Unadopted Road - Help Before Proceeding.

Maka344

We have found a new build property that we really like that is being developed by a small developer in a pretty little Kent village. This is a second phase for this developer as they purchased a plot of land next door and created 5 large stylish new build houses which completed around 24 months ago.

This plot is going to comprise of 11 units. The developer will not be applying for section 38 and the road will be unadopted by the local council. The development shares an access road to the gates of the development with a business park - the developer is tarmacking this access road as part of the agreement to build the units and part of the service charge will be for 50% maintenance between residents and the owner of the business park, in additional there'll be an exclusive use agreement in place between the development and the business park for resident access. 

The developer will not be setting up a separate management company to manage the development. Instead the developer is planning to transfer over 1 eleventh share of the management to each home and setting out approximately 400-500 pounds annual sink fund to pay for any communal gardening and maintenance over the year. This fund will also be cover the entrance road along the fence line (shared with the business park on a 50/50 basis). This means that there will not be a managing company with increasing annual fees and the residents can assess whether this is too much or too little to be paying yearly per property. 

I understand that we would be liable for shared costs arising from issues with the unadopted road on the development and 50/50 responsible for issues/costs/repairs to the access road - our concern is around huge unexpected costs as the developer has installed deep bore soakaways which are incredibly expensive to fix if they go wrong - this along with the business park shared access is a little concerning. 

Another concern is we have been told that some lenders have stopped lending on houses where there isn’t a section 38 on the road which could prevent a sale from proceeding and impact a properties saleability in the future, has anyone come across this with new builds and section 38? 

Would any of the above be a red flag or is this common with new build developments?

Thank you.

Maka344

Any help would be very much appreciated, please. 

There are other parties interested and we need to pay our reservation fee ASAP. 

comeandgo

I would be very uncomfortable with the arrangements you have mentioned.  A road to a business park suggests only cars and light vans would use it but it could be large vehicles and lorry’s run up and down it.  We looked at having private management of our development but if a resident does not pay a bill there is not much you can do, a management company does have some legal rights and put a charge on a property.  

Flugelhorn

comeandgo said:

I would be very uncomfortable with the arrangements you have mentioned.  A road to a business park suggests only cars and light vans would use it but it could be large vehicles and lorry’s run up and down it.  We looked at having private management of our development but if a resident does not pay a bill there is not much you can do, a management company does have some legal rights and put a charge on a property.  

I agree - the thought of sharing with a business park is concerning as you do  not know how it will develop. Yes there can be problems with unadopted roads and no proper management company - what do you do if half the people don't want something done and the others do? who decides?
I knew some people where there was a bore hole for water supply + filters etc - it needed relining and as previously, one of the 5 had no intention of paying towards the cost, there was really nothing they could do about it 

daveyjp

Not having s38 streets may also impact on drainage adoption and streetlighting provision and management.  They may also have constructed the road to a lesser specification than adoptable highway.

What happens when a utility company needs to dig the street up and there is no management company?

Titus_Wadd

We bought our house, one of 4 planned, in 2018.  The builder still owns the estate road and will be around if the site is ever finished.  The builder runs the site like his own fiefdom and we are seeking injunctive relief at roughly £50k.  This is money for our retirement, but represents a fraction of the £k lost on the value of our unsaleable house!

We made enquiries about the road via the local highways dept before and after purchase and they have changed their viewpoint leaving us royally screwed.

I appreciate our case is extreme, but I would never buy on an unadopted road again.  There is no I imperative from the planning department to ensure the estate road is laid to an acceptable standard. 

We have also had no protection  from the Police because the estate road meets another unadopted road rather than the main highway.  Even though the larger unadopted road is used and accepted by the county council as part of the highway network, the police won't act to help us leave or return to our home when the builder deliberately blocks access, sometimes for days.  In spite of both my husband and I having been physically assaulted (captured on video) the police won't come out to the house, just log another incident and  take a statement over the phone.  The men assaulting us have never been interviewed by the police! The police just tell us to take civil action, to resolve this "neighbour dispute"!  I'm fairly sure that "living next door" isn't a defence to criminal behaviour, but even our MP can't get them to act!

Again, our situation is extreme, but I'd keep looking, there is too much potential for disharmony with your neighbour and the established commercial premises.  Sorry to hijack your thread to have a rant about our plight, but hopefully it'll help so even from making a similar mistake.

Maka344

comeandgo said:

I would be very uncomfortable with the arrangements you have mentioned.  A road to a business park suggests only cars and light vans would use it but it could be large vehicles and lorry’s run up and down it.  We looked at having private management of our development but if a resident does not pay a bill there is not much you can do, a management company does have some legal rights and put a charge on a property.  

Thank you. The business park is a Dance Studio, a kitchen company and an accountancy company. Maintenance for the road up to the development is split 50/50 between the development and the business park. 

Maka344

Flugelhorn said:

comeandgo said:

I would be very uncomfortable with the arrangements you have mentioned.  A road to a business park suggests only cars and light vans would use it but it could be large vehicles and lorry’s run up and down it.  We looked at having private management of our development but if a resident does not pay a bill there is not much you can do, a management company does have some legal rights and put a charge on a property.  

I agree - the thought of sharing with a business park is concerning as you do  not know how it will develop. Yes there can be problems with unadopted roads and no proper management company - what do you do if half the people don't want something done and the others do? who decides?
I knew some people where there was a bore hole for water supply + filters etc - it needed relining and as previously, one of the 5 had no intention of paying towards the cost, there was really nothing they could do about it 

This is our concern, the developer has installed a deep bore soakaway system which by all accounts are expensive when they go wrong. 

comeandgo

Maka344 said:

comeandgo said:

I would be very uncomfortable with the arrangements you have mentioned.  A road to a business park suggests only cars and light vans would use it but it could be large vehicles and lorry’s run up and down it.  We looked at having private management of our development but if a resident does not pay a bill there is not much you can do, a management company does have some legal rights and put a charge on a property.  

Thank you. The business park is a Dance Studio, a kitchen company and an accountancy company. Maintenance for the road up to the development is split 50/50 between the development and the business park. 

I think the 50 50 split favours the business park.  There will be a lot of vehicles going in and out to dance studio, not so much to kitchen company or accountants but I’d say those businesses against 11 or is it the full 16 houses favours the business park.

Maka344

Titus_Wadd said:

We bought our house, one of 4 planned, in 2018.  The builder still owns the estate road and will be around if the site is ever finished.  The builder runs the site like his own fiefdom and we are seeking injunctive relief at roughly £50k.  This is money for our retirement, but represents a fraction of the £k lost on the value of our unsaleable house!

We made enquiries about the road via the local highways dept before and after purchase and they have changed their viewpoint leaving us royally screwed.

I appreciate our case is extreme, but I would never buy on an unadopted road again.  There is no I imperative from the planning department to ensure the estate road is laid to an acceptable standard. 

We have also had no protection  from the Police because the estate road meets another unadopted road rather than the main highway.  Even though the larger unadopted road is used and accepted by the county council as part of the highway network, the police won't act to help us leave or return to our home when the builder deliberately blocks access, sometimes for days.  In spite of both my husband and I having been physically assaulted (captured on video) the police won't come out to the house, just log another incident and  take a statement over the phone.  The men assaulting us have never been interviewed by the police! The police just tell us to take civil action, to resolve this "neighbour dispute"!  I'm fairly sure that "living next door" isn't a defence to criminal behaviour, but even our MP can't get them to act!

Again, our situation is extreme, but I'd keep looking, there is too much potential for disharmony with your neighbour and the established commercial premises.  Sorry to hijack your thread to have a rant about our plight, but hopefully it'll help so even from making a similar mistake.

Thank you for sharing your story, so sorry to hear that you’ve been through - that sounds horrendous and I can’t even begin to imagine the stress it has put on you. 

Titus_Wadd

I don't think you'll live with deranged neighbours as bad as ours but buying on an adopted road would look great from our perspective.  You can find yourself living next to neighbours from hell on any street.  Meet the neighbours and folk opposite before you exchange (might not apply on the site you're considering.)