Easement not registered with Land Registry

penelope1990

GDB2222 said:

How ipenelope1990 said:

sheramber said:

The second deed giving the easement  was drawn up after the first deed, but not signed.

Being unsigned it will not be legally binding.

Can the seller  (the property developer )  or the conveyancing solicitor recall why it was not signed?  

Was it an omission  or was it sent for checking or was the easement only for as long as the property developer owned the property/land?

No they are unreachable now.

it was supposed to be forever I suppose? But it’s unsigned and not registered with the land registry. The same deed but with no right of way is on the land registry, new owners of the neighbouring land have no rights of way across their land and they have no rights of way registered with the land registry. 

??

How important is this? Can you access your property without the easement, for example?  Sorting this out could be tricky, and it is bound to be stressful, so if you have the option of doing without the easement, you should consider that. 

The starting point is to complain to your conveyancer. Do this now, without delay, as you may be time barred from issuing proceedings at 6 years. You should consult a solicitor with a view to issuing proceedings *at least two months before the 6 years is up*. Bear in mind that the clock may have started ticking before the purchase date. 

Getting a solicitor on board doesn’t necessarily mean that you will end up locked in litigation, but it protects your position. So, frankly, if this is important, I would not delay. 

Yes I can access my property from the front door and out into the garden from the rear French doors. Property didn’t have rear access when I bought it I just had the second deed saying I could have rear access but the only way of accessing the garden to get my wheelie bins in and out was to put a gate in my fence line which would have gone into my neighbours garden so I just fenced off a bit of their garden too and put a gate in the bottom of their driveway so I could get in and out of my garden easily with my bins. But someone has bought that property now and they’ve kicked a right stink up about the tiny bit of garden we fenced off to give us the access and us walking down their driveway. I’ve told them it doesn’t matter that it’s not registered on land registry that I’ve got my deed that says I can have a right of way and they’ve just got their solicitors involved straight away. Am I right? 

fluffymuffy

I can see from the neighbours' point of view. I wouldn't consider buying a house where the people next door have a right to walk down my driveway and have fenced off part of my garden to access theirs. If such a right existed I would straight on to my solicitor asking how they had failed to point this out before I bought the place.

GDB2222

penelope1990 said:

GDB2222 said:

How ipenelope1990 said:

sheramber said:

The second deed giving the easement  was drawn up after the first deed, but not signed.

Being unsigned it will not be legally binding.

Can the seller  (the property developer )  or the conveyancing solicitor recall why it was not signed?  

Was it an omission  or was it sent for checking or was the easement only for as long as the property developer owned the property/land?

No they are unreachable now.

it was supposed to be forever I suppose? But it’s unsigned and not registered with the land registry. The same deed but with no right of way is on the land registry, new owners of the neighbouring land have no rights of way across their land and they have no rights of way registered with the land registry. 

??

How important is this? Can you access your property without the easement, for example?  Sorting this out could be tricky, and it is bound to be stressful, so if you have the option of doing without the easement, you should consider that. 

The starting point is to complain to your conveyancer. Do this now, without delay, as you may be time barred from issuing proceedings at 6 years. You should consult a solicitor with a view to issuing proceedings *at least two months before the 6 years is up*. Bear in mind that the clock may have started ticking before the purchase date. 

Getting a solicitor on board doesn’t necessarily mean that you will end up locked in litigation, but it protects your position. So, frankly, if this is important, I would not delay. 

Yes I can access my property from the front door and out into the garden from the rear French doors. Property didn’t have rear access when I bought it I just had the second deed saying I could have rear access but the only way of accessing the garden to get my wheelie bins in and out was to put a gate in my fence line which would have gone into my neighbours garden so I just fenced off a bit of their garden too and put a gate in the bottom of their driveway so I could get in and out of my garden easily with my bins. But someone has bought that property now and they’ve kicked a right stink up about the tiny bit of garden we fenced off to give us the access and us walking down their driveway. I’ve told them it doesn’t matter that it’s not registered on land registry that I’ve got my deed that says I can have a right of way and they’ve just got their solicitors involved straight away. Am I right? 

It sounds like fencing off part of the neighbour’s garden exceeds your rights under the easement. If you had to make do without the fenced off area would it still work for you? 

It seems like the easement and small land grab have come as unwelcome news to your neighbours, and they have naturally complained to the solicitor who acted for them in the purchase. I suggest that you likewise take advice ASAP. If you need to back down, the sooner you do that with good grace the better. If you have to sue your conveyancer that is nothing to do with your neighbours.

sheramber

penelope1990 said:

GDB2222 said:

How ipenelope1990 said:

sheramber said:

The second deed giving the easement  was drawn up after the first deed, but not signed.

Being unsigned it will not be legally binding.

Can the seller  (the property developer )  or the conveyancing solicitor recall why it was not signed?  

Was it an omission  or was it sent for checking or was the easement only for as long as the property developer owned the property/land?

No they are unreachable now.

it was supposed to be forever I suppose? But it’s unsigned and not registered with the land registry. The same deed but with no right of way is on the land registry, new owners of the neighbouring land have no rights of way across their land and they have no rights of way registered with the land registry. 

??

How important is this? Can you access your property without the easement, for example?  Sorting this out could be tricky, and it is bound to be stressful, so if you have the option of doing without the easement, you should consider that. 

The starting point is to complain to your conveyancer. Do this now, without delay, as you may be time barred from issuing proceedings at 6 years. You should consult a solicitor with a view to issuing proceedings *at least two months before the 6 years is up*. Bear in mind that the clock may have started ticking before the purchase date. 

Getting a solicitor on board doesn’t necessarily mean that you will end up locked in litigation, but it protects your position. So, frankly, if this is important, I would not delay. 

Yes I can access my property from the front door and out into the garden from the rear French doors. Property didn’t have rear access when I bought it I just had the second deed saying I could have rear access but the only way of accessing the garden to get my wheelie bins in and out was to put a gate in my fence line which would have gone into my neighbours garden so I just fenced off a bit of their garden too and put a gate in the bottom of their driveway so I could get in and out of my garden easily with my bins. But someone has bought that property now and they’ve kicked a right stink up about the tiny bit of garden we fenced off to give us the access and us walking down their driveway. I’ve told them it doesn’t matter that it’s not registered on land registry that I’ve got my deed that says I can have a right of way and they’ve just got their solicitors involved straight away. Am I right? 

No, you are not right. Your deed being unsigned is not a legally enforceable  document.