purchasing property fronting on unadopted private road- issues with liability

glybera27

Hello

We have almost completed on a property with one final enquiry that we are not sure about. 

The property is on a close but the front parts fronts on a private road.

I have attached diagram. the Property is the red pin. The pink line is the close the property is based in. The red line is a private road that the property fronts.

I have spoken to the association looking after the road who advised the road has no private owners and to look on the land registry to see who owns the road. The road is unregistered however. 

The private road has a yearly maintenance fee that residents pay. It is not clear who owns the road as it is unregistered on the Land Registry. As far as we know there is no public liability insurance on the road. The owner does have absence of easement indemnity on the property but this is different from public liability insurance. 

I have explored all options but am unable to get a clear answer on the liability insurance of the private road. My last throw of the dice is the association kindly asking our neighbours about this. 

We love the property and are keen to proceed despite this last hurdle.

Does anyone have any advice? Or are we unnecessarily worrying?  My major concern is that if someone is injured outside on the private road then we will be liable. Clearly this will be an issue if we decide to sell in the future as well. 

Thanks 

Croon979

Sorry I don’t have an answer but following as I have a similar issue potentially 

user1977

If you're not the owner of the road, on what basis do you think you would be liable? If you've almost completed, hasn't your solicitor given you any advice?

unforeseen

The private road has a yearly maintenance fee that residents pay. It is not clear who owns the road as it is unregistered on the Land Registry. 

Who does it get paid to if the owner isn't known? 

glybera27

There is a road fund to cover potholes etc, and paid to a the local residential group. if it’s an unadopted highway my understanding is that you are responsible for the liability on fronting areas. The part I can’t understand is how can a road be an unadopted highway and a private road. 

user1977

glybera27 said:

if it’s an unadopted highway my understanding is that you are responsible for the liability on fronting areas.

Can you point us towards where you got your understanding from? It's not a familiar principle to me. Often titles do extend to the middle of the road, in which case I expect you may have liability as the owner of that bit of the road.

There isn't for this purpose (as far as I know) much relevant distinction betwen an "unadopted highway" and a "private road" - the only real difference is that access to a private road can be restricted whereas a "highway" implies a public right of way.

ccbrowning

We’re on one of these. Have a management company and pay money into it that funds insurance etc. 

canaldumidi

glybera27 said:

There is a road fund to cover potholes etc, and paid to a the local residential group. if it’s an unadopted highway my understanding is that you are responsible for the liability on fronting areas. The part I can’t understand is how can a road be an unadopted highway and a private road. 

From the sound of it, this 'residental group' is simply an informal group the locals have created as a practical solution to deal with potholes. I suspect it has no legal standing, and if one or more property owner declined to contribute, there would be no way to force them to.

But of course that is conjecture, and depends on the structure and status of the group. Looking at how it was constituted, and  its terms of reference or articles of association might clarify.

A highway is open to all to use. A private road usually restricts use to eg residents or owners.

emilyjane92

If you are certain there is a road owner and you have some proof of this (albeit not knowing who it is at this stage) then they will be the one that is liable in the event of a claim and it would be down to them to have insurance if they want to have it. The person making the claim would appoint solicitors who would help track down the owner.

If there is no owner and the road is unadopted then all residents on this road could be responsible for a claim on this road. You may then consider getting together with the other residents to jointly purchase an unadopted road insurance policy and share the costs.

I've found this website which might help: https://www.ashburnham-insurance.co.uk/blog/2020/02/purchasing-a-property-on-an-unadopted-road/

glybera27

Thank you. Our solicitors have now referred the info to my mortgage company, so will have to see what they say, I'll update you all. I'm hoping the lender doesn't decline our mortgage in the 11th hour because of this. 

Titus_Wadd

We have a loosely similar set up with our cul-de-sac bit being in the ownership of the (NFH) builder of our little estate, however it forms part of the main unadopted road and isn't gated or signposted as "private" and is open to all types of traffic and pedestrians. 

I had confirmation from the County Council's Highways department who classify it as a "Private Street" i.e. privately owned but open to all traffic and thereby subject to all the relevant Road Traffic Acts.   The management company doesn't currently insure for third party claims, although it should from reading its Articles of Association (you can read these via the Companies House entry for the maintenance or residents association if it is a company).  The CC's definition of a private road with limited access, they call a "Private Road". 

The terms being slightly confusing: "Private Street" has public access and "Private Road" having limited access, have caused us no end of problems.  When a car was abandoned on it the Local Authority and the Police both said they couldn't act as the estate road is privately owned whereas the County Council and DVLA say they should remove it because it's untaxed on a Private Street and it can be removed.  We have been going around this merry-go-round of definition fookwittery for over a year.  The Police and the Local Authority repeating their mantra that it's privately owned and unadopted so they don't have to do anything, nor will they.  Even sending them a copy of the CC's email explanation didn't help.  We have had to launch an official complaint in the hope that the Local Government Ombudsman will understand the difference.

We pay a maintenance fee for our cul-de-sac bit of the estate road, but the main stretch has no known owners and the frontagers on the main stretch are responsible for their bit of the lane...as an extension forwards from their front garden and boundary.  I assume that each house's own insurance might include cover for their portion of the lane, but I don't know if this is correct.

So even when you think you have complete and full understanding of the house and road you have bought you can still come up against numpties who either don't read their emails or lack the mental capacity to comprehend anything outside their limited Jobsworth role...I think that's the point I'm trying to make.