Unadopted Road

cjp2308

Hi All, I did post in the mortgage group by May be more appropriate to ask here 

Please see below enquiry raised/info requested from our solicitor.

Should we be concerned about this, it is my understanding that the whole estate is unadopted as they are still developing other parts of the site.

The seller purchased from new 7 years ago and in that time hasn’t had to contribute to the upkeep of the road - plenty of houses seem to sell on the state without this being raised.

We are now in touch with the local authority ourselves to obtain the info to avoid any delays. 

One thing our solicitor mentioned was that they have to inform the lender, we have the mortgage offer in place - could this be withdrawn due to the unadopted road?

comeandgo

None of the properties I have lived at have had adopted roads and we have never had to repair roads or had any mortgages refused.  Usually unadopted roads are in estates with a speed reduction so not racing traffic and tarmaced roads last for many many years.

cjp2308

Thanks for the reply.

as they are still building on site. Is it likely to be the developer who is responsible? The seller has told us they don’t pay anything. Is that all we need to be able to satisfy the solicitor and mortgage lender of?

Maybe I am just worrying/overthinking as we are so close to completion 

comeandgo

If a road is going to be adopted a bond will have been given to the council and usually the final top coat on the roads will be the last thing a developer does and after all the houses built.

cjp2308

Thanks again, what if the information comes back that the council have no intention of adopting the road, is that likely to cause any issues? 

davidmcn

cjp2308 said:

Maybe I am just worrying/overthinking as we are so close to completion 

Seems like it. There is nothing inherently unusual or problematic about what you've told us. Start worrying when your solicitor tells you there's actually something to worry about.

secla

lived on a development with unadopted road for 18 years, never had to pay anything. Its a long process for the developers to get them up to a standard where the council will adopt it seems

cjp2308

Thanks all.

This is what our solicitor has told us so far. The first point I am sorting myself, getting the information directly from the council, so should have it in 3 working days. 

my main focus is on the enquiry regarding the unadopted roads however (whereby the seller’s solicitor advises they do not expect a response back for a number of weeks which is likely to push back completion). Is lender approval likely to be an issue? 

 

From experience I expect you will ask how long this will take – my honest answer is I am unsure (however from experience the Local Authority’s response times are not the quickest). Please also factor in when we get the response it is likely that the lender’s CML guidelines will state I need lender approval to proceed due to the roads – although I believe this will be granted.

davidmcn

cjp2308 said:

my main focus is on the enquiry regarding the unadopted roads however (whereby the seller’s solicitor advises they do not expect a response back for a number of weeks which is likely to push back completion). Is lender approval likely to be an issue? 

"Road not yet adopted but a road bond in place" is a perfectly common and mortgageable scenario - after all, that's how all the houses were sold in the first place. And it makes sense that it's still the position if the development isn't yet completed.

If there's no swift answer from the council then I would be asking around the other solicitors to check their files in case they have the paperwork to hand (e.g. the developers' solicitors or whoever dealt with the vendor's purchase - I guess not their current solicitor?).

cjp2308

Thanks,

I have spoke to with the council this morning and they are sending the correspondence Over but are unsure what is needed in terms of the bond/road agreement

typically my solicitor is out of of office today

the council have offered the following, not sure if any of these will cover a road/bond agreement 

Section62

cjp2308 said:

Thanks again, what if the information comes back that the council have no intention of adopting the road, is that likely to cause any issues? 

Only if the original plan was for the council to adopt.  If they were going to adopt but have changed their mind then the reason why is important. It might be the roads weren't built to the standard they should have been. Non-adoption in this situation is more likely to cause difficulties as well - for example if utilities will remain in private land rather than a public highway, or if the council won't collect refuse/recycling from the unadopted roads and insists householders take their refuse/recycling to a point on a public road for collection.

If it was never intended the roads would be adopted it is less of a concern - although you need to know who will retain ownership and responsibility for maintenance, and how that will be paid for.