Shared access road & land - how to find out details of ownership

Emmazom

I don't want ownership of the land, I just want to ensure that no-one will be able to take away the right of way at any point as if we can't park in the back garden we've nowhere else to park. The plans haven't been of much use from what i can see and now I'm down £6 lol

dc197

There's another document that goes with the simple title & plan, a much larger document that describes rights of and over the property.
This is what you need.
I can't remember the name, nor how you purchase it,but I'm sure G_M will know.
I'd like to know because I want to download the same for a neighbouring property.

Emmazom

That could be more helpful, I just looked at the key code and it shows a colour code for right of way, but that isn't on either plan so I'm assuming no-one owns it? But if no-one owns it then who's responsible for the upkeep or do we just keep driving on it until it's like driving over the moon!

Dan-Dan

Emmazom wrote: »

That could be more helpful, I just looked at the key code and it shows a colour code for right of way, but that isn't on either plan so I'm assuming no-one owns it? But if no-one owns it then who's responsible for the upkeep or do we just keep driving on it until it's like driving over the moon!

Very likely , from experience i can tell you that unadopted roads upkeep shared between households normally equals nobody contributes anything

Some of us spend a bit on gravel each year to fill the worst of the holes

Emmazom

We wouldn't mind spending on upkeep to maintain the worst of it, especially access to "our" part, I'm just more concerned someone will put up a big gate one day and deny us entry

Land_Registry

The seller is really the best person to answer your Qs but if you want to do your own detective work then...

Who owns it - start as directed by checking if the land is registered online. If nothing is available then the odds are it is unregistered as suggested. If you used the Map enquiry service then that is most likely the case.

Any of the adjoining registered titles may offer a clue as to the owner, particularly if they refer to a right of way over it and/or maintenance for example. If they have a right of way granted to them then the deed details may offer clues as to who owned it at the time the right(s) were granted.

Maintaining it - if the adjoining titles do not refer then the owner is responsible but you don't know who the owner is so catch 22 until you do.

It can be very hit and miss re unregistered land and it's ownership as there is no central record. That's why it is often best to ask the sellers (and neighbours?) for insight as they may have some local knowledge that helps as well

Emmazom

I've been looking online and downloaded the plan for the house we're interested in and the one attached and nothing is showing up, so I think we'll just enquire a bit more with the sellers tomorrow, although I'm not sure how much they know as they don't use the rear access. Then we'll go an enquire with the neighbours.

If we do manage to find out who owns it, how would we go about getting them to maintain it because at the minute it's full of pot holes and doesn't make a fun drive in my partners car.

Dan-Dan

Emmazom wrote: »

I've been looking online and downloaded the plan for the house we're interested in and the one attached and nothing is showing up, so I think we'll just enquire a bit more with the sellers tomorrow, although I'm not sure how much they know as they don't use the rear access. Then we'll go an enquire with the neighbours.

If we do manage to find out who owns it, how would we go about getting them to maintain it because at the minute it's full of pot holes and doesn't make a fun drive in my partners car.

This was my point , if its unadopted and there is no management co set up to manage a fund for it , then you will be relying on people putting their heads together and hands in pockets

Emmazom

I'll do some digging tomorrow when we go to view, if we come up with nothing then we'll just factor that in if we do decide to put in an offer, as I'm assuming if no-one has made an effort to maintain it by now no convincing by me will help

moneyistooshorttomention

I would think there could be an advantage in it not being clear who owns this road. That way = people have to get together on an equal basis with each other and decide communally how things will be done.

If one person owns it - there is always the risk that they have the idea in their head that goes "I order the others what to do (ie pay a share of the cost) and they should just obey" and it's at that point that trouble is more likely to start (ie as people are, understandably, reluctant to pay for Someone Else's decision that they have had no part in).

It is the general expectation, as far as I can make out, that communal road maintenance will normally be discussed and agreed communally (not an imposed decision by a road-owner).

Obviously, whoever the new owner of the house you are interested in is (be it you or someone else) then the "dynamics" of relationships in the road will change (and that could be for the better or the worse).