land access problem

pennypuppy

Hi,
I am very worried. My dad has some land to the rear of a terraced row with shared access through an archway. There was a gate and we had a key. The gate has been changed to one without a key eg, you open it from the inside. It has been a few years since we have been in but under 12. What now? The other person is a solicitor aand is obviously trying to nick our land. My dad isn't well , a protracted legal battle would be bad.
Dad thought there was a key and he could just drill the lock off and fit a new one and post the key through the letter box. If we say anything to the solicitor he could make it awkward.Obviously he has no problem stringing out a costly legl case, we don't have that luxury. What can we do. Plese give me good news, I can't sleep I am so worried.:(

pennypuppy

Nobody - go on say anything good......

gwinnie

Hi, sounds like you need expert advice on this. I'd pay a visit to Citizen's Advice. If you write it on a to-do list, you can tell yourself you have taken action on the problem tonight and that you have done as much as you can at this time of night so the only thing remaining to be done right now is to get some rest so you are fresh tomorrow for when you take the next step.

anewman

If you have some sort of deeds/legal documents from purchase of the property stating the land is shared and details where it is, and preferably the dimensions etc, the w@nker solicitor doesn't have a chance unless he pays his share to buy you out.

nealallen

Try this site..... http://www.nfh.org.uk/

TheImportanceOfBeingIdle

Have you actually tried speaking to the solicitor???

Debt_Free_Chick

pennypuppy wrote: »

Hi,
I am very worried. My dad has some land to the rear of a terraced row with shared access through an archway. There was a gate and we had a key. The gate has been changed to one without a key eg, you open it from the inside.

A few facts first, please.

Your dad owns this land?

Who owns the land providing the access? Who is it shared with?

On whose land was the gate?

Who gave your father a key? Who else had a key?

Who has changed the gate?

It has been a few years since we have been in but under 12. What now?

Is your father's land registered at the Land Registry? If not, then registering it gives you some extra protection from "Adverse Possession".

The other person is a solicitor aand is obviously trying to nick our land.

Stick to the facts for now. You don't know this - you suspect it. But you don't know it.

My dad isn't well , a protracted legal battle would be bad.

If you've done "nothing" so far, you're a long, long way off any legal action - so don't even think about it.

Dad thought there was a key and he could just drill the lock off and fit a new one and post the key through the letter box.

Suggest you leave the gate alone, until we establish who owns it and the land it's on.

If we say anything to the solicitor he could make it awkward.Obviously he has no problem stringing out a costly legl case, we don't have that luxury.

Why do you think this is so? Once the facts are established, we can give you some specific advice. But don't assume that solicitors all want to go to Court. They might know their rights - but they also know the rights of others and what the law allows. I doubt any solicitor would fight a case to get something they're not already entitled to.

This could be a simple misunderstanding ... but we need to establish who is entitled to what, first.

magyar

DFC has said it all. The deeds should state whether you have rights of access via someone else's land. Under these circumstances you have to be allowed reasonable access, e.g. you could have a key to a shared gate if the owner felt it necessary to lock it.

Glad

Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere(please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].

beingjdc

I believe the legal phrase allowing you access is "Easement of necessity"...

pennypuppy

TheImportanceOfBeingIdle wrote: »

Have you actually tried speaking to the solicitor???

No thought it was best to have plan a plan b and plan c ready if necessary first!