Is there a minimum property walkway / access size?

rach_k

Unless you can prove that the neighbour has taken some of your land, I would approach this very carefully with the neighbour (I would ask to buy some land, as suggested above). After all, if the neighbour has only fenced their own land, it is not their fault that the builder of your house built it too close to the boundary to allow decent access. Why should they move their fence when it is your house that is the problem?! So be nice to them, take some biscuits round and ask if you can come to some arrangement... unless you are VERY sure that they've taken your land.

Davesnave

rach_k wrote: »

Unless you can prove that the neighbour has taken some of your land, I would approach this very carefully with the neighbour.

I agree that it's jumping the gun to assume land has been misappropriated at this point. Other neighbours can be a source of information, but it takes time to know who is reliable and who might be best ignored!

The last thing the OP needs is a boundary dispute, especially if they have no documentary evidence that supports any such claim. Legal costs to approach these may quickly escalate into the thousands of £, perhaps with no satisfactory result.

Sometimes Google aerial maps and Street View may be helpful in seeing how things were in the recent past, but not very often.

ams12688

Wow, thanks so much for everyone's replies! This is most helpful.

When I say bought, I should have said we are close to exchanging (fingers crossed in a week or two!) however this has been worrying me and I am tempted to raise it as an issue.

I found the original listing of when the house was sold to the current owner, from two years ago, and this is how it was sold to him - with a MUCH wider walkway between the house and the neighbour's field... apparently according to the neighbour in the house next door, the land owner took back this space because the owner of the house I'm going to buy, was parking a car in that spot and so she moved her fence over to stop that happening and because he was putting the house up for sale... however I am convinced it is just simply too tight and not really fair access - especially with barbed wire!!

As I'm a new forum member, I cannot post any links :-( !!! I have the photos before and current, but can't post! Boo! I've re-measured and it's 20inch width walkway due to the thick wood posts she has erected for the barbed wire fencing- yikes.

The title plan forwarded by the solicitor has no mention of any size- and is a super tiny little drawing which is of no help whatsoever as it's so small!

I take it there is no minimum access? I'm not worried if she owns it, I just think it should be fair access to get through. My intention is to renovate and sell.

ams12688

Also, the house was built around 1910.

LandyAndy

ams12688 wrote: »

Wow, thanks so much for everyone's replies! This is most helpful.

When I say bought, I should have said we are close to exchanging (fingers crossed in a week or two!) however this has been worrying me and I am tempted to raise it as an issue.

I found the original listing of when the house was sold to the current owner, from two years ago, and this is how it was sold to him - with a MUCH wider walkway between the house and the neighbour's field... apparently according to the neighbour in the house next door, the land owner took back this space because the owner of the house I'm going to buy, was parking a car in that spot and so she moved her fence over to stop that happening and because he was putting the house up for sale... however I am convinced it is just simply too tight and not really fair access - especially with barbed wire!!

.

I was going to suggest a chat asap with the field owner to find out if they would be willing to move their fence once you have bought but the more I think about it the more I favour telling your vendor you won't buy unless the fence is moved prior to exchange. This is unlikely to happen so I'm thinking you'll end up walking away and possibly having a lucky escape.

tonyh66

I would definitely raise it as an issue (and not exchanging before it is resolved) something is not right here. If you put photos onto a photo hosting site then post the links to the photos on here. Chances are that the house has a right of access across the walkway written into the deeds and the neighbour has no right to block it.

do you have a link to the property listing? was it on Rightmove?

ams12688

Thanks again for all the replies so swiftly! I have just emailed my solicitor and said we need to raise the issue (as I had mentioned it before, but now I have said I don't want to complete until something firm is addressed on this).

As I'm a new member, I can't seem to post any links on here (forum blocks it, drags!), but here is the page to the OLD listing, which is how it was sold/bought by the current owner (2years ago) - with MUCH wider access.

onthemarket.com/details/2247726/

and CURRENTLY as it stands

zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43641096?search_identifier=b4d2fda871d716678955585076fe2107#yHVsm7AQT7TsTIod.97

ams12688

^^^ that was the only way I could post links, so if you copy and paste into browser URL they should come up :-)

LandyAndy

https://www.onthemarket.com/details/2247726/


is the first link.


The other doesn't seem to work

ams12688

^^ Thanks, yes that is the PAST listing, how it was when current vendor bought it.

This is the CURRENT condition / listing when I put the offer in
zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/43641096