A father and son are facing a combined £20,000 court bill following a bitter neighbour dispute that escalated over access to a shared passageway and culminated in laundry being left to dry on a private patio.
Background of the dispute
Musician Jodie Schloss accused Robin Larkins and his father, Derek Larkins, of harassment and trespass. The row centred on a passageway leading to the back garden of a Victorian villa in Strathray Gardens, Swiss Cottage, where both Ms Schloss and Robin Larkins reside. While the passage forms part of Ms Schloss’s home, she had for many years permitted other residents in the five-storey building—where flats frequently fetch prices exceeding £2 million—to use it for garden access. However, after Ms Schloss decided to revoke that access, a heated disagreement ensued with Robin Larkins and his elderly father, Derek, who has long served as the property’s gardener and maintenance man.
Allegations and incidents
Ms Schloss alleged that the gate to the passageway, situated by her front door, was forced open on two occasions, with the lock changed once without her knowledge. Her frustration peaked when Robin Larkins’ family’s laundry was discovered drying on her private patio at the rear of the property. She sued for an injunction to prevent any further incursions. Despite both men agreeing not to set foot on her passageway again, the father and son were handed a £20,000 bill for the court case.
Court proceedings
Judge Stephen Hellman, sitting at Mayor’s and City County Court, said the fact that the gate had been twice forced by Derek Larkins, with his son present once, meant that a large costs bill was appropriate. The court heard that Ms Schloss and Robin Larkins each have garden flats at the substantial detached villa. Each has a right to use the garden, with Robin Larkins accessing it directly via his back door, while Ms Schloss could also get there from her property. For 30 years, residents of other flats in the house have also been able to use the garden, accessing it via the passageway alongside Ms Schloss’ flat, to which she had provided keys.
Change of heart
However, a bitter neighbours’ battle erupted last August when she changed her mind amid “justified privacy concerns” and wrote to the others withdrawing consent. In court, her barrister, John Clargo, said Ms Schloss no longer wants people walking along the passageway as it is an “invasion of her sense of privacy”, being so close to her front door. But, even though he can still get to the garden himself through the back door of his flat, Robin and his dad complained that access for other residents to the garden had been blocked.
Campaign of trespass and harassment
What followed was a campaign of “trespass and harassment” by the pair, the barrister said. On 1 September 2025, Derek Larkins insisted he had a right to use the passageway and Robin Larkins threatened to rip the gate out. Later that day, she overheard two men in the passageway discussing whether she was out, and on the morning of 2 September, she found the lock in the gate damaged. She felt vulnerable and left her flat. When returning to collect belongings on 6 September 2025, she found further damage to the lock and inferred from CCTV footage that it was done by Robin Larkins. On being told by telephone that Robin and Derek Larkins and another were in the passage, she telephoned the police. She was persuaded to give Robin Larkins a key, but, on viewing further CCTV footage showing his father using a crowbar, decided not to. On 2 October 2025, Robin Larkins changed the lock on the gate and failed to provide a key, despite being asked to by Ms Schloss’ solicitor. Ms Schloss, not having been provided with keys, changed the locks back. On 22 March 2026, Derek Larkins forced the lock and they used the passage multiple times on that date and on 24 March 2026. On 9 April 2026, Robin Larkins’ family’s washing was hung on Ms Schloss’ patio.
Defence and judge’s ruling
Asking for an injunction to prevent any trespass, Mr Clargo branded the two men’s behaviour “unreasonable”, saying that it was clear that Ms Schloss is in the right about the passage and that no other tenants, other than Robin Larkins, have rights to access the garden. Representing himself in court, Mr Larkins insisted that they did what they did because they wanted to protect their other neighbours’ access to the garden. “This whole claim doesn’t really affect me because I do have direct access from my flat into the garden,” he told the judge. “The main issue is the leaseholders in the building, who for 30 years have used this communal space via the side passage. For 30 years, everybody has had access to the communal garden. People have had in their service charges maintenance for the garden. Everyone in the building has contributed and everyone has had access to the garden. The passage is the only way for the other residents to have access to the back garden. I’m here today because I believe the leaseholders in the building have a right to use the communal garden.” When told that their behaviour in the dispute could be considered “unreasonable”, Robin Larkins responded: “My behaviour was only because we believe we were in the right and that all the people in the building should have access to the garden. There’s no maliciousness in it.” Regarding the washing left on Ms Schloss’ patio, he said that his cleaner had hung it there without realising and been told not to do it again. However, Mr Clargo said the evidence showed that the other residents of the house do not have a right to use the garden, or Ms Schloss’ passageway. And while Robin Larkins has “a non-exclusive right to use the garden”, he has no need, nor entitlement, to use Ms Schloss’ passageway to get to it.
Judge’s decision
After a three-hour hearing, Judge Hellman accepted the father and son’s legally binding undertakings not to enter her patio or passageway again, pending a full trial of the issues at a later date. “I can understand how the letter from Ms Schloss must have come as a shock,” he said. “It’s a sad fact that, other than the passage, for most of the other tenants there’s no way to access the garden. The defendants’ position is firstly that they were seeking to preserve what they understood to be the right of tenants. Secondly, Derek has been a gardener and general maintenance man for the property for many years and that includes access to manholes in the passage, and he uses the passage for getting into and out of the garden.” He went on to find that the two men should pay Ms Schloss’ lawyers’ bills, partly due to their conduct in Derek Larkins forcing the gate, with his son present. Having agreed to undertakings in court, Robin and Derek Larkins are now legally bound not to set foot on Ms Schloss’ patio or passageway without permission. The case will return to court for a full trial at a later date, unless the parties agree to settle first. Telling them there is a “very strong case” that Ms Schloss is right about use of the passageway, the judge warned the men of even larger “eye-watering” court bills if they fight on and lose.
