via u/MrsWaterbuffalo
  • 18
    It's for everyone's safety and insurance. They will be trespassed. I would not want anyone to sue. What if someone is hurt on your property or drowned in your hot tub. What if a child was lost, someone attacked, the scenarios are alarming.
    via u/MrsWaterbuffalo
  • 19
    Protect yourself and 5 min walk is not the end of the world. It's not your responsibility to insure access for the public. Confirm this is your personal legal access. It's irresponsible, what would your insurance company say?
    via u/MrsWaterbuffalo
  • 20
    [deleted] I'm a bit confused, do these condo owners have access to this private beach? If so it's on their landowner/manager to provide that. If not, then they really have no argument regardless.
    via Reddit
  • 21
    Either way, easy NTA. Private property is private property, plain and simple.
    via Reddit
  • 22
    akhoneygirl It's a five minute walk around. V., are they lazy? Nta, just fence it off and no gate.
    via u/akhoneygirl
  • 23
    Greeneyed Wolfess NTA- It's always the "previous owners" that allow people to do anything they want. I may be jaded, but I have a hard time believing it. Maybe she thinks you're a sucker.
    via u/Greeneyed Wolfess

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