Fire exit to be closed

[Guest Jules]

My dad bought a building some 30 years ago and transformed it into a guest house. He put a fire exits in the back as we use the cellars for the guests. We had an agreement with the then owners that the fire exit pathway was ours and they could use it! Now we have new owners who tell us that the path is on their land and belongs to them and they want to block it up!

We laid the path down some + 10 years ago and i have been running the guest house for 9 years now. We are searching through the deeds ut have nothing about the land itself or its size etc.

Q: can they block it up? It is civil dispute and land registry can not help in this matter!

The building is semi-detached we are so close it is terrifying. 

[AnthonyB]

If there is no valid written agreement to have right of access they can do this with notice even if that messes up your fire safety compliance - this is why a well written deed of variation or easement is required as anything less can lead to your situation. If you can't prove title to the path and they can you are stuck.

You need to consult a property lawyer - I have read of cases like this where if the (albeit informal) enjoyment of the access has been had for a prolonged amount of time the courts have enforced formalisation of the access right.