Rights of way and stolen land

cashorcheque

Firefox, I'm not annoyed with anybody at all. I'm certainly not annoyed with the people on the left end - all I am saying is, they now have a statutory declaration that a path once giving right of access for all of us (and which has been pinched) now can be used as a private garden by the people on the right end. This means we no longer have access to our own garden. I absolutely understand why they have done it and am on perfectly good terms with both them and the new owners, but the new owners don't know where they stand legally and are understandably concerned, as are the owners on the right end whose garden appears to include land that is not legally their own.

Finally, absolutely everybody has been using the path that has no right of access over it, because nobody has until now been aware that it is not legally a path. It's not just us. I will, as you suggest, go back to my conveyancer as well as to the Land Registry, so thank you for that.

cashorcheque

PS - thank you Clutton - that really helps. Thanks to you and the other posters we have a bit of a way forward now, and can start working out what our position actually is, rather than what it might be, which is all we have to go on right now.

lincroft1710

I posted this on a similar thread:


Over 50 yrs ago my parents bought an end terrace house in block of 4 which had footpath going up side of ours and other ET house and along the back of all 4 houses between the backyard and garden. However the other ET house had put fence panel across the path where it passed their property at rear and a gate at front. As the owners of other 3 houses did not complain or make representations, that that part of footpath became incorporated into their garden and remains so to this day.

cashorcheque

Thanks for that lincroft - it's good to be aware of these things. I've downloaded our deeds and theirs, which show everything above board as far as I can tell - in fact, according to both our deeds and those of the house on the left end, we have right of access across the path we are already using and indeed right of access across their entire garden! I cannot yet access the new deeds from the ongoing sale (I guess as the sale won't complete until next Monday), so I have no idea where this older path has come from. As soon as I can I will get access to the new deeds for their house.

tux900

cashorcheque wrote: »

I can't seem to upload my Paint diagram of it to this, and Google Earth doesn't show clearly enough what I mean. I'm so sorry!

What part of the country are you in? There are a variety of other sources of maps available so if you can share that (PM if you like) then I'll take a look at finding a map/plan of large(r) scale which may well paint a better picture of what's what.

(Although it does sound like you're already clear on the way forward)

Mathew

tf0401

i had a similar problem and no one could provide any sort of border lines for the front drives or my street of houses because when the houses where built the drives where all one concrete port only to be divided up into single drives at a later date. I made dozens of phone calls to every possible department and no one could sort it

Wig

How about a photocopy picture of the title deed plans for the various houses, then people can see what you're on about.

princeofpounds

The only thing that is likely to solve this is a surveyor, an agreement or a judge.

The one consolation you have is that if the path has been occupied long enough to be acquired, your alternative path has probably been used long enough to have a right of way easement.

Like everyone else has said, the deeds are your starting point, and don't assume they all agree- conflicts are not uncommon!

Fire_Fox

cashorcheque wrote: »

Thanks for that lincroft - it's good to be aware of these things. I've downloaded our deeds and theirs, which show everything above board as far as I can tell - in fact, according to both our deeds and those of the house on the left end, we have right of access across the path we are already using and indeed right of access across their entire garden! I cannot yet access the new deeds from the ongoing sale (I guess as the sale won't complete until next Monday), so I have no idea where this older path has come from. As soon as I can I will get access to the new deeds for their house.

Are you saying you have right of way across the left garden AND the right garden or are you saying you have right of way over the left garden but NOT the right garden as you initially thought? I'd be inclined not to wait until the new deeds are registered as it will be a hassle to change it once the conveyancing file is closed, I'd write to the solicitor concerned immediately and inform him of your findings.

cashorcheque

I don't understand how to upload images from my PC! Sorry, I am being a dunce. I don't have a URL for them - they're in My Pictures .... I am being an idiot. If someone can tell me how to do it, I'll upload them.

Thank you all so much again. Firefox - thanks for that. We have right of way across the back of the right garden and then through the left to ours (at the back). So complicated! Good idea about writing to the solicitor already. I'll contact ours and theirs first thing on Monday.