Neighbour building a drive onto private road

propertyrental

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_Cw0QJU8ro

TripleH

Go to the land registry website and download their title deeds and yours (if you don't have them).

Check their rights of access before embarking on any other course of action.

A little money spent now could save a fortune in the future.

Do you pay an maintenance fees for the road, I'm sure these people will be more than happy to pay an equal share to maintain it if they can have access, thus a win for all? No? You mean they don't want to pay to maintain a private road they want to use?

Titus_Wadd

sevenhills said:

Buy a scrap car and park it there, you need to do that next week. Take the wheels off, this is going to get ugly unless someone takes action. Or you can just let them use your private road?

Please don't do this.

If the private road has no public right of way the residents could add a basic gate where the private road meets the highway.  No need for an expensive electric gate, if you padlock it with all residents having a key.  Whether all the residents and the freeholder of the road would want to do this is another matter.  You could still get quotes for a v expensive electric gate and explain the encroaching neighbour that he can use the road if he pays his share of it, and a share of the resurfacing that needs doing... Nah!

Find out who owns the road, use legal protection from any insurance policies or union membership to send a Cease and Desist letter then a Letter before Action.  If no one has legal cover club together and send the letters from all the current residents.  For an entitled person a solicitor's letter will carry more weight than a polite note on a windscreen.  A Letter before Action needs a willingness to take that action if they call your bluff.

YoungBlueEyes

Would you be less annoyed about it if they were paying you for an annual pass? Presuming correct ownership and easements etc...

Section62

From the OP's description I think the situation is something like this -

The OP lives in one of the properties A - D (etc) which front onto a path and have a private road access at the rear.  The neighbour 'Z' on the main road is building a new driveway in their back garden and expects to use the private road as the means of access.

If so, then on the basis the private road is owned by A - D and assuming 'Z' has no existing RoW over the road, then although there is probably nothing* stopping them building the driveway, they wouldn't be able to use the private road for access without permission.  (*except possibly planning restrictions or covenants)

If A - D don't want Z using the road then if a polite chat hasn't worked, the next step should be getting professional legal advice and probably a letter from a solicitor to 'Z' telling them not to use the private road.

Personally I'd only want to agree to Z having use of the private road on condition they are legally added to the RoW and also formally accept a share of the maintenance responsibility.

Given the titles of all the properties with existing use/ownership of the private road would need amending there could be a significant legal bill, which the owner of Z should be expected to pay.

UnderOffer

Great summary @Section62. I guess it’s not just about agreeing the use of RoW/costs with neighbour (btw, thought that was abbreviated as N not a Z 😀) but the concern that OP and homeowners A-D lose 2 (or more) parking spaces they have currently been using at the rear of their private lane. That would be my bigger concern if I lived there, that I now couldn’t park 🙁. 

propertyrental

Section62 said:

..

If A - D don't want Z using the road then if a polite chat hasn't worked, the next step should be getting professional legal advice and probably a letter from a solicitor to 'Z' telling them not to use the private road.

Another option, provided A-D all agree, would be a physical barrier installed at the entrance to the private road. Say a gate with padlock, or automatic pillar with remotes to activate.

theoretica

propertyrental said:

Section62 said:

..

If A - D don't want Z using the road then if a polite chat hasn't worked, the next step should be getting professional legal advice and probably a letter from a solicitor to 'Z' telling them not to use the private road.

Another option, provided A-D all agree, would be a physical barrier installed at the entrance to the private road. Say a gate with padlock, or automatic pillar with remotes to activate.

How does that work with things like deliveries and bin lorries?  I imagine it such must be possible, but...

Section62

propertyrental said:

Section62 said:

..

If A - D don't want Z using the road then if a polite chat hasn't worked, the next step should be getting professional legal advice and probably a letter from a solicitor to 'Z' telling them not to use the private road.

Another option, provided A-D all agree, would be a physical barrier installed at the entrance to the private road. Say a gate with padlock, or automatic pillar with remotes to activate.

Yes, that would be another option provided all who have RoW agree, but the downside is the inconvenience of having to open/close a manual gate, and the ongoing maintenance cost (plus electricity supply) for automatic ones. With an automatic barrier/bollard you'd want to consider an ongoing maintenance contract (with 24/7 callouts) or limit yourselves to models with easy to use manual override.  The costs can mount up quickly.

I'd also want there to be third-party insurance cover in case an automatic barrier/bollard damages someone's vehicle (or someone), and likewise for a manual gate as if these aren't secured in the opened/closed position they have a habit of swinging back into the path of vehicles.  From an insurance perspective, if the private road is divided into 'slices' going by the property boundaries then the gate/bollard would be located on one (possibly two) properties only, and the owner of that property could effectively be taking full liability for something that their domestic home insurance policy wouldn't cover.

Therefore the (possibly) one-off cost of a solicitor's letter saying "don't do that" may be the cheaper option.

user1977

theoretica said:

propertyrental said:

Section62 said:

..

If A - D don't want Z using the road then if a polite chat hasn't worked, the next step should be getting professional legal advice and probably a letter from a solicitor to 'Z' telling them not to use the private road.

Another option, provided A-D all agree, would be a physical barrier installed at the entrance to the private road. Say a gate with padlock, or automatic pillar with remotes to activate.

How does that work with things like deliveries and bin lorries?  I imagine it such must be possible, but...

Have a PIN to open it, give out number to anybody you're expecting to visit. Not rocket surgery really.