Drive right of access

KitH

We are having an issue with a neighbour who has not used our drive for 29 years but does have a garage on it (which is landlocked) we have the deeds which say she was granted right of access in 1993, but hasn’t used it since. Can we revoke her right of access? The only place we can park our car is in front of her garage, which we have offered to buy, but she refuses.

AnotherJoe

How do you know she hasnt used it? Did you mean the rights of access are only for vehicular access? If she's ever walked on that land, which you are not going to be able to disprove she hasnt, then thats keeping her access open. No doubt she doesnt want to sell so she can sell the house with a usable garage. This makes for a very awkward set up for your house/drive as well, obviously !

Davesnave

If your title documents give the garage owner a right of way, it cannot be revoked without their consent.

It would be best if you quoted the exact wording from the document, but the above is a summary of the situation with properly drawn up rights of way.

What is the problem anyway if the access is not being used?

zagubov

I wouldn't get hopeful about this; you're faced with proving a negative, and the whole point of rights of way is for them to be maintained against challenges.

TBagpuss

Is the neighbour trying to prevent you from parking on your driveway?
You ned to look at the exact woding of the right she has.

Mojisola

KitH wrote: »

We are having an issue with a neighbour who has not used our drive for 29 years but does have a garage on it (which is landlocked) we have the deeds which say she was granted right of access in 1993, but hasn’t used it since.

Can we revoke her right of access?

The only place we can park our car is in front of her garage, which we have offered to buy, but she refuses.

The right of access doesn't depend on it being used.

It's extremely unlikely that the only access to the building would be withdrawn.

If you tried to go legal on the problem, she could insist that you stop blocking her right of way by parking on it.

Cakeguts

Why are you parking your car on her right of access? The fact that you want to park your car here doesn't mean that you can block her access. Her garage isn't landlocked it has access which you are blocking.



I assume that you didn't give her the right of access and that you bought this house knowing that she had a right of access and they you just assumed that she wouldn't mind if you parked on it when you shouldn't have?

Ozzuk

It seems an odd setup unless your 'drive' also leads to a garage or space you own? If it doesn't then it sounds more like her drive - because if she has a full vehicular right of accesss then on the face of it you cannot park there at any time, whether she is using it or not.

Cakeguts

Where does your drive lead to? Do you have a garage space at the end of it where you haven't built a garage but she has? When was her house built?



It is very difficult to visualise a situation where there is a drive that is one car's width between two houses with a garage belonging to one house and nowhere to put a garage for the other house.



Are you sure that this drive belongs to you and it isn't you that has the right of access over her drive?

Cakeguts

I notice that your first post was on an old thread about adverse possession. I don't understand why you thought adverse possession might be possible in your case if as you say you already own the land that the drive is on. Adverse possession is where you claim land that you don't already own but have used in a number of ways without the actual owner asking you not to.



The fact that you have a house where there is no offstreet parking and you own a car doesn't give you the automatic right to park it wherever you feel like it. If you have a car and a house with no offstreet parking you park your car in the road.

Cakeguts

KitH wrote: »

We are having an issue with a neighbour who has not used our drive for 29 years but does have a garage on it (which is landlocked) we have the deeds which say she was granted right of access in 1993, but hasn’t used it since. Can we revoke her right of access? The only place we can park our car is in front of her garage, which we have offered to buy, but she refuses.

I don't think your deeds will show her right of access I think your deeds will show your right of access and her deeds will show her right of access.


When you bought your house was the drive included on the plan with your house? If it wasn't it isn't your drive.