Deeds and Right Of Way

TheArsenal

Hi everyone,

So I managed to get hold of the deeds for the house. It says the following:

 The land has the benefit of the following right granted by a Conveyance of the land in this title dated 12 March 1931 made between (1) (Name 1) and (2) (Name 2):-

"Together with the right to pass and repass in common with all other persons entitled thereto over and along the passage way of the width of three feet six inches in the rear of the said piece or parcel of land hereby conveyed."

I will be honest I’m not sure this makes anything clearer for me. Any ideas? If not, I’ll take it to the solicitor when we get to that stage! 

davidmcn

It means the neighbours have the right to go along the path. Whether in practice they ever actually do that is something you'd need to ask the vendors. 

greatcrested

Yes it makes things clearer. You have a ROW, and so do some other people.

Where exactly this ROW exists ("the passageway" may be through the gate or it may be somewhere else eg an alley at the end of the garden?) will will clarified by looking at

a) the Title Plan (did you pay the extra £3 to download this?) and/or

b) the Conveyance dated 12 March 1931.

To get the Conveyance you'll have to apply to the Land Registry for a paper copy using Form OC 2 for £7 here.

Mojisola

TheArsenal said:

So I managed to get hold of the deeds for the house. It says the following:

The land has the benefit of the following right granted by a Conveyance of the land in this title dated 12 March 1931 made between (1) (Name 1) and (2) (Name 2):-

"Together with the right to pass and repass in common with all other persons entitled thereto over and along the passage way of the width of three feet six inches in the rear of the said piece or parcel of land hereby conveyed."

It means the middle terrace neighbours (and it may also apply to more properties) have the right to walk on the designated pathway across your garden whenever they want.  Any visitors to their house can also use the pathway.

It's no good finding out how often the current neighbours use the pathway because the situation could change when the neighbours change.

Would you be happy with your neighbours and their friends and workmen using the path whenever and how often they want?  It's a common set-up in older terraces and many people do live with them quite happily; others find it intolerable.

TheArsenal

Thank you for the time spent replying everyone. 

I downloaded the title plan but it doesn’t seem to show a right of way across the garden. 

There seems to be a pathway that runs the length of the whole street behind the garden (but not within the boundary). Perhaps that is what the deeds are referring to? I sort of assumed not as they are outside the boundary. The vendor did mention this pathway behind the gardens but said that it is overgrown and full of trees now so no one actually uses it. 

More of a worry is the gate (well it’s more of a door) in the fence that is close to the house. There isn’t any real pathway there, just straight into the garden. The side access gate that leads out onto the road is right up against the house itself. So this would mean those using the row (if it is one) walking right up past the conservatory/windows of the house. 

We are going to download the other document you mentioned that can hopefully clear it up a bit more. Then decide if it is something we can live with or not. For us, I think a row at the end of the garden is different to right up against the house, but we will see. 

HampshireH

The title plan will show you if the back path falls under the ownership.

Example. My house has a path at the back. Its useless to me it only accesses 4 other houses back gardens. But i own ths bit behind my fence to the road. Similarly i own the path to the front of my house to a certain point before the neighbour takes over.

Both has right of way to those immediately on it (4 houses to the back & 1 to the front)

Despite that the front path is frequented by everybody.

Both are shaded in blue within my red boundary lines on my title plan.

greatcrested

HampshireH said:

The title plan will show you if the back path falls under the ownership.

The backpath may fall outside the boundary, but the property owner (and others) may have a ROW over it.

Conveyance dated 1931 will clairfy.

From what you've said so far, it appears the gate is just a convenience with no legal meaning - but this may not be so.

Falafels

I have an historic ROW which appears to take you across my next door neighbour's front garden - through where the hedge is - and thence across the drive. I am then entitled to pass and repass on foot in an area which is now her shrubbery. 

I've been here for 25 years and have not once availed myself of this privilege. 

If the gate is blocked and not used any more, I doubt you will have any problems. 

TheArsenal

Thanks again for the reply guys. It turns out that the door was put in temporarily as the fence was broken (a little bit strange, but fair enough). At some point over the last couple of days, the door has been taken out and a new fence has been put in - well, just this panel. 

We really like the house and are looking to put an offer in tomorrow. We’re considering going straight in with the asking price as we are worried we will lose the property like one a few months ago. 

pramsay13

We are an end terrace house and there is a gate to our neighbours garden, and they have a gate on the other side, and so on, all the way down the row. 
We have used it over the years to go in and see our neighbours and borrow a cup of sugar etc. 
They have asked to use it for deliveries that are too large to go through the house, maybe once or twice a year if that.
Our children now use it to play with other children 3 or 4 houses down the row. The people in between don't mind, even those that don't have any children.
I'm not sure what the legalities of using it or allowing it to be used are, but it works for us.