Access path 16 July 2021 at 9:18AM edited 6 September 2021 at 9:43PM in House buying, renting & selling 10 replies 629 views

Mammybear1

I rent a semi detached  from local authority lived here 40+ years. Path at side  and round back of house needs repairing so I can push my husbands  wheelchair to get to back garden, and now told when next door bought their council  house they bought  the access path along side my house and so I'm not supposed to use it only for maintenance  and have to ask permission 

JJ_Egan

How is this saving ??

Better off in housing section .

MalMonroe

JJ_Egan said:

How is this saving ??

Better off in housing section .

How is that helpful in any way?

Brie

Any problem with asking the neighbour for general permission?  It's not like you are planning to use the path as a motorcycle circuit, just simple access to the garden.

perhaps if you suggest that if they repair it you might contribute?  Or simply point out that having it looking in better condition will be good for resale??

MalMonroe

Mammybear1 said:

I rent a semi detached  from local authority lived here 40+ years. Path at side  and round back of house needs repairing so I can push my husbands  wheelchair to get to back garden, and now told when next door bought their council  house they bought  the access path along side my house and so I'm not supposed to use it only for maintenance  and have to ask permission 

Who told you that you are not supposed to use the path? If you are renting from your local authority, then they should have written to tell you of the changed arrangements. Otherwise, how are you expected to know?  Sometimes people can continue to have a right of way anyway because they have lived in a property for a long time. 

But you need to find out exactly what the correct story is. Why don't you contact your landlord and ask about this? And also ask, if it is true, why you weren't notified at the time the house next door was sold.

Someone may just be telling you this so you don't use the path. You need to ask and find out what the true position is.

Either way, you should have been officially informed if there was a change of circumstance that affected you.

canaldumidi

Before next door was sold, what was the legal position with the access path?

Do you know, or did you simply use it assuming you had the right to do so?

If the path always in fact fell within the boundary of the next door property, then nothing changed when the sale happened. Except perhaps that the new owners, rather than the council who previously owned it, have aknowledgd it as theirs.

And in that case also, regarding repairs, in previous years the council would have maintained it as they owned both properties, but now they no longer own next door, so they no longer maintain.

Jeepers_Creepers

Mammybear1 said:

I rent a semi detached  from local authority lived here 40+ years. Path at side  and round back of house needs repairing so I can push my husbands  wheelchair to get to back garden, and now told when next door bought their council  house they bought  the access path along side my house and so I'm not supposed to use it only for maintenance  and have to ask permission 

Hi Mb1.

Is that path the sole means of getting access to your own garden?!

I think you need to find out what the legal status of that path is - whether your house has a Right of Way over it. I guess the LA should be able to tell you this by looking at the deeds for this property, but I bet they're snowed under. It might instead be better to access the deeds directly from the Land Registry online. I understand it only costs a few £.

Slithery

Download the title plans and the deeds for both yours and your neighbours properties - it will cost you £12 from the Land Registry website.
What do they say about the ownership and any rights of way?
https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

user1977

Slithery said:

Download the title plans and the deeds for both yours and your neighbours properties - it will cost you £12 from the Land Registry website.
What do they say about the ownership and any rights of way?

While the neighbour's title ought to be readily available, the OP is a council tenant, so "their" title is likely to be the council's title for the whole estate, which may well not even be registered.

lookstraightahead

JJ_Egan said:

How is this saving ??

Better off in housing section .

I think this is in the correct section as it refers to needing title plans and deeds which people buying selling and renting know quite a lot about. 

Jeepers_Creepers

lookstraightahead said:

JJ_Egan said:

How is this saving ??

Better off in housing section .

I think this is in the correct section as it refers to needing title plans and deeds which people buying selling and renting know quite a lot about. 

I think it may have been moved to this (correct) forum? Along with all confusing messages!