Unadopted road scotland

portgirl1

The house I am buying in scotland is on an unadopted road. Would I be wise to continue with the buy or will there be too many financial risks for repairs etc.

comeandgo

I’ve never lived on an estate with an adopted road, councils are not interested in them anymore.  Check the deeds to see if any repairs will fall on the house owners.

user1977

portgirl1 said:

The house I am buying in scotland is on an unadopted road. Would I be wise to continue with the buy or will there be too many financial risks for repairs etc.

What sort of condition is it in? Who would you be sharing liability with? Is it a professionally managed estate? Or up a mile of farm track?

portgirl1

It is in good condition. A fee is paid each year to a factor for maintenance of the grass verges but don't know if it covers the roads. Concerned if road has to be dug up by utilities would we have to pay for that? Retired now so don't want to be worrying about what might go wrong and what extra costs may be involved.

comeandgo

If utilities dig, utilities put it back.  

user1977

portgirl1 said:

A fee is paid each year to a factor for maintenance of the grass verges but don't know if it covers the roads.

Then ask. But generally the factors will look after all common repairs. Unlikely there will be any contributions required for the road unless and until it actually needs repairs.

Concerned if road has to be dug up by utilities would we have to pay for that?

Why would you have to pay for it? It's not the council who pays for it when the utilities dig up an adopted road.

koalakoala

How much are the factor fees? Are they worth it ?

sheramber

While utilities   are required to put it back I have never seen quality results. usually a ridge  or a dip is left.

newsgroupmonkey_

I'm not sure why it's any different being Scotland.

I'm buying a house on a road that's been unadopted for 70 years. My neighbours don't worry about it. My solicitor isn't worrying about it. The Vendors have never worried about it.

I'm not worrying about it.

Section62

user1977 said:

Why would you have to pay for it? It's not the council who pays for it when the utilities dig up an adopted road.

I think there could be a grey area there.

If it is a 'street' ('road' in Scotland) then the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 applies. (Part 4) S129 applies the duty to reinstate the 'road' (in Scotland)

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/22/section/129

For the purposes of Part 4, the meaning of 'road' is defined in S107

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1991/22/section/107

- which is "...any way... whether or not there is over it a public right of passage and whether or not it is for the time being formed as a way...".

If the "unadopted road" in the OP's case meets the definition in S107 then the utilities have the same duty to reinstate as they do with an adopted road.  But if not - for example if the utility plant is in private land which is not a 'way' - then the reinstatement duty doesn't apply.

I don't know enough about the application of the law in Scotland to comment, but in England the definition of 'street' captures many places which would normally be regarded as private property, yet strictly speaking could fall within the requirements of the Act (e.g. the requirement to obtain a street works licence.).  In practice these requirements are widely ignored when it comes to 'private' locations.

So there may be a valid question whether the owners of a specific (private) road-like thing can actually compel a utility company to reinstate that road to any specific standard.  The answers to that are probably within the Acts regulating the activities of the different utilities (e.g. when working in private land).

In practical terms it probably doesn't matter much, but if it were me buying I'd want a lot more clarity on what this "unadopted road" actually is (legally) before proceeding.

portgirl1

Thank you for all your comments. This is a road where most of it is adopted but 10 houses at the end of the road are not even though there is no difference from one end to the other. Think this was overlooked when the houses were built years ago. The home report said the road was made up and adopted, which it is not. I will speak to my solicitor and hopefully find out a bit more about it.