Road not adopted (section 38)

Liam1988

Hi there,

Looking for advice. We are selling our house and have recently found out the developer never completed the process to have our road adopted by the council - it’s been 5 years since the building work has finished on our street.

The developer admitted this was an oversight and has begun the process, but our buyer has now decided (we think due to solicitor advice) to pull out. They say there mortgage provider would not accept the situation and have declined the proposed indemnity policy (maybe due to the amount they’re needing to borrow and the ‘risk’. Even if the road was not adopted surely there would be no fees to them for maintenance unless they wanted to pay for it.

My question is, what responsibility do the developers have, if any, if the road needs repairing and they are still responsible for it, and secondly what could we do in this situation to help with finding another buyer?

Thanks

kdotdotdotdot

For the buyer, it's a risk because there's no knowing what costs may suddenly be thrown up that they may become responsible.

I'm actually about to buy a house that's got pathway and land in front of it that's not adopted by the council (after 50 years!) and taking a chance that as it's been so long, the council has forgotten it's not theirs (it gets mowed and trees are trimmed by the council). I'm not so sure that I'd take that risk with an unadopted road, however.

davidmcn

Liam1988 wrote: »

Even if the road was not adopted surely there would be no fees to them for maintenance unless they wanted to pay for it.

My question is, what responsibility do the developers have, if any, if the road needs repairing and they are still responsible for it, and secondly what could we do in this situation to help with finding another buyer?

Surely your solicitor is in the best place to explain the title provisions and potential solutions to you? It's likely that the road is now the responsibility of you (and the other owners), not the original developer. What did your original purchase contract say about it?

RelievedSheff

It is not uncommon for highways on new estates to take several years after the estate is competed before they are adopted by the council.

Getting roads adopted under a S38 agreement is a lengthy and costly process.

We bought a new build last year. They are still building on the estate and we don't expect the highways to be adopted for a good few years yet. They will remain the responsibility of the developer until the local authority adopts them. Assuming the developers started the S38 process then the local authority will have received a bond payment from the developer which covers the liability for maintaining the highways should the developer go bust prior to S38 adoption taking place.

ethank

Who is your developer and are they still developing?

A letter from the developer which states that they are responsible for the roads will suffice for the buyer's solicitor.

martindow

Is there any certainty that the council is going to adopt the estate? A lot of places end up with a system where householders have to pay monthly fees for the site maintenance mowing, etc. which would presumably extend to maintaining roads and pavements when the time comes.