Neighbours selling our land.....

[willfuckformichilenstarfood]

So we purchased a house 18 months ago...... it came with 2.5 parking spaces, both on our (one space is half in our boundary and half in next foors) the deeds are very vague about this space. Both our deeds

Maybe you should both buy a Smart car then you can both use the shared space

It might be easier to just have a word, assume it's a mistake rather than them trying to be sneaky. Just speak to your neighbour and say you've noticed their house is for sale, but that there's a mistake in the estate agent's particulars, saying that no XX has 3 parking spaces, rather than 2 private spaces and a share of a 3rd. This is probably more they havent been clear with the estate agent. Position yourself as being friendly and helpful, obviously they would rather be clear from the start than have their sale get bogged down with a mistake being flagged up with the checks.

If you get a negative response, then get your solicitor involved.

If they are generally ok neighbours, it's more likely to be a miscommunication with the estate agent, rather than them trying to pull a fast one.

I don't get this, surely there is no third space for anyone, just half the equivalient in square metres each that could b taken up by a bigge car parking there anyway.

assume it's a mistake
No, because the neighbours have already said to OP that they think they DO own 3. So it is a dispute not mistake!

Hotel - I'm picturing parking bays in front of the properties where otherwise would be front garden, with one that crosses over both properties boundary, which isn't clear who owns that one. It could well be both have right to access over the other one's land.

Sorry OP, I don’t care about your half of a parking space, I just want to know what kind of friends you have that they can afford to go on holiday for three weeks

Diagram and red and blue lines are the boundary lines. Not to scale. Green is garden.

Ok, your solicitor should have sorted this out when you bought and got it agreed in writing from the neighbours. There should be a map as part of the Land Registry deeds showing the position of your boundaries, and one for them too - do the two maps match? If not you will have to sort this out before they sell because any buyer worth their salt will want it resolved clearly.
If your deeds both show the same thing then you should abide by that, though to complicate things it is the case that deed maps are generally considered only accurate to within a fairly broad measurement so that may still leave room for doubt if you’re talking about the width of half a parking space.
Either way you need to go back to the solicitor you bought with and get them to go back through their paperwork and check what they did at the time.

Ah looks like the boundary runs through the party wall in which case it will be much easier to defend the current boundary position.

If your title plans both reflect your diagram then assuming no rights are granted over each other's half share them neither of you actually have the
Legal right to use the parking space.

You need to speak to them and the house needs to be marketed with 2 spaces. If not threaten the property misdescriptions act.

Bring forward the landscaping and enclose your actual half. Nothing good can come from leaving it as it is. Your new neighbours might had a teenager with a car with a bean van exhaust on it which he might park right in front of your living room window.

I would bet good money that this is the estate agent using some creative licence with the particulars

Is the property also described as "deceptively spacious" or "very unique"?

I like the diagram op. Nice and clear.

Surely a potential buyer would think it's odd and get the conveyancer to ask about the funny bit of land that sticks out?

I too would also approach neighbour and say that it will hold up the sale of the house or maybe even make it impossible to sell if you don't resolve this ambiguity.

Good luck op.

I’m thinking that maybe we should start the landscaping now, we are taking the garden away and going to make it all spaces, you could then get 6 on snug. Or 3 that you could move around freely without blocking 😄😄

Ooh that’s deliberate and very sneaky! First stop is contacting the estate agent I think.

Yes contact thenEA and tell them it’s wrong

The 3 private spaces is mentioned twice. Once as 3 private allocated spaces and again as private driveway parking for 3 cars..... I’ve just heard them come home. I want to sort it amicably, however I want them to approach me. When our previous house went on the market I checked and if I saw this error (knowing it’s a touchy subject) I would knock and apologise. So let’s see what their intentions are........

Are these "spaces" marked out and how? I suspect you both own half each of the middle one. Whatever gave them tge idea that they had three? My deeds say I have parking for one car, ours is a similar set up. You could probably squash three cars between us and next door but we don't, we park generously on half the entire space each.

They're not going to approach you OP. Not a chance!

Selling with 3 spaces is obviously going to increase the appeal of the house. They'll be hoping you don't notice until the new Owners start using it exclusively, by which time it won't be their problem any more!

I would provide the EA with a copy of the diagram on the deeds, politely requesting that the particulars are amended immediately as your land is not for sale.

But you said they told you they believe they own three spaces rather than two or two and half, so surely they won't come round and say its an error?

I live in a house like yours (bays outside after front garden) and although we have two very clear bays outside our house, some of the others have bays that are in front of their neighbours houses. It’s a bit weird. To avoid confusion the deeds are very clear on the boundaries of the bays and every house has two. Ours is a new estate though so presume this was all reasonably well thought out.

In your situation I would go and speak to the neighbours and mention that them claiming three spaces when they only own 2.5 could cause confusion and delay their sale. That might get them thinking!

If you're going to landscape and redraw the boundary etc you could handle this a different way maybe. Go to them and say as they're selling you wanted to warn them that you're planning on reinstating the boundary. So, if they want to sell the house as one with three spaces, would it be a good idea if both of you got rid of the parking outlines which highlight the 'shared third space'? Point out that without markings, you reckon you could squeeze three cars on to your bit anyway. Once they get viewings, people will see that the central space marked out is half into next door - you're not planning on actually putting the boundary in right now, but if it helps them sell, you're more than happy to wipe out your side of the space markings along with them. Then it will simply look like two separate drive areas with potentially space for three cars on each.

They’re not going to approach you! They are hoping they got away with it!

I would be on to the estate agents about their misdescription.

They won't approach you they don't assume you have been on right move to spy. Why you have 😂