How important is right of way stated in TP1 on a new build estate?

MichelleUK

We (the residents) are about to take over the running of the management company from the developers. It is a small estate of less than 20 freehold houses and we have now been given copies of the TP1’s for each house. There are a few roads, grounds, drains etc that we have to pay service charges towards.

Each TP1 should have a coloured road marked on the plan that gives the right of way from the highway to the property. Several of the TP1’s do not show the relevant coloured road.

We have asked the developers to correct these, as the management company currently has no right to charge for these road costs and the owner has no right to use the road.

Am I wrong in thinking that it is important to get these corrected with a deed of variation? The developer refuses to do anything.

eddddy

MichelleUK said:

we have now been given copies of the TP1’s for each house.
...

Each TP1 should have a coloured road marked on the plan that gives the right of way from the highway to the property. Several of the TP1’s do not show the relevant coloured road.

Presumably it's not simply the case that some TP1 copies (with no coloured road) were made on a black and white copier/printer - and others (with a coloured road) were made on a colour copier/printer?

If not, it's strange that none of the buyer's solicitor's noticed the problem.

MichelleUK

eddddy said:

MichelleUK said:

we have now been given copies of the TP1’s for each house.
...

Each TP1 should have a coloured road marked on the plan that gives the right of way from the highway to the property. Several of the TP1’s do not show the relevant coloured road.

Presumably it's not simply the case that some TP1 copies (with no coloured road) were made on a black and white copier/printer - and others (with a coloured road) were made on a colour copier/printer?

If not, it's strange that none of the buyer's solicitor's noticed the problem.

Thanks eddddy!

I have digital copies of the TP1’s and other things on the plans do show in colour. I have also confirmed with the Land Registry that the plans that I have from the developers are the ones that have been registered at the Land Registry.

The fact that the buyer’s solicitor’s did not notice is being used by the developers as another excuse as in “the buyers’ solicitors should have picked it up”.

I have asked a local solicitor about the cost of a deed of variation and they have quoted £400 + VAT each. I was thinking that, if we get nowhere with the developer, we could get the owners to sign an agreement stating “we agree that the plan attached to the TP1 was incorrect and that the new plan should be substituted (but in a legal style format)”. This would then solve the issue for the current ownership. When they come to sell, we can then alert the solicitors via the FME1 (although, as you say, they should spot it anyway) and ask that they file a deed of variation during the sale process?

eddddy

In that case, I guess that each buyer/owner should be contacting their conveyancing solicitor to ask why they failed to notice that a right of way to their property, etc, wasn't shown.

Based on what you say, it sounds like the conveyancing solicitors were negligent, so they should each work on resolving the problem, and cover the costs.

MichelleUK said:

This would then solve the issue for the current ownership. When they come to sell, we can then alert the solicitors via the FME1 (although, as you say, they should spot it anyway) and ask that they file a deed of variation during the sale process?

Has your solicitor said that you can enforce this - i.e. insist that the buyer must sign a revised deed with a new plan?

And the buyers/owners bigger concern is likely to be the lack of a right of way to their property. Who owns the land that requires the right of way?  As a management company, it seems unlikely that you can grant a right of way over that land (unless the management company will own the land).

MichelleUK

eddddy said:

In that case, I guess that each buyer/owner should be contacting their conveyancing solicitor to ask why they failed to notice that a right of way to their property, etc, wasn't shown.

Based on what you say, it sounds like the conveyancing solicitors were negligent, so they should each work on resolving the problem, and cover the costs.

MichelleUK said:

This would then solve the issue for the current ownership. When they come to sell, we can then alert the solicitors via the FME1 (although, as you say, they should spot it anyway) and ask that they file a deed of variation during the sale process?

Has your solicitor said that you can enforce this - i.e. insist that the buyer must sign a deed?

And the buyers/owners bigger concern is likely to be the lack of a right of way to their property. Who owns the land that requires the right of way? (Is it a ransom strip?)  As a management company, it seems unlikely that you can grant a right of way over that land.

The management company own all of the remaining land, including the roads. The developers still control the management company but they will be resigning shortly and the company will then be handed over to the residents. It is a company limited by guarantee, with the residents being the only members after the handover.

Thanks for your comments, we will refer the owners back to their conveyancers once the handover has officially happened. Hopefully they will be able to get it sorted, but with the backstop of the temporary agreement if not? We could always place a boulder in front of their drive if they would not sign 

We have not taken any paid legal advice at this point as the company is not yet ours.