Shared Maintenance of Private Land

LG142

We own a garage and parking space on a piece of private land that is owned collectively between a number of houses in our road. There is no solid agreement in place as to how we would all contribute towards maintenance but now there are a few things that need to be done as the land is in a right state. Where do we stand legally with this? Obviously easiest solution would be that all neighbours agree to contribute upon receiving quotes for the work but somehow I don’t think it will be that easy and I don’t see why I should pay out for something that is a joint responsibility. Any advice would be appreciated

AdrianC

What are the legals of ownership? Who is the freeholder? Are there leases in place for the garages? How many people are involved?

This has the potential for a complete nightmare, unless you can all get together and put some kind of formal structure in place.

ToxicWomble

So do other households also own parking and a garage on this space or just you ?
Are you sure you own the space and the garage ? Not sure how you can own a parking space on a piece of land that is owned by another(s) as well unless there is a definite legal agreement in place.
if you are the only person who actually has/requires access to this piece of land it may be very difficult/impossible to force others to make the improvement.
You will need to check deeds and contracts and involve some proper legal assistance I would think

comeandgo

If there is no agreement in place then you are at the mercy of all the other owners.  Maybe some don't think there is any need for repairs.  We deliberately kept a stretch of jointly owned land pot holed as it kept speed down.  

LG142

AdrianC said:

What are the legals of ownership? Who is the freeholder? Are there leases in place for the garages? How many people are involved?

This has the potential for a complete nightmare, unless you can all get together and put some kind of formal structure in place.

There are 11 garages/spaces and our deeds state that we are responsible for the maintenance of the land these are on and also a small section in front of them, so collectively all 11 people own the whole land but are each responsible for a small section. Some of them are homeowners and some are just renting from a private landlord or housing association. My immediate neighbour is on board with helping to organise/pay for maintenance needed as with the state it is in at the moment we are unable to use our garages or parking spaces. But getting the rest of the people on board could be an issue 

LG142

ToxicWomble said:

So do other households also own parking and a garage on this space or just you ?
Are you sure you own the space and the garage ? Not sure how you can own a parking space on a piece of land that is owned by another(s) as well unless there is a definite legal agreement in place.
if you are the only person who actually has/requires access to this piece of land it may be very difficult/impossible to force others to make the improvement.
You will need to check deeds and contracts and involve some proper legal assistance I would think

  There are 11 garages/spaces and our deeds state that we are responsible for the maintenance of the land these are on and also a small section in front of them, so collectively all 11 people own the whole land but are each responsible for a small section. Some of them are homeowners and some are just renting from a private landlord or housing association. My immediate neighbour is on board with helping to organise/pay for maintenance needed as with the state it is in at the moment we are unable to use our garages or parking spaces. But getting the rest of the people on board could be an issue 

AdrianC

This is why I asked what the legals of ownership are.

11 people cannot jointly own land. The maximum is four names on a LR title deed. 11 people can own shares in a company that owns the land, but...

LG142

comeandgo said:

If there is no agreement in place then you are at the mercy of all the other owners.  Maybe some don't think there is any need for repairs.  We deliberately kept a stretch of jointly owned land pot holed as it kept speed down.  

Sadly I think you might be right, but I don’t see why we should pay out for repairs that others are partly responsible for too. Hopefully we can get enough people to contribute

eddddy

LG142 said:

We own a garage and parking space on a piece of private land that is owned collectively between a number of houses in our road. 

You need to be a lot more specific about the details of the legal ownership.

For example, do you own the leasehold of your garage?  If so, who is the lessor/landlord (who might also be the freeholder of the land)?

The lease will probably specify who is responsible for maintaining the garages and land, and who is responsible for paying for the maintenance.

(And if you don't own the leasehold, what legal basis do you have for using the garage?)

PasturesNew

There is no answer. 
You have a choice: 
1/ Just do your bit, bugg4h everybody else
2/ Try to get everybody (owners and landlords) to agree it needs to be done and get quotes and agree to have it done. 
3/ Ignore it and hope somebody else does something. 

LG142

AdrianC said:

This is why I asked what the legals of ownership are.

11 people cannot jointly own land. The maximum is four names on a LR title deed. 11 people can own shares in a company that owns the land, but...

So are you suggesting that although we may all have responsibilities to maintain our part of the land that there may be a separate owner of the piece of land as a whole?