buying a house on a private road

lush_walrus

What type of private road is it, are you part of a wider estate owned by a housing association for example where the estate roads were never adopted or is it a little dirt track joint owned? Or somewhere in between.

We live in a private road, three of us on it. We own the road together, we manage any works required and meet formally to discuss matters every quarter. We pay a amount into a sink fund and go pay for a gardener to maintain planting along the route. It's never been an issue but our obligations are clearly set out and so far, we have been here 10 years, we have all stuck to them.

moneyistooshorttomention

G_M wrote: »

You'll get a far better picture from someone with no personal interest in selling to you, and whilst the strict legal position is important to understand, so is the actual reality of how it works year by year. The neighbours will know.

I would add the corollary to that to knock on more than one door - as there may be differences of opinion between different owners in the road as to how the decisions about it are made.

moneyistooshorttomention

JP1978 wrote: »

Our deeds say we need to pay a third of any upkeep to the driveway, nothing re any liability.

The deeds won't say anything about liability (ie in case anyone decides to sue).

Suing for this sort of thing is a modern-day thing that's come along since many of these roads were built.

Liability lies with the owner of the road - if there is one.

If there isn't one (or no-one is owning up to being owner) then things start getting more complicated and one would need legal advice on that (which, I would imagine, would boil down to the frontager that was by the bit of the road the accident had happened on????? - but a solicitor would need to clarify on that).

AnotherJoe

You aren’t liable merely because someone falls over, it would have to be your fault such as a pothole or loose paving slab.

davidmcn

AnotherJoe wrote: »

You aren’t liable merely because someone falls over, it would have to be your fault such as a pothole or loose paving slab.

And such risks are included by standard in home insurance policies anyway (e.g. someone tripping on your own garden path/driveway), which I think extends to property owned in common as a pertinent to the house (though how it works if covered by several policies and/or a proprietor who doesn't have insurance I dunno).

G_M

walwyn1978 wrote: »

As far as compensation etc our street management company used to take out an insurance policy but we were a through road, you could walk down it bwteeen two standard public roads so it was felt that made sense. In your case there may be no need for that as from the sound Of your post it's a short cul de sac? Again, speak to the neighbour's and see what they currently do if anything.

Being a cul de sac is no guarantee against liability.

My friend lives in a London mews and the mews owners have had a £2000 claim made against them by a taxi driver (loose cobbles apparantly damaged his undercarriage).

such risks are included by standard in home insurance policies anyway (e.g. someone tripping on your own garden path/driveway), which I think extends to property owned in common as a pertinent to the house

Hmmm. Worth checking, but I seriously doubt this.

Though it probably depends how the road is owned.

If each property owns the section of road outside, ith house & road section on the same Title, then possibly (though how the taxi driver would know who to claim against.....).

If the road had its own Title (as my friend's mews) which was jointly owned by each property owner, then that would be quite different.

davidmcn

G_M wrote: »

Hmmm. Worth checking, but I seriously doubt this.

Though it probably depends how the road is owned.

If each property owns the section of road outside, ith house & road section on the same Title, then possibly (though how the taxi driver would know who to claim against.....).

If the road had its own Title (as my friend's mews) which was jointly owned by each property owner, then that would be quite different.

If a separate title then yes that would be different. But my home policy covers me for "Sums you or your family legally have to pay, as owners of your home, for causing accidental death of or bodily injury to any person".

So if my home's title includes (as it does - Scottish freehold flat) a one-third interest in the stairs and front path then I would say I am covered for claims in respect of my flat's interest for slips/trips on the stairs etc. I can't see any relevant exclusions.

moneyistooshorttomention

davidmcn wrote: »

And such risks are included by standard in home insurance policies anyway (e.g. someone tripping on your own garden path/driveway), which I think extends to property owned in common as a pertinent to the house (though how it works if covered by several policies and/or a proprietor who doesn't have insurance I dunno).

Because we are in a compensation culture these days - I wondered about this before I bought my house in an unadopted road.

My reading, at the time, was that my own personal household insurance covers only my own personal property (ie my house and my garden). It doesnt cover the road as a whole for sure.

I don't know whether it would cover any section of road that is "frontage" to the house concerned - but very much doubt it. It would obviously be worth the while of anyone buying a house with some "frontage" and without a known owner to the road to check that fact out.

G_M

davidmcn wrote: »

If a separate title then yes that would be different. But my home policy covers me for "Sums you or your family legally have to pay, as owners of your home, for causing accidental death of or bodily injury to any person".

So if my home's title includes (as it does - Scottish freehold flat) a one-third interest in the stairs and front path then I would say I am covered for claims in respect of my flat's interest for slips/trips on the stairs etc. I can't see any relevant exclusions.

Though lawyers (and insurance companies!) could have a field day defining 'home'.

It might well include the stairs and front path of the building. But would it also include the road, even IF the road was on the same Title......?

And a damaged car would not fall within 'accidental death of or bodily injury to...'.

The point is, the OP needs to investigate and understand the particular circumstances of this property and road. Not make assumptions based on eg

* it's a cul de sac so no through traffic
* there's a home insurance policy, so it's all covered
* someone else has ignored insurance for 20 years and never received a claim or had a problem

moneyistooshorttomention

I was also wondering how an insurance company that were so minded as to try and wriggle out of a claim would interpret the word "home" and wouldnt care to say that it was set in stone as the commonsense definition one would suppose at first sight.

What is definitely clear here is that that phrase only mentions a person having injury or death because of the road. What about if some property (eg a vehicle) had injury because of the road? I don't see the word "vehicle" anywhere in that sentence.

EDIT; I'm also wondering about the words "legally have to pay" as well. Again there is a commonsense definition of that phrase - but the insurance company might argue about that word "have". If they wanted to be really bl*ody-minded - they might say "You don't HAVE to - you could choose to say that the law doesnt lay down 'x injury means £y compensation'. It's not like a personal injury claim - whereby there is a bit of a scale of suggested compensation for the loss of a limb for instance". I'm not aware of a scale of suggested payouts laid down in writing for injury to a vehicle.