ex council freehold, cul de sac transferred to housing association

poundshillingpence_2

Our ex council freehold semi, bought in 2011, is at the back of a cul de sac that also contains eight council owned maisonettes. The small entrance road, turning circle and green were previously unregistered but formed the communal area.

Now the land outside is to be transferred to a housing association, along with the maisonettes. Can they suddenly try to charge for repairs to the road?

The local search said 'such and such a road is partly private' , without indicating that the cul de sac was the privately owned part. Is a council estate road 'private'? Should the solicitor have queried any possible future expenses for road maintenance?

There is an old Rentcharge of £3 per annum in perpetuity but presumably it is not a service charge? We are considering applying to have it redeemed as it has not been collected by the council for many many years

silvercar

Object to the land being transferred to the housing association on the grounds that you have always had rights over it. At the very very least, you need your rights to access to be written into the deeds for the road or you will have a problem selling.

If the road was partly private it means that the council hadn't adopted it, it doesn't mean that someone else automatically owned it.

poundshillingpence_2

Thanks. There is a right of way, both pedestrian and into the turning circle, in the house deeds.

Now there is concern over what the ( in my view) predatory housing association might decide to do in the name of 'regeneration' and what maintenance charges they may introduce

It transpires that the freehold of the maisonettes was transferred during the housing stock transfer of 2010. Due to missing documents, the land slipped through the net. At the time of the search, the land was in a limbo. The council wants it off the books because they do not wish to adopt the road nor to maintain it.