Rights of way law on a house

Joskat

We had a similar problem while buying our house. Our solicitor was quite forceful in her advice that the vendor and neighbour sort it before we completed. It was the right advice - in the end the Land Registry became involved with boundary changes etc. We exchanged the day after receiving confirmation that it was all resolved, and we have a good relationship with the neighbour. Not sure it would have been the case had it been left to us to resolve after purchasing the property......

dc197

Davesnave wrote: »

How you assess the situation is up to you. If it were me, I'd go back to the neighbour. I'd explain that a problem had arisen over the sale, due to his apparent use of the land without a formal agreement. I'd seek his opinion on what the way forward might be.

I'd do that too, once fully armed with all the facts. Bring in the vendor too, go to a pub (neutral ground) and talk about it.

Davesnave

dc197 wrote: »

I'd do that too, once fully armed with all the facts. Bring in the vendor too, go to a pub (neutral ground) and talk about it.

Well.... yes, but mainly to find out about the neighbour and his relationship with the OP, which indeed might be much more apparent after a few bevvies!

I'd be trying to establish whether the neighbour was a bully. Later information supplied suggests he is, and to me that would be much more of an issue than giving someone rights over a few m2 of concrete.

Yorkie1

tomodo99 wrote: »

seller has no made no effort to resolve, have basically said to take it or leave it

Definitely leave it!

discat11 wrote: »

Might it be worth simply selling the strip of land to the neighbour?

Just in case anyone in a similar situation is thinking of this as a possible solution:

If the seller does this before sale, you'd need to make sure that the title deeds of both properties were updated before the sale to you, and also that your mortgage application / valuation (if you're getting one) is fully appraised of the situation, as it may affect how much they value the property at and how much they will lend (particularly if you're near a LTV band boundary).

If you are faced with selling a strip post-purchase of the property, and have a mortgage, you'll need the permission of the lender as by selling off part of the land you're probably reducing the value of the land and thus their security for the loan.