Land at rear of property to be used as private garden not included in sale

SarahB16

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

Yes, they are keeping the land to the rear however as per the title it can only be used in conjunction with the property I am buying.

In due course this separate piece of land will be on a different title to yours.  Any chance you could share a pic of this so we can see the layout.  My only worry if I were you is that it could be developed on but I think the vendor is more worried that you may wish to extend your house so is stopping you as they will continue to own that land. 

The properties currently have seperate titles however the title number for the land is seperate. There would be no way to extend the property due to a unadopted road and the covenant only allows for a garage to be built.
The land is also more behind the house next door but is named land to the rear of (my property), mentions my property in the covenant and contains the title number for my property.

Who is the beneficiary (that may not be the correct word as I'm not a solicitor) of the covenant and who could remove it if requested?  Do you have any more details re that covenant that you could share?  

I'm not sure why a property couldn't be extended due to an unadopted road unless you mean there is physically no room to extend due to the unadopted road being there?  

Sophiej27

Section62 said:

Sophiej27 said:

thelawnet said:

Sophiej27 said:

Hello was hoping someone on here would be able to help.

I am currently in the process of buying my first property. I have paid for the title deeds and noticed there is a plot of land to the rear which is mentioned on the title however is not included in the sale.

upon investigation this land can only be used as a private garden for the property I am purchasing (exact wording below).

I have asked my solicitor about this and she advised she can not help as its is not being sold.

Does anyone know if I have any legal rights to this land or if I can stop it being used as it goes against the covenant.

any help would be greatly appreciated 

1. Not to use the said land other than as a private garden for use in conjunction with the dwellinghouse known as property I am buying aforesaid.

Typically you will find that the owner of a piece of land has sold part of their land to the builder of your property, and the purpose of that covenant is to protect them. So the owner of 'Toad Manor' sells part of their land to build 'Toad Cottage' with adjoining garden, and Toad Manor wants to ensure that Toad Cottage's garden is never used for anything else.

This is a contract, however depending on when the covenant was entered into, it would pass to the successive owners of the property that's being benefited (i.e. the larger piece of land). That means that the owner, 70 years later, of Toad Manor can stop the owner of Toad Cottage from building on Toad Cottage's garden.

Thus the covenant is not intended to benefit you (or preceding owners) in any way, it's only a burden for you. 

The current owner of Toad Manor is likely to be able to enforce the covenant against your vendor, but they don't have to. It's their right - it's not yours. 

Thank you. My main concern was that I would somehow be liable for anything the current vendor does with the property upon closing on the house land based on the wording that it was intended for my property only.

The land is separated by an unregistered road which I seem to own part of. I am more than happy to let them keep the land as they currently own it. As mentioned above my concern was the affects it could have on me as the owner/occupier of the house in conjunction with the land.

Is the piece of land the vendor is keeping included within the title of the property you are buying, or does it have its own separate title?

Your vendor can do other things with the piece of land if they keep it - for example they could agree to sell it back to the owner of 'Toad Manor', or could pay the owner of 'Toad Manor' additional money to get the covenant removed. Or they could do something altogether different and hope the covenant doesn't get enforced.

It has a separate title. The above has put my mind at ease as I am a first time buyer and never been through this before. 

I originally looked into the land as when viewing the property the vendor informed me I could park on the land as no one used it. This then led me to see they owned it and was concerned it would somehow affect me after purchasing the property if they are unable to use the land and try and force me to purchase it.
As I am now aware I cannot be brought into any disputes regarding the restricted covenant as they will be aware of it I am more than happy and have my mind at ease.

Section62

Sophiej27 said:

It has a separate title. The above has put my mind at ease as I am a first time buyer and never been through this before. 

I originally looked into the land as when viewing the property the vendor informed me I could park on the land as no one used it. This then led me to see they owned it and was concerned it would somehow affect me after purchasing the property if they are unable to use the land and try and force me to purchase it.
As I am now aware I cannot be brought into any disputes regarding the restricted covenant as they will be aware of it I am more than happy and have my mind at ease.

Did the vendor not mention their ownership of the land when they said this?

Does the land have physical access from the unadopted road, and is the vendor planning to grant themselves a legal right of access to it (using the unadopted road)?

Sophiej27

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

Yes, they are keeping the land to the rear however as per the title it can only be used in conjunction with the property I am buying.

In due course this separate piece of land will be on a different title to yours.  Any chance you could share a pic of this so we can see the layout.  My only worry if I were you is that it could be developed on but I think the vendor is more worried that you may wish to extend your house so is stopping you as they will continue to own that land. 

The properties currently have seperate titles however the title number for the land is seperate. There would be no way to extend the property due to a unadopted road and the covenant only allows for a garage to be built.
The land is also more behind the house next door but is named land to the rear of (my property), mentions my property in the covenant and contains the title number for my property.

Who is the beneficiary (that may not be the correct word as I'm not a solicitor) of the covenant and who could remove it if requested?  Do you have any more details re that covenant that you could share?  

I'm not sure why a property couldn't be extended due to an unadopted road unless you mean there is physically no room to extend due to the unadopted road being there?  

The rear of the property currently touches the unadopted road. There is no public right of way to the road according to searches and my boundary includes a section of this road. 

The owners of the seperate title/ land that mentions my property is a farm which had the covenant in place since 1970s (property was built pre 1920s)

Sophiej27

Section62 said:

Sophiej27 said:

It has a separate title. The above has put my mind at ease as I am a first time buyer and never been through this before. 

I originally looked into the land as when viewing the property the vendor informed me I could park on the land as no one used it. This then led me to see they owned it and was concerned it would somehow affect me after purchasing the property if they are unable to use the land and try and force me to purchase it.
As I am now aware I cannot be brought into any disputes regarding the restricted covenant as they will be aware of it I am more than happy and have my mind at ease.

Did the vendor not mention their ownership of the land when they said this?

Does the land have physical access from the unadopted road, and is the vendor planning to grant themselves a legal right of access to it (using the unadopted road)?

They did not mention they owned the land just that it was unused and I was able to park there. 

The unadopted road passes through the boundary of the houses title and has no covenants or right of ways wrote into it. I have questioned this with my solicitor (I know this isn’t the right term) the local searches also state the property has no right of ways

Section62

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

Yes, they are keeping the land to the rear however as per the title it can only be used in conjunction with the property I am buying.

In due course this separate piece of land will be on a different title to yours.  Any chance you could share a pic of this so we can see the layout.  My only worry if I were you is that it could be developed on but I think the vendor is more worried that you may wish to extend your house so is stopping you as they will continue to own that land. 

The properties currently have seperate titles however the title number for the land is seperate. There would be no way to extend the property due to a unadopted road and the covenant only allows for a garage to be built.
The land is also more behind the house next door but is named land to the rear of (my property), mentions my property in the covenant and contains the title number for my property.

Who is the beneficiary (that may not be the correct word as I'm not a solicitor) of the covenant and who could remove it if requested?  Do you have any more details re that covenant that you could share?  

I'm not sure why a property couldn't be extended due to an unadopted road unless you mean there is physically no room to extend due to the unadopted road being there?  

The rear of the property currently touches the unadopted road. There is no public right of way to the road according to searches and my boundary includes a section of this road. 

...

The question is whether the vendor would need to use the unadopted road to access the piece of land they are keeping?

As current owner of the property it sounds like they can use the unadopted road, but if they sell up then either the retained land already has some kind of right of access, or the vendor is planning on granting a RoW to the retained land.

Yorkie1

You mentioned that the vendor has said you could park on the land. I wouldn't assume that this permission will always be there, unless there is something formal in writing. And if that permission was revoked, consider whether you would still have enough parking on your actual property.

Re. the unadopted road, I'd be checking with your solicitor what your obligations are about maintaing it, how any disputes about it might be dealt with etc. It's not a straightforward FTB element.

Sophiej27

Section62 said:

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

Yes, they are keeping the land to the rear however as per the title it can only be used in conjunction with the property I am buying.

In due course this separate piece of land will be on a different title to yours.  Any chance you could share a pic of this so we can see the layout.  My only worry if I were you is that it could be developed on but I think the vendor is more worried that you may wish to extend your house so is stopping you as they will continue to own that land. 

The properties currently have seperate titles however the title number for the land is seperate. There would be no way to extend the property due to a unadopted road and the covenant only allows for a garage to be built.
The land is also more behind the house next door but is named land to the rear of (my property), mentions my property in the covenant and contains the title number for my property.

Who is the beneficiary (that may not be the correct word as I'm not a solicitor) of the covenant and who could remove it if requested?  Do you have any more details re that covenant that you could share?  

I'm not sure why a property couldn't be extended due to an unadopted road unless you mean there is physically no room to extend due to the unadopted road being there?  

The rear of the property currently touches the unadopted road. There is no public right of way to the road according to searches and my boundary includes a section of this road. 

...

The question is whether the vendor would need to use the unadopted road to access the piece of land they are keeping?

As current owner of the property it sounds like they can use the unadopted road, but if they sell up then either the retained land already has some kind of right of access, or the vendor is planning on granting a RoW to the retained land.

The access is via the unadopted road however it would not infer with my section of the property. The additional land is behind the end terrace house not my property. The corners meet but that would be all.

Sophiej27

Yorkie1 said:

You mentioned that the vendor has said you could park on the land. I wouldn't assume that this permission will always be there, unless there is something formal in writing. And if that permission was revoked, consider whether you would still have enough parking on your actual property.

Re. the unadopted road, I'd be checking with your solicitor what your obligations are about maintaing it, how any disputes about it might be dealt with etc. It's not a straightforward FTB element.

I requested my solicitor ask for written permission to park on the land and they advised they could not as it was not included with the sale which I was already aware of. 

I have requested they look into the overlap of the boundary and unadopted road and what this would mean for my self.

Section62

Sophiej27 said:

Section62 said:

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

SarahB16 said:

Sophiej27 said:

Yes, they are keeping the land to the rear however as per the title it can only be used in conjunction with the property I am buying.

In due course this separate piece of land will be on a different title to yours.  Any chance you could share a pic of this so we can see the layout.  My only worry if I were you is that it could be developed on but I think the vendor is more worried that you may wish to extend your house so is stopping you as they will continue to own that land. 

The properties currently have seperate titles however the title number for the land is seperate. There would be no way to extend the property due to a unadopted road and the covenant only allows for a garage to be built.
The land is also more behind the house next door but is named land to the rear of (my property), mentions my property in the covenant and contains the title number for my property.

Who is the beneficiary (that may not be the correct word as I'm not a solicitor) of the covenant and who could remove it if requested?  Do you have any more details re that covenant that you could share?  

I'm not sure why a property couldn't be extended due to an unadopted road unless you mean there is physically no room to extend due to the unadopted road being there?  

The rear of the property currently touches the unadopted road. There is no public right of way to the road according to searches and my boundary includes a section of this road. 

...

The question is whether the vendor would need to use the unadopted road to access the piece of land they are keeping?

As current owner of the property it sounds like they can use the unadopted road, but if they sell up then either the retained land already has some kind of right of access, or the vendor is planning on granting a RoW to the retained land.

The access is via the unadopted road however it would not infer with my section of the property. The additional land is behind the end terrace house not my property. The corners meet but that would be all.

What I'm thinking is if you own part of the unadopted road you are quite likely to have some amount of responsibility for maintaining it - if the vendor is using the unadopted road for access to the retained land then they should be paying a share as well.... but if the vendor is sneaky they could leave that share of the responsibility to you.

If something like that is a possibility then the answers from your solicitor you've posted would leave me with more questions to ask.

(for context, unadopted roads can be a total nightmare, especially in rural areas where they can be used by farm traffic and/or larger vehicles)