Vehicle access rights.

hallsy81

Hi there. My three sisters and I have recently inherited my late father's bungalow. We do not have any vehicle access rights written in his title deeds, however, my sisters and I have been driving our cars over and across the neighbours drive since about 1965. We have photographic evidence to prove this. Do we now have vehicle access rights to the bungalow? I have heard that if you have been driving on a piece of land for over 20 years unapposed then you gain the rigths. Is this true? Many thanks to all in advance.

david29dpo

I believe it could be true. See your solicitor. Are you selling anyway?

Running_Horse

Did your Dad get on with his neighbours who were doing him this favour? Would he really want you to be doing this? Seems like he was not that bothered about it. Such a shame.

RabbitMad

hallsy81 wrote: »

if you have been driving on a piece of land for over 20 years unapposed then you gain the rigths. Is this true? Many thanks to all in advance.

I don't think so. My sis recently bought a property where the access was across a common but no rights were recorded. The land owner charged £7,500 for vechile access rights which are now written into the deeds.

If you are selling the house I guess you are probably going to have to buy these rights from your neighbour if they are willing to sell them.

Running_Horse

Yeah, I wouldn't buy any house with an ongoing legal dispute about parking. If you are going to live there, go round the neighbours with a bottle of wine rather than a lawsuit. If you are maximising your profit, go round the neighbours with a bottle of wine rather than a lawsuit. Some things are more important than money.

hallsy81

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. In reply to RabbitMad, did your sister previously drive a vehicle over the land? We are hoping this may have a significant effect in gaining access rights for us as we have been doing this for a number of years.
In reply to running horse, our mum and dad never owned or drove a car so it wasn't a problem to them, also my father did our neighbours far more favours than they did us.

DVardysShadow

hallsy81 wrote: »

Thanks to all who took the time to respond. In reply to RabbitMad, did your sister previously drive a vehicle over the land? We are hoping this may have a significant effect in gaining access rights for us as we have been doing this for a number of years.

Take the advice already given: " If you are going to live there, go round the neighbours with a bottle of wine rather than a lawsuit." Or slightly more refined, start by trying to buy the right. It will probably be cheaper than trying to prove a right through use.

In reply to running horse, our mum and dad never owned or drove a car so it wasn't a problem to them, also my father did our neighbours far more favours than they did us.

This makes proving use more difficult.

Running_Horse

Who did the most favours is not a factor that will be considered in a legal context.

So your father never drove a car over his neighbour's drive. And you want to establish a right to do so because you and your sisters did. Have you been living at the address during this period?