Right of Way; to register or not?

ThePiedPiper

Hi,
My OH and I are building a house on a site received from her parents. The site is landlocked but is serviced by a lane that has been in use by her parents for approx 20 years and previous to that by the landowner from whom they purchased.

There are three other houses that use the lane. A Land registry search shows that two of the owners each own half of the lane with the final person having a right of way over the lot.. Our site would be at the very bottom of the lane. There's also the possibility that another party owns the part of the lane closest to the road.

Our solicitor has advised that we should register a Right of Way but when we mentioned the possiblility of doing this, my OHs family's consensus was fairly strong that there was no need and that it would only open up a can or two of worms..

There's already been numerous cans of worms regarding the entire process which we've just managed to close them all so I'm not sure if it's worth the hassle. Our solicitor says that seeing as it'll be our principal residence and it's landlocked, in any dispute, the law would take this into account.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Tom Young

It's a no brainer.

ThePiedPiper

Tom Young wrote: »

It's a no brainer.

The No Brainer being to do what the solicitor and myself consider the proper thing and open another can of worms or to keep the peace and do nothing?

Jev/N

The former I'd imagine

nuac

If your solicitor advised getting the R.of W. registered, take his/her advice.

Even if there are cans of worms about, better that the situation be addressed now rather than sometime later when you may be selling the house. Cans of worms opened or otherwise are no help when seeking to sell a property. Further such cans tend to open explosively when intention to sell becomes known.

Tom Young

RunForestRun wrote: »

The No Brainer being to do what the solicitor and myself consider the proper thing and open another can of worms or to keep the peace and do nothing?

Yeah - I wasn't meant to sound smart. But while it might be a can of worms, you're devaluing the property for something that fundamentally is a requirement in the land locking scenario!

Do chat to your local solicitor. Evaluate the can of worms properly, its unlikely to be a massive issue if discussed in advance. Country folk are particularly animated about land, but the reality is you're right of way is practically there anyway, this is only a formal process.

Tom

Victor

Consider sweetening the deal, by say, improving the road, or indeed the best sweetener of all - €€€.

ThePiedPiper

Thanks all for the replies...

Decision is made to go ahead and do it at this stage, thanks for the advice. The builder's going to fix a couple of potholes on the lane and we'll all hopefully be friends... Thanks again..

enol

Hi guys, just read this thread, am in a similar situation myself. I'm in the process of buying a derelict cottage (last lived in about 30yrs ago) on a private cul-de-sac laneway, accessed by another private cul-de-sac laneway. Basically, you turn off a public rd onto a private lane, continue down this lane, (lets call it Lane A) and turn left off it onto another private (& lets call that Lane lane which the property is on. The sellers have supplied a declaration of use for over 20yrs of Lane B for access to property, but mentioned nothing about Lane A. Lane A was tarred by Cavan CoCo in 1977, but this was done by some sort of private road improvement scheme, the council is NOT in charge of this road.
Basically, my solicitor wants something in writing from the sellers stating Right of Way over both Lane A & B, which they can't give for Lane A, otherwise she said it could cause problems if I ever go to sell, ie: a bank may refuse to give a mortgage to a buyer for a property that has no stated Right of Way, or; the owners of Lane A & B could get difficult in the future ie; put up a gate, park farm machinery etc. ("can of worms") My architect, local people & farm owners in the area and the Council Roads Dept have all told me that I have a right to get to my property and that no-one has a legal right to stop me using Lane A & B to get to my property, but my solicitor is insistent that I get something legal on paper to state my Right of Way. I'd love to have this but don't know the best way to go about it.
I'd be interested to see how the OP got on in the end with getting legal Right of Way established, if sorted by now, and if anyone has had a similar experience and how they got on.
I am afraid to approach these people in case they hold me to ransom, which I can't afford. I will have to upgrade Lane B, as part of the planning conditions for renovation, but I'm not sure if this will be enough of a "sweetener".
Any experience stories or opinions appreciated, I am aware I cannot seek legal advice. Replies or PMs all welcome. Thank You

ThePiedPiper

enol wrote: »

I'd be interested to see how the OP got on in the end with getting legal Right of Way established, if sorted by now, and if anyone has had a similar experience and how they got on.

We still haven't gotten around to it! Been far too busy getting the house finished up over the past few months, we've put this issue on the long finger.

I don't think we're going to have to offer any sweetners.. don't have them to offer in fact.. the other two users of our lane are both relatively relaxed so I can't see there being any potential problem to be honest.

If there was ever a dispute, the general opinion would be that you should and must have access to your house.

Our bank did not insist on us registering a right of way so it didn't affect the mortgage documentation.

You'll probably find that your solicitor might want every possible scenario covered regarding sightlines, rights of way, access, etc. We certainly found this to be the case with ours. While it would be nice in principle to cover every eventuality, in reality, it can be easier to take a softly softly approach and deal with the issue once you're more familiar with the neighbours, etc..

Ab roller plus

enol wrote: »

Hi guys, just read this thread, am in a similar situation myself. I'm in the process of buying a derelict cottage (last lived in about 30yrs ago) on a private cul-de-sac laneway, accessed by another private cul-de-sac laneway. Basically, you turn off a public rd onto a private lane, continue down this lane, (lets call it Lane A) and turn left off it onto another private (& lets call that Lane lane which the property is on. The sellers have supplied a declaration of use for over 20yrs of Lane B for access to property, but mentioned nothing about Lane A. Lane A was tarred by Cavan CoCo in 1977, but this was done by some sort of private road improvement scheme, the council is NOT in charge of this road.
Basically, my solicitor wants something in writing from the sellers stating Right of Way over both Lane A & B, which they can't give for Lane A, otherwise she said it could cause problems if I ever go to sell, ie: a bank may refuse to give a mortgage to a buyer for a property that has no stated Right of Way, or; the owners of Lane A & B could get difficult in the future ie; put up a gate, park farm machinery etc. ("can of worms") My architect, local people & farm owners in the area and the Council Roads Dept have all told me that I have a right to get to my property and that no-one has a legal right to stop me using Lane A & B to get to my property, but my solicitor is insistent that I get something legal on paper to state my Right of Way. I'd love to have this but don't know the best way to go about it.
I'd be interested to see how the OP got on in the end with getting legal Right of Way established, if sorted by now, and if anyone has had a similar experience and how they got on.
I am afraid to approach these people in case they hold me to ransom, which I can't afford. I will have to upgrade Lane B, as part of the planning conditions for renovation, but I'm not sure if this will be enough of a "sweetener".
Any experience stories or opinions appreciated, I am aware I cannot seek legal advice. Replies or PMs all welcome. Thank You

Your solicitor wants this because he must ensure that title to the property your buying is marketable and has proper access. You should also want this. The day you buy is the day you sell etc

My question to you is why can the seller give you a declaration relating to lane "B" and not lane "A"? Did they not have to cross over lane "A" to get to "B" Also, if you have Planning Permission there must have been no objections by your neighbours which suggests they are ok with the whole idea of you moving into the area. Write to Cavan Co Co just in case to confirm ownership.

I would agree with your solicitor don't purchase without something in writing re part "A". Put the onus on the seller to sort this out especially if they are eager to sell - they should be able to come up with the goods.

If all else fails find out who owns lane "A" and approach them to see if they can help. Depending on how they react you will know whether you want to live in the area.

I've seen three generations of two families fighting over rights of way and access to a field. It ended up court twice and the only people who win in these situations are the lawyers (like myself).

nuac

Enol, your solicitor has given you good advice. Take it.

Victor

RunForestRun wrote: »

I don't think we're going to have to offer any sweetners.. don't have them to offer in fact..

The builder fixing the lane is probably enough for most people.

ThePiedPiper

Victor wrote: »

The builder fixing the lane is probably enough for most people.

Already done Victor. :-)

Hootanany

Hi I was wondering what kind of cost is associated with registering your right of way is it straightforward or awkward many thanks in advance PM please dont want to get in trouble with Mods

Hootanany

Bump

Victor

The solicitors will be able to give better information, but I suspect it will be down to whether it is contested or not. I imagine it would cost at least several hundred and potentially a lot more, depending on how many plots it covers.

Hootanany

I have been quoted nearly 7k:eek:

Hippo

Hootanany wrote: »

I have been quoted nearly 7k:eek:

That sounds like an awful lot. As I understand it only rights of way underpinned by court order have any legal standing following the 2009 Act, so registration is effectively compulsory. Plenty of solicitors are giving out about all the work involved, but 7k seems a little extreme.

Hootanany

That what i thought but my solicitor has already started on this and then sent me the cost involved. Is it to late to stop them and seek a better Quote.

Many thanks in advance.

Hippo

Hootanany wrote: »

That what i thought but my solicitor has already started on this and then sent me the cost involved. Is it to late to stop them and seek a better Quote.

Many thanks in advance.

Get them to send you a detailed breakdown. I can't believe that figure, the registration costs are themselves pretty reasonable. Perhaps there's a lot of spadework, but definitely get a breakdown of exactly where the money is going.

Hootanany

Will do