hi can any body help i have a piece of council land at the side of my property it is 8.5mx4.8m sq it was maintained by the previous owner of the house for 19years and not touched by council at all for that time eg trimming of bushes cutting grass etc,we bought the property 6 years ago and we have maintined it as it was ours. we pressumed the land would of been transferd to us and we put a gravel drive on 1/3 of the grassed area for a car as it is very busy col de sac.The council have now contacted us saying that we need to buy the land as it wasnt ours,They have give us a price as followed
The 1/3 gravel area £1625 = 2.8mx4.8m
The 2/3 grassed area £675 = 5.8mx4.8m
they say the gravelled area is more expensive because its adding £15000 to the value to my property
what is our options they say if we dont buy the land we have to return it to its original state.
can anybody advise us were we stand as the land has been untouched by the council for 25years and it seems like the council is skint and just trying to cash in on us looking after this piece of land
It would be worth making the arrangement "legal" if you don't have any other off-road parking and it does really add £15k to the value of the property, imo.
Is that the total price, or do they also expect you to pay all the conveyancing costs (yours and theirs)?
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no thats just the price of the land,extra cost include solicitors fees surveyour and for the highways agency to lower the kirb,have we got no right of ownership at all cos council have left it for so long.We never put drive on side garden to add extra value to the house there was just no were to park and because we have done the gravel area its classed as adding value to house if it was all just grass it would of been alot cheaper in line with the 2/3 costing but more then double the price for a lesser area
i have asked them how much it would be for the whole grassed area if put back as originally and it would be cheaper but we wouldnt be able to put drive on it. We just feel they are taking the mick out of us cos council are skint.Putting the drive on would no were near put £15000 on value of my property at all.so am i wasting my time cutting grass and pruning bushes for nothing or will it belong to me after a certain amount of time
.... i have a piece of council land at the side of my property it is 8.5mx4.8m sq it was maintained by the previous owner of the house for 19years and not touched by council at all for that time eg trimming of bushes cutting grass etc,we bought the property 6 years ago and we have maintined it as it was ours. we pressumed the land would of been transferd to us and we put a gravel drive on 1/3 of the grassed area for a car as it is very busy col de sac.The council have now contacted us saying that we need to buy the land as it wasnt ours,They have give us a price as followed
The 1/3 gravel area £1625 = 2.8mx4.8m
The 2/3 grassed area £675 = 5.8mx4.8m
what is our options they say if we dont buy the land we have to return it to its original state.
can anybody advise us were we stand as the land has been untouched by the council for 25years
You might stand a chance at getting the Land Registry to register the land in your name if you can prove that it has been effectively part of your property for all of the 25 years. But before you do anything else, check your title with the LandRegistry carefully to see if the council really do own it rather than you.
Assuming that they do own it, then it makes sense to buy it at the offered price - although you may well be able to get it registered in your name, it will probably cost you about the same.
Unless you like playing poker - the price suggests to me that the council might think that you could get it registered in your name because they have suggested that it adds 15000 to your current property value, but their offer is for you to buy it at about 15% of the value to you.
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Just be careful the council who own it don't class it as amenity land and demand planning permission for change of use before you can fence it in. Happened to a relative and they fought him all the way (but lost).
I was present at wreath-laying but don't think I was involved.
so am i wasting my time cutting grass and pruning bushes for nothing or will it belong to me after a certain amount of time
You don't gain rights to any piece of land by parking a car on it and doing a bit of gardening, you put a fence around it to exclude others, and then you wait 12 years to see if anyone else objects.
While you seem to think the council are punishing you for 'looking after' this piece of land, rate payers in your borough might see it differently. They would probably say it's the council's job to get an appropriate price when they dispose of public assets. Most of us here seem to think they are being pretty fair in the in the way they are doing that.
People who don't stand for something will fall for anything.
I understand they need to make money it just does me head in they can change the sq meterage just because there is 2 tonne of gravel on 1/3 of it why should it matter to them if it adds value to my property or not,they have kept quiet about me and the previous owner for last 25years cutting,tidyin picking up litter and dog mess but as soon as i put gravel down they think chi£ ching£ we will slap him with a bill, I wouldnt even mind payin the 2/3 price for all of the land it just winds me up they can have different meterage price for same bit of land, does any one no how to check if it is on land registry? or what web site i go on
Replies
Is the land worth that price to you?
if yes, buy it, if no then dont.
Factor in that if no then you pay a few hundred quid to remove the gravel and go back to grassy.
It would be worth making the arrangement "legal" if you don't have any other off-road parking and it does really add £15k to the value of the property, imo.
Is that the total price, or do they also expect you to pay all the conveyancing costs (yours and theirs)?
You've been lucky to use it for free for 6 yrs, don't look a decent offer like this in the mouth
Assuming that they do own it, then it makes sense to buy it at the offered price - although you may well be able to get it registered in your name, it will probably cost you about the same.
Unless you like playing poker - the price suggests to me that the council might think that you could get it registered in your name because they have suggested that it adds 15000 to your current property value, but their offer is for you to buy it at about 15% of the value to you.
You don't gain rights to any piece of land by parking a car on it and doing a bit of gardening, you put a fence around it to exclude others, and then you wait 12 years to see if anyone else objects.
While you seem to think the council are punishing you for 'looking after' this piece of land, rate payers in your borough might see it differently. They would probably say it's the council's job to get an appropriate price when they dispose of public assets. Most of us here seem to think they are being pretty fair in the in the way they are doing that.
many thanks