Buying property in unadoped close.

losgiganteskid

Could someone with some knowledge or experience please tell me the upside and the downside of buying a property in an unadopted close.

I can see some small benefit insofar that only owners resident in the close can use it - but there appears to be many negatives such as water/sewage pipe repair/maintenance - electric and gas supplies etc.

If the close is block paved (could be the reason the Council don't want to adopt) what are the implications of say the garbage lorry coming up the close with a 20 ton trash lorry rolling over the slabs - would it mean households in the close having to wheel their wheelie bins down to the street which is adopted where the bin lorry does go ?
Thanks in advance

comeandgo

Dont agree that only owners, residents can use it. I have lived in a street that was not adopted and the bin men came, the gritters came and the council lerry emptied the gullies there too. The water/sewage, electric etc was still the responsibility of the utility companies.

losgiganteskid

My understanding is that in 2014 the Water Authorities throughout the country will take over full responsibility of drainage and water supply irrespective of whether the close is adopted or unadpoted.

Buy that still leaves gas and electric. Plus if the unadopted close sinks or developes faults some years down the line, guess the owners of properties in the unadopted close have to collectively share the cost of putting things right - more easily said than done.

gazter

yes, there are risks, especially if some work needs to be done but one of the owners refuses to put their hand in their pocket.

Oxid8uk

I own a property on an unadopted road. Parking has never been a problem as only residents of the houses on that part of the road use it. We do have to take all the bins and recycling boxes down to the part of the cul-de-sac that is adopted as the bin lorries will not come down it - can be a right pain if the boxes are full and heavy (and it is p*ssing it down with rain)!

My road is only hardcore and not tarmac so maintenance wise there isn't any really required. In 8 years I have only needed to put a little bit more hardcore down in one small pot hole that only effected me (I own the house at the very end).

Richard_Webster

A road can be a private road that only residents and those they invite can use or can be a highway (available to be used by the public generally). Most highways are adopted i.e. maintained by the highway authority - but they do not have to be - some are unadopted - subject to highway rights but maintained by those who front them.

So private roads and unadopted highways are not the same. You need to be clear which yours is.

losgiganteskid

Oxid8uk wrote: »

I own a property on an unadopted road. Parking has never been a problem as only residents of the houses on that part of the road use it. We do have to take all the bins and recycling boxes down to the part of the cul-de-sac that is adopted as the bin lorries will not come down it - can be a right pain if the boxes are full and heavy (and it is p*ssing it down with rain)!

My road is only hardcore and not tarmac so maintenance wise there isn't any really required. In 8 years I have only needed to put a little bit more hardcore down in one small pot hole that only effected me (I own the house at the very end).

Its not so much the condition of the road surface, which I believe will be block paved by the developers/builders, but if the road has to be dug up to get to either water - sewer pipes - electric cables or gas supply pipes - that's my main concern - together with of course the cost involved which would have to presumably shared between owners of property along the road and where one or two owner can't or wont pay