Public Footpath across garden!

keyser123

MrsBartolozzi wrote: »

I don't know if this only applies in Scotland, but when we moved in 5 years ago we were told about a similar right of way at the bottom of our garden. The people next door , and next to them (we are on the end IYKWIM) have owned their property for a minimum of 10 years, and so their strip of "right of way" belongs to them now. My solicitor told me that when the house is owned for 10 years straight by one person/s it will become "theirs".
We had no hesitation buying as the right of way only extends to our garden boundary and so noone would really want to use it, and it is fenced off - has been since before we moved here. (I don't know if one has to apply for this ownership, but am now interested so will find out)

MrsB.
QUOTE]

A possessory title may be in place where some or all of the property's title deeds are missing. The effect is that good title can be guaranteed from the point of the property's first registration but not before. Although the new owner has title to the property, this is subject to any adverse interests existing at the date of first registration. Where possessory title is held, it can be converted to absolute title once it has been held for 12 years: this is because of a long-standing principle that, where someone occupies another's land for a given period without any redress being sought, they can claim a right to the land (this is often described as squatters' rights)

cajef

alfiedog wrote: »

as well as us being homeless as our sale is at late stage.

Have you exchanged contracts?

If not you can always pull out of your sale, you may lose your buyer, or they might be happy to wait until you find something else, but a least you will not be homeless.

Debt_Free_Chick

manhattan wrote: »

Ok it was a poor joke, keep your knickers on

What knickers?

alfiedog_2

No we have not exchanged contracts but do not want to lose our buyers. I knew this process would be stressful.

keyser123

Try and negotiate the price with the person selling. If something has come to light that you weren't aware of when you made your initial offer then you could try and haggle. Gazundering I believe the technical term is.

cajef

Losing your buyers is better than being homeless, maybe they will wait, depends really on how desperate they are for your property.

Unfortunaltely its is all part of selling and buying, we had a buyer pull out a few years ago the day before contracts were due to be exchanged and the whole chain collapsed, nothing you can do about it.

kingkano

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

If the Right of Way is proven (i.e. definitive), then each landowner will be obliged to install a stile to cross any fences. The County Council will supply the materials at no or minimal cost, but installation and maintenance is the responsibility of the landowner.

Have a look at the Rights of Way advice sheet, using the link on this page. It explains the responsibilities of both the landowner AND the user.

HTH

Does the person whose living room it goes thru have to leave the front/back doors open and put stiles in to allow access then??

keyser123

Imagine sitting in your garden one Sunday afternoon and a dozen or so ramblers start walking through! You'd hit the roof right of way or not.

Debt_Free_Chick

kingkano wrote: »

Does the person whose living room it goes thru have to leave the front/back doors open and put stiles in to allow access then??

Not sure if you're trying to be clever :rolleyes: , or whether you've just selected only part of my post to make your point

To be clear .... I suggested that the RoW, as described here, was possibly defective and that the properties were built after the RoW had been established. It would be incongruous for a RoW to be established if it went through an existing property (you need to be aware of the law that relates to the establishment of RoWs to appreciate this point).

In order for (new) properties to be built where an RoW already existed, the RoW would need to be re-routed, so that it did not go through a (new) dwelling. It's difficult to imagine that PP would be granted for a (new) dwelling that would include a RoW "through it".

There is minimal - if any - risk that an RoW goes through an existing dwelling. If there is (and I accept that it's not guaranteed to be "impossible") then "yes" - the owner of the property needs to give unencumbered access to the RoW. There is no need to erect a stile where a door will do e.g. from a reception room to a dining room, or kitchen or whatever. Generally, a stile is a means to negotiating a fence/hedgerow. Unencumbered access is the key here, by whatever means it is achieved.

For the avoidance of doubt, RoWs generally exist as a result of a well-established route over someone else's land - and that Right would probably have existed before the construction of any dwelling. Any current RoW that appears to go through a dwelling needs further investigation, as the likelihood is that the RoW was diverted - or that a proposal was made to divert the RoW - when the dwelling was built.

Of course, if you have a dwelling that was constructed without the relevant permissions (planning, Highways etc) then you may have a problem.

But the vast majority of RoWs don't present a problem.

HTH

kingkano

Not sure if you're trying to be clever , or whether you've just selected only part of my post to make your point

It was both to be honest and also to clarify the point I guess. Very succinctly explained!