Access to garage at rear of property

xyz123

we are about to buy a house with garage at the back of the garden. the garage is accessed by a road at the back of the property. That is not a through road but leads to few other garages which are privately rented by council / other houses nearby

solicitor has sent me a council letter regarding this. letter is dated in 1998 (we have asked for the latest formal documentation). The letter mentions a yearly fee for access to the garage and some T&Cs, which are below:

a) That the agreement can be cancelled at any time by giving 30 day notice.
b)the licencee to pay all taxes and outgoings which may arise in connection with the use of the land.
c) licencee is to indemnify the council against all claims, costs or actions which may arise out of the land for access purposes.
d) Licensee is to maintain the accessway in common with other users in a reasonable condition to the satisfaction of the council.

Questions are:

1- can the council charge for access to a garage through a road? charge is around £200 a year.
2- What taxes and outgoings may arise?
3- it seems that they can stop my access at any time by giving the notice. this would stop access to my garage. can i do anything about this?
4- do i need to get some sort of indemnity insurance (i might completely be wrong to even think about this) if so any idea how much does it cost?


any other thoughts are welcome. many thanks for ur time.

squinty

1- can the council charge for access to a garage through a road? charge is around £200 a year.- Yes of course

2- What taxes and outgoings may arise? - for example if the Council are planning to resurface they may want to make a charge. - you will be probably be liable for VAT.

3- it seems that they can stop my access at any time by giving the notice. this would stop access to my garage. can i do anything about this? - No

4- do i need to get some sort of indemnity insurance (i might completely be wrong to even think about this) if so any idea how much does it cost?- No

It is not uncommon for Councils to offer a licence to people to use thier land to access garages, or to offer garage plots for people to erect thier own garages. There charge will cover the cost of maintenance of the land etc. The council are leaving thier options open and may, at a future date, decide to sell the land for development and will only grant an agreement that allows this.

In looking at the house you need to decide if you would still be happy if the access was withdrawn.

Richard_Webster

See below in Red

Questions are:

1- can the council charge for access to a garage through a road? charge is around £200 a year.
If the land is not a public highway and they own it why shouldn't they?
2- What taxes and outgoings may arise?
Probably none, but if there are any Council doesn't see why it should pay any because they arise out of your use of the roadway
3- it seems that they can stop my access at any time by giving the notice. this would stop access to my garage. can i do anything about this?
No, other than try to exert pressure on the Councillors, who may either think it is unfair or take the view that you knew about it so why are you moaning?
4- do i need to get some sort of indemnity insurance (i might completely be wrong to even think about this) if so any idea how much does it cost?
Don't see what kind of indemnity insurance would be available here. That tends to be for cases where people have been using an access but haven't got a definite right, but nobody has tried to stop them. Here the Council are saying you can only use it if you pay their fee.

If the estate agents particulars didn't mention any payments for the use of the roadway then possibly it might be a cause for renegotiating the price slightly.

xyz123

thanks for ur replies. i am talking to the solicitors and hopefully it will be resolved to our satisfaction.