I leave in the upstairs of a one storey building while another tenant stays underneath.

Can the landlady (who lives in the next compound) hijack under the staircase leading up to my house and convert it to her storage area? Mind you, I'm the only tenant living upstairs.

I confronted her and she said I paid for only upstairs and as such have no right over underneath the staircase and she can use it to do whatever she pleases.

I need a legal perspective on this matter before I sue her or involve the police.

I don't want to damage the wood structure she used to seal off under the staircase.

Of course, she's right

You should read the tenancy agreement if one was provided when you initially paid for the house.

Ideally the storage should belong to you if there is a gate leading to the stairway but this is at the discretion of the owner of the house because byblaw you only paid for the flat and not other parts of the property.

If there is a gate or door that leads stairway to the flat upstairs then you have a higher probability to win the case because you can always say you want to keep the gate locked and don’t want people entering your personal space. If there is no gate or door then you should provide one and use the excuse that you don’t feel secured enough and would like extra security.

mymadam:
Of course, she's right

Can you explain why?

Note that I have a metal door that you need to pass before you can access the stairs which I'm supposed to lock when going out as I'm the only one that lives up

Superagent:
You should read the tenancy agreement if one was provided when you initially paid for the house.

Ideally the storage should belong to you if there is a gate leading to the stairway but this is at the discretion of the owner of the house because byblaw you only paid for the flat and not other parts of the property.

If there is a gate or door that leads stairway to the flat upstairs then you have a higher probability to win the case because you can always say you want to keep the gate locked and don’t want people entering your personal space. If there is no gate or door then you should provide one and use the excuse that you don’t feel secured enough and would like extra security.

Thanks so much for the reply

We did not sign any written agreement. I entered into the house when her husband who died few months ago was alive. We had very good understanding then and lived peacefully. He specifically told me countless times that anything after the metal gate was part of my house.

Even before putting some stuffs there he had to tell me first.

jchima14:
I leave in the upstairs of a one storey building while another tenant stays underneath.

Can the landlady (who lives in the next compound) hijack under the staircase leading up to my house and convert it to her storage area? Mind you, I'm the only tenant living upstairs.

I confronted her and she said I paid for only upstairs and as such have no right over underneath the staircase and she can use it to do whatever she pleases.

I need a legal perspective on this matter before I sue her or involve the police.

I don't want to damage the wood structure she used to seal off under the staircase.

Please I need some advice on this matter before I take action.