Buying a house where neighbour has rights to enter our land for repairs, maintenance etc

Chandler85

They can take machinery into the garden, not store it.  It doesn't say they can use a skip.

Do you want your neighbour to have to employ workers who are restricted in a deed to only use hand tools?

Sounds like two neighbours fell out about access, so it go enforced on them because they couldn't be agree to let maintenance be continued.

Josquin

Has there been and might there be possible squabbles/challenges over the deed?

laurathree

Just to add - I've lived in a maisonette for 6 years, ground floor and upstairs have that right, as do we with their garden. We also have access to the road through their garden as we have no other direct access to our back garden, and our gas meter is in their garden. They have the maisonette on the first floor, we have the ground. 

Only problem we ever had was when renters moved in upstairs and hadn't been told, and so nailed the gate shut between properties. Quick conversation and it was sorted. The only time its ever been used is for fixing fences, and for putting up and taking down a sky dish. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. 

I would worry about your solicitor's attitude to a paying client though...

GixerKate

laurathree said:

Just to add - I've lived in a maisonette for 6 years, ground floor and upstairs have that right, as do we with their garden. We also have access to the road through their garden as we have no other direct access to our back garden, and our gas meter is in their garden. They have the maisonette on the first floor, we have the ground. 

Only problem we ever had was when renters moved in upstairs and hadn't been told, and so nailed the gate shut between properties. Quick conversation and it was sorted. The only time its ever been used is for fixing fences, and for putting up and taking down a sky dish. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. 

I would worry about your solicitor's attitude to a paying client though...

Same here, I also used to have a ground floor maisonette with upstairs having the same rights, I was there for approx 7 years and didn't have any issues.

visi

Josquin said:

Has there been and might there be possible squabbles/challenges over the deed?

There have not been any disputes in the last 8 years.  The house was only built 8 years ago.

visi

mobileron said:

Do you have the rights to go onto there land for repairs?

No - only the same as what anyone would have under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act

visi

NameUnavailable said:

visi said:

Singlespeeder said:

"to enter onto Mananin Cottage as shown edged red on the plan annexed hereto with or without machinery and materials for the purpose only of inspecting repairing maintaining and rebuilding those parts of the dwellinghouse at present erected on the Second Property including if necessary the erection of scaffolding "
I read that as they, or people authorised by them can access across your garden ONLY for the purposes of maintenance if required.... they need to ask 2 days in advance, unless it's an emergency .... and they have to basically leave it as they find it.
I doubt they'll be in and out often, and as a good neighbour, surely you'd allow this anyway? Karma, what goes around, comes around.

They don't need to ask us - all they need to do is tell us.  And it also says "with or without machinery and materials"  

And how do you think they'd fix anything without being able to take materials or tools with them?

This is clearly a red line for you so just pull out and find another property. Nothing else you can do about it.

Actually very easily.  They would have materials delivered and stored on their side of the fence and carry them through.  And if machinery is needed they would not store them on our property.  This would create an increased cost for them due to time taken to carry materials through etc but that would be added onto the quote.

visi

Josquin said:

Rights for neighbour written into deeds of a house i wanted to buy?

No thanks.

Neighbours can change etc etc etc.

I would not want that kind of permanent thing hanging around thanks.

Yes as you say: neighbours can change

sheramber

You can't change the position so you either accept it or walk away from the house.

visi

Some people on here have been very helpful.  Thank you to all of those for taking the time.
My husband and I have had a discussion and we decided that we would go ahead.  The real remedy, or escape hatch, in the event of having horrid neighbours is that we would be in a position to move again if that happened.  It would be much easier to move the second time - the house is in Cornwall and we are 300 miles away now.  Some people may be put off by the deed, as we were, but not everyone.  And as we are getting old, we may need to move to a bungalow anyway in a few years time.
The solicitor seems also to suggest that if the neighbour was making unreasonable demands, that we could refuse and they would have to go to the County Court anyway, and they would have to consider, at least, whether the demands were reasonable.
Next time, I think we will buy a copy of the deeds of any house we want to buy, well in advance and before the solicitors start their searches.