Any experts here? We're looking at buying a house of which comes with a strip of land out back we'd earmarked for parking. However, that land is the only access the neighbour would have to get on to public land. My plan was to leave that open & just park our cars on there. The neighbour has just said they're looking at building a garage on their drive way & as such would need access for their car but this then means that bit of land becomes useless. The land registry has that land clearly allocated to the house we're looking at but I dunno the ins & outs of right of way? Do I just need to ensure they can access it and don't need to leave a space for their car etc?
If you have an office copy of the registered title to the property then any easements or rights of way to which your prospective neighbour would be entitled would be listed in Section A. Property Register. If such rights are not on the register then they may be unenforceable. But I'd be wary of purchasing a property if there is the potential for a dispute.
In terms of right way, does that include right of way of vehicles or just people? I think it's potentially a nightmare so not sure I can be arsed...
I've got something similar where I have to ensure there's access at the back of the house for right of way. My understanding is that it's for a vehicle, but that's redundant in my situation as there isn't space for them to have one. I've had a couple of nightmares with it over the last couple of years and what is classed as 'right of way'.
How old are the houses and how long has your prospective neighbour been in his house . If he’s been there a long time and not yet built a garage there might be a reason for that , he can’t because he hasn’t got access
As someone who lives in a property with a similar situation, I would say either walk away or accept you can do nothing with the land.
It will depend on what is said on the title. However if there's nothing on the title then that doesn't mean no right exists. If the right has been exercised for at least 19 years and a day then an easement may have arisen by way of prescription. Whether that includes vehicles would depend on how it's actually been used during the relevant period. If you DM me the addresses of the 2 properties I can pull the titles from the land registry and have a quick look what the position looks like on paper.
As i understand it if they have used it unchallenged for a certain amount of time they can claim access rights - get the right legal info but i know someone who had similar issues and it was a nightmare for them. If its a dealbreaker id try another property if you are not too invested.
Thanks everyone. In summary, I've taken all the prospective advice & concluded it sounds like a right f.cking nightmare. Lovely stuff. It's handy this place as long as you don't talk about football.
totally agree with OrsenK about NOT purchasing a property with the possibility of a dispute. The fact your prospective neighbour has decided he is looking to build a garage at this time should set an alarm bell ringing.
