Right of Way

o2x

Hi there

My 1st post - please be gentle

My property does not currently have access to the rear. My next door neighbour does but he has right of way in the deeds to his property from his next door neighbours and the council.

If i wanted right of way, do i need to get right of way granted by everyone, or just my next door neighbour?

Alternately. If i offer to buy the piece of land where he has right of way from my neighbour, do i inherit the right of way granted to him?

Thanks.

O.

moneyistooshorttomention

Another way to look at it is whether the house lends itself to having one of the windows at the back of the house replaced by French doors and then it would be possible to get to the back garden of your house without any ROW question arising.

People, in the main, don't like others having ROW over their land and will avoid it if they possibly can. Hence you would avoid aggro about it if you did a window to French door swop if the house layout allows of it.

o2x

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Another way to look at it is whether the house lends itself to having one of the windows at the back of the house replaced by French doors and then it would be possible to get to the back garden of your house without any ROW question arising.

People, in the main, don't like others having ROW over their land and will avoid it if they possibly can. Hence you would avoid aggro about it if you did a window to French door swop if the house layout allows of it.

Thanks for the reply.

I don't think i was very clear. I meant i need access to the house via the back. There is a lane behind the house that ends at my next door neighbours. However he already has ROW across his neighbour's garden. In order to get into my back garen i would have to cross both gardens.

O.

moneyistooshorttomention

Clarifying then....does that mean the only way to get into that house at all is to go over that land at the back? Or do you access the front door of the house via another road?

stator

If you bought the land the ROW would be preserved. You would have to pay both your neighbours for a right of way across their land. How much depends on their personalities more than anything else.

Land_Registry

o2x wrote: »

My property does not currently have access to the rear. My next door neighbour does but he has right of way in the deeds to his property from his next door neighbours and the council.

If i wanted right of way, do i need to get right of way granted by everyone, or just my next door neighbour?

Alternately. If i offer to buy the piece of land where he has right of way from my neighbour, do i inherit the right of way granted to him?

If you wanted a right of way then the landowners over which you wanted the right would have to grant you it

If you buy a piece of land which already has a right of way then the right of way should pass with the land as well. The right would be for the benefit of the piece of land bought only although that should not be an issue as you will then own both a part of the benefiting land along with your own property.

I imagine it is a case of establishing how much the adjoining landowners want in order to grant the right (if they will of course) and comparing it with the cost of buying a piece of the already benefiting land?

moneyistooshorttomention

Land_Registry_representative wrote: »

If you wanted a right of way then the landowners over which you wanted the right would have to grant you it

If you buy a piece of land which already has a right of way then the right of way should pass with the land as well. The right would be for the benefit of the piece of land bought only although that should not be an issue as you will then own both a part of the benefiting land along with your own property.

I imagine it is a case of establishing how much the adjoining landowners want in order to grant the right (if they will of course) and comparing it with the cost of buying a piece of the already benefiting land?

That first paragraph needs putting in exact, precise words, or it could lead to people thinking they can ask for a ROW and get it.

From all the legal type reading I've done recently, my interpretation of the law is that people MAY be able to ask for a "prescriptive easement" if there is somewhere they need to access (eg their home) AND provided that it is the house itself (and not that particular owner at the time) that needs this easement AND most importantly of all the person wanting an easement granted has provably had that usage for at least 20 years.

The words used sound like anyone can just ask and get given if they want to, but the main aspect is "Can they prove they have had what they want for at least 20 years? Can they prove their house needs it for access?".

Re OP's specific point, I am still wondering whether he could access his back garden from his own house (ie via putting in a French door) in which case his house doesn't need to have him walking across the neighbours land and taking the resultant risks of trying to impose that on those neighbours (eg them just happening to decide to get out the hosepipe to "water their garden" just as he is walking over their garden;)).

Land_Registry

moneyistooshorttomention - I appreciate the post but in this example the OP is referring to an existing right of way rather than one which is to be claimed, namely would be prescriptive.

OP has made no mention of trying to claim a right and nor have they referred to it as a right of necessity for example. The OP appears keen to either establish a granted right of access or one which already exists albeit enjoyed by an adjoining piece of land/property.

Hopefully people who read these posts read the whole thread to understand the context before acting upon any advice given. But if you feel that there is a risk that someone might be mislead by the post then happy to state that it relates solely to the scenario as explained by the OP and that a prescriptive or claimed right is something quite different.

If the OP or anyone else wants to take the thread down the prescriptive route then here's a link to our online guidance on prescriptive easements (rights) in case anyone needs it

Winter_Phoenix

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Re OP's specific point, I am still wondering whether he could access his back garden from his own house (ie via putting in a French door) in which case his house doesn't need to have him walking across the neighbours land and taking the resultant risks of trying to impose that on those neighbours (eg them just happening to decide to get out the hosepipe to "water their garden" just as he is walking over their garden;)).

Money, if I have understood the OP correctly, they are not trying to get access to their back garden from their house.

They are trying to get access to a lane which runs near the back of their house and garden. But to reach the lane, they would need to cross the gardens of two other properties.