Unadopted Road

jade1986

We were close to exchange on our first house purchase and everything has been running smoothly, but today the solicitor has e-mailed me with the following:

'I have now received the final search which confirms that the roadway immediately to the front of your property is an unadopted road i.e private.

Unfortunately, there are no rights of way over this private roadway so I am referring the matter back to the sellers solicitors with our requirements in this regard as as it is the title is unacceptable for your lender.

I attach a copy of the search and roadway adoption plan for your information.'

Is this something to get very worried about? If it isn't acceptable to the lendor then would the road have to be adopted or else the purchase is off, or is there a way round it?

Thanks in advance

F_T_Buyer

You need to have a right to cross the land to get to your property. I'm sure it would take some time for the road to be adopted, so probably not the immediate solution for you.

Just wait to see what the Vendor says.

Gwhiz

Being unadopted is not an issue (i had a similar road to my last house), having no right of way is massive!!!

SplanK

i got this with ours - after *I* did doing some digging - it turned out that the road WAS adopted (email from council to say so and can get it in writing for £25!) - although i only found this out a couple of months after completion.

how old is the house? if its fairly new and the area is still been developed then the adoption of roads will be a short time after completion... in this case - it would be best to speak to your solicitors to see if they can contact the developers for plans about road adoption. With newer developments - there is usualy a fund that the developers pay into for it

If the house is a number of years old then it could be that one of the houses on the estate "owns" the road as such, an equal share between all properties, or some sort of managment organisation is responsible... roads can be adopted - however it will be required to bring it up to current council spec which usualy costs a fair wedge which the council will not pay for.

jade1986

Gwhiz wrote: »

having no right of way is massive!!!

Oh no.. You turn off a main road onto the street which leads to a big carpark and the two semi-detached properties.. which are 100 years old

It is a council car park as well

Gwhiz

SplanK wrote: »

i got this with ours - after *I* did doing some digging - it turned out that the road WAS adopted (email from council to say so and can get it in writing for £25!) - although i only found this out a couple of months after completion.

how old is the house? if its fairly new and the area is still been developed then the adoption of roads will be a short time after completion... in this case - it would be best to speak to your solicitors to see if they can contact the developers for plans about road adoption. With newer developments - there is usualy a fund that the developers pay into for it

If the house is a number of years old then it could be that one of the houses on the estate "owns" the road as such, an equal share between all properties, or some sort of managment organisation is responsible... roads can be adopted - however it will be required to bring it up to current council spec which usualy costs a fair wedge which the council will not pay for.

The issue is not with adoption, it's with right of way!

jade1986

SplanK wrote: »

i got this with ours - after *I* did doing some digging - it turned out that the road WAS adopted (email from council to say so and can get it in writing for £25!) - although i only found this out a couple of months after completion.

how old is the house? if its fairly new and the area is still been developed then the adoption of roads will be a short time after completion... in this case - it would be best to speak to your solicitors to see if they can contact the developers for plans about road adoption. With newer developments - there is usualy a fund that the developers pay into for it

If the house is a number of years old then it could be that one of the houses on the estate "owns" the road as such, an equal share between all properties, or some sort of managment organisation is responsible... roads can be adopted - however it will be required to bring it up to current council spec which usualy costs a fair wedge which the council will not pay for.

Thanks for this. The property is roughly 100 years old

The HIP showed '*Main Road* and *Street in Question* - Adopted'

But then our solicitor queried it and now says it is unadopted and that the HIP was incorrect

SplanK

Gwhiz wrote: »

The issue is not with adoption, it's with right of way!

depends... if its adopted then generaly you will have right of way to your property... if the area is in development then usualy the builder owns the road and gives you right of access - and shortly after the builders hand it over as such to the council....

however if its unadopted by the council and been that way for a while - then somebody will own it - simply put - they will need to find out and seek to either get it adopted or to give you permission to use the road to access your property.

The main problem is that chances are the mortage company may reject lending you the money due to the private road, and the fact that there is no agreement or right of way to the property!

jade1986

SplanK wrote: »

however if its unadopted by the council and been that way for a while - then somebody will own it - simply put - they will need to find out and seek to either get it adopted or to give you permission to use the road to access your property.

The main problem is that chances are the mortage company may reject lending you the money due to the private road, and the fact that there is no agreement or right of way to the property!

The road provides access to a large public free car park and to the two houses

Will an indemnity policy resolve this?

princessamy86

An indemnity policy is usually a way round it, providing your lender will accept it and somebody will pay for it. Check with your solicitor, they'll know more.

jade1986

princessamy86 wrote: »

An indemnity policy is usually a way round it, providing your lender will accept it and somebody will pay for it. Check with your solicitor, they'll know more.

Thanks, just waiting on their response and wasn't sure how long they'll take. Didn't know whether a sleepless night was ahead