Neighbour refusing access over their property to our drive.

poppysarah

have you looked at your neighbours deeds?

wodgerdodger

In my opinion, although I have no basis in law, i would have thought that the EA's details may have stated shared access as did the surveyors, however the real fault lies with the Solicitor for not making further checks and making much more noise about it at the time. Posssibly , with hindsight , you also should have been a bit more alert although as i said "hindsight it is a wonderful thing".
Under Property misdiscriptin you may well be able to pursue it but it's not going to get the issue resolved. My belief is the only real positive course is down the route of prescriptive use over the 20 years or so.
Certainly using the same solicitor may not be a good choice unless you can complain to the senior partners who may feel they have some duty to wards you especially if your original solicitors "warning" is deemed to be insufficient and lacking duty of care.
They may do the work at reduced cost?

blckbrd

As I understand it, 'right of way' is granted over land owned by someone else. So you're neighbour shouldn't be able to build anything without the owner's permission.

Have you looked at their title plan?

wodgerdodger

Just another point, I assume the solicitor was also acting for the Lender at the same time in which case they themselves may want to take some action as it's their security which is now at risk...certainly devalued if it cannot be resolved.

I am surprised the Lender accepted the position unless they were advised differently to you of the situation regarding the access rights?

ninky_2

regarding you properties are advertised by EAs - most have caveats saying that the particulars are for guidance only and need to be checked by purchaser so i wouldn't expect much from going down that route.

it really sounds like your solicitor has been remiss here with her checks. i'd find another one and seek advice from them.

G_M

Forget the EA - as ninky says: "for guidance only ", and anyway, proving they were negligent or mis-described will not solve the legal issue with the neighbour.

The solicitor WAS negligent. Pursue them via internal complaints procedure and then via complaints service. At the least they may try to make things good...

Who owns the land? As blkbrd says, if the neighbours have 'right of way' someone else owns it. Check the neighbours Title and Plan. Find the owner of the land. Check their Title and Plan. Speak to them.

On your Plan, where is the boundary?

moreland

Thank you all again for your replies. I am new to this (having never asked any questions via the internet before) and am having so many responses quicker than I am able to find and reply to them.

In answer to some of your questions:-

I have purchased my neighbour's plans and deeds.

When I moved in May 2009, my neighbours were renting the property from a man who lived a little further down the lane. He had built a larger property and appears to have a lot of "control" and "influence" in the area. Our neighbours were very friendly with us and there were no issues.

At that time, we were parking just outside our property because we were completiing renovations. In October 2009, our neighbours asked our intentions relating to the parking and explained that they were going to buy the house from their Landlord. (It was only at that time that we became aware that they actually owned part of the driveway). We explained that we would eventually like to park the car inside our property but we needed to finish the work first. They agreed with us and shook hands on the agreement.

They have now told us that we can no longer park outside the property. My husband agreed and said that we would park inside from now on. He was then told that he could not because they were refusing us to drive over their property onto our drive. I will add that the area to be driven over amounts to approximately 1' x 2'.

I hope I have answered everyone's questions who requested more information and thanks once again.

wodgerdodger

Thanks for added info. Don't quite get the measurements you say of 1'X2' I can understnd a whole strip the length to the properties either 1' or 2' wide but dont understand 1X2 do you mean a strip between 1 and 2 foot up to the property.Sorry to be pedantic but just clarifying.

Is the access to both properties over a private road belonging to the other gentleman?

moreland

Hi Wodgerdodger,

It is very difficult to explain but I'll try.

To approach mine and my neighbours properties from the lane there is a pull-in area. This area is wider than a car and allows ample space either side to walk past. The gate to my property is a large gate leading onto a drive. My neighbour's gate is a small walk-through gate leading to just a path.

Looking at neighbour's plan their boundary comes across (almost diagonally) from their gate to the entrance of the pull-in. The remainder of the land which is not covered by their boundary belongs to the lane. The area of their boundary, at it's narrowest point measures less than 1' and at it's widest point 2' (approx). Therefore, the area that I would need to cross is triangular in shape and is relatively small.

As I said, it is very difficult to explain witholut diagrams.

G_M

As you say, difficult to visualise without a diagram. Is it feasible to approach the local authority (I assume the lane is adopted?) in order to provide widen the pull-in and/or create a new access?