advice on permission for shed on communal land

LMC83

Hi, I'm in the process of selling my house and the buyers have come back with a query about my shed and I'm not sure how to respond without getting myself in trouble!
The house is a mid terrace and there is a large gated communal ginnel at the back. All the residents store their bins out there and a few store motor bikes, composters etc.
A few years ago I built a very small shed/storage cupboard in the communal area directly behind my back wall. I spoke to the nearby neighbours about this and none of them had any objection but I don't know who legally owns the land so I never got formal permission for this. To be honest, I didn't think it would be necessary as it's generally accepted by all the residents that we all treat the area directly behind our garden as our own.
My buyers have now come back asking for proof that I got permission for the shed. Does anyone know if there is any legislation/guidance about storage on communal land or if there is a particular process I should have followed?

G_M

1) what's a 'ginnel'?

2) check who owns the land with a LR map search.

3) Do your deeds mention any ROW or other rights over the 'ginnel'?

4) respond to the buyers "Other than uninterrupted use for X years there is no evidence of consent for the shed". If that makes them drop out, so be it - but a stupid reason to withdraw!

penguingirl

A ginnel is a path/ alley behind houses. I live in Lancashire and it is widely used here. I assume in the OPs case it is a little access road that you get to the back gardens from (and they have gates onto it), but it also be used to refer to any little footpaths or cut-throughs between roads

http://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/ginnel

princeofpounds

If it has been there long enough, you may have adverse possession of the land the shed sits on. How long has it been there?

You may also have rights to storage and/or access through an easement (basically a right to use land for a purpose even if you are not the owner). This will be in your deeds or the deeds of the land concerned. You might also establish these rights through long term use (but then adverse possession may be more important anyway).

But such things normally concern access, not storage.


Otherwise, you reply as G_M describes basically.

stator

Do you think the shed adds to the value of your house?
If not tell them the shed has no permission and they can take it or leave it (or you will take it or leave it for them )

RAS

In my area is is common for half the width of the ginnel to be owned by the houses on either side. Check the deeds. In may case I only realisied when I measured the garden and it was less then the length of the deeds. My property extends 6 foot beyond the back gate but I have to allow access to neighbours.

moneyistooshorttomention

"Adverse possession" is highly unlikely if it comes to it, as you don't have "exclusive possession" of that ginnel - so that's a non-runner of an idea.

I'd just respond with the bare facts of "I have had a shed sited in the communal ginnel for x years and have received no objections to it during that time". Then...you've told the "truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth".

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

"Adverse possession" is highly unlikely if it comes to it, as you don't have "exclusive possession" of that ginnel - so that's a non-runner of an idea.

As princeofpounds said, the OP wouldn't need to have exclusive possession of the whole ginnel, just the bit the shed stands on.

And if it's a normal shed, even the world limbo dancing champion would not be able to breach that exclusivity.

Proving it's been there long enough might be tricky, though.

moneyistooshorttomention

The Land Registry can - and does - reject AP claims when its a bit of communal space and without any fence or anything around.

Add the fact that there are buyers who would be wary of someone trying to say they owned land they had "adversely possessed", rather than "bought and paid for" in the normal way and might reject the house on the grounds of wondering what the vendor might get up to against them. A cautious buyer will watch a vendor they have realised isnt trustworthy rather more closely (as my own vendor knows to his cost.....as I took one look at his untrustworthy little face and watched him like a hawk and caught him out in an attempt to pull a stunt on me...).

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

The Land Registry can - and does - reject AP claims when its a bit of communal space and without any fence or anything around.

Add the fact that there are buyers who would be wary of someone trying to say they owned land they had "adversely possessed", rather than "bought and paid for" in the normal way and might reject the house on the grounds of wondering what the vendor might get up to against them. A cautious buyer will watch a vendor they have realised isnt trustworthy rather more closely (as my own vendor knows to his cost.....as I took one look at his untrustworthy little face and watched him like a hawk and caught him out in an attempt to pull a stunt on me...).

Just a reminder that this is a very small shed we're talking about. We've no evidence to suggest that the OP has an "untrustworthy little face," whatever that is.

Certainly, when I took possession of a small area of land and later established a right of way, it didn't seem to affect my visage.

People who came to view my house were delighted to find that the access (into a ginnel, though we call them drings,) knocked a full 5 minutes off the walk into town.

I suppose if you wanted to put a moral spin on it, you could argue that we were all rather lazy and the extra walk would have done us good.

princeofpounds

The Land Registry can - and does - reject AP claims when its a bit of communal space and without any fence or anything around.

No-one is talking about taking possession of the whole alley. Just the land the shed sits on.

Doubt it's been there long enough anyway.