Being pressured to sign a wayleave agreement

[penberrh]

I bought my house a couple of years ago and do not recall anything about a wayleave agreement in the correspondence with my solicitor or the documentation regarding the property, but there is an electricity pole in the corner of my garden.

The property to the side of me has just been purchased and the new owner is carrying out some extension work. For some reason they need some changes making to the electricity supply and this will require some changes made at the pole which is in my garden.

The power company have asked me to sign a wayleave agreement. The new owner is pressuring me to sign it quickly although I am uncomfortable doing this without taking advice about the ramifications (if there are any) not just for me, but for any future owner of my house when the time comes for me to sell (I do not anticipate living here indefinitely).

I have asked the power company if I can give them my consent to carry out the specific work that the new neighbour needs so that their works are not held up, and in the meantime I would research or seek advice on signing a more permanent wayleave agreement. The power company will not do this as they say it's "not their policy" and that I need to sign the wayleave agreement.

Is this something I should get proper legal advice on, or should I just sign and return the agreement as it is very commonplace and nothing to worry about?

Ask a solicitor how much they would charge to advise you and then tell the power company you're not signing anything until they've agreed to pay you for that advice, and indeed paid it in advance. You should not be out of pocket over this.

I was asked to sign one years ago. I think it was a cable TV company. it was certainly presented to me as just a formality that I was more or less was obliged to sign. I was pretty dubious as they were very vague about exactly what works they wanted to do. Eventually they admitted it would involve placing a junction box of unspecified size on my property!! So I asked my mortgage company legal department. They told me

I definitely didn't have to sign if I didn't want to.
if I did want to I would have to get my solicitor to check that the agreement was ok and then send it to them (my mortgage company) for final agreement before signing it.
Of course I asked the cable TV company to pay and they said no. So I said no.
My neighbour told me I was the only one of the neighbours who hadn't signed.
I told him why I hadn't signed and he accepted it. Later on the cable TV company found a way to do it which didn't go over anybody else's land.

Its actually nothing to worry about and is common and is just a means for them to access but if it helps ease you mind see a conveyancing lawyer

If there is no wayleave agreement in place, can you not ask them to move the pole from your garden?

As Collaborate says if it's for their benefit the company will pay for you taking advice. If you have a mortgage contact the Bank and let them know you are being asked to give consent for a Wayleave, as they would probably need to give their consent.

Thanks all for your responses. Good point about the lender - I’m going to have to dig out my mortgage/conveyancing documents and see what they say.

You would need a wayleave to remove the pole as well!

The power company will not do this as they say it's "not their policy" and that I need to sign the wayleave agreement.

This gets my hackles up. Whenever someone's used that line on me I've always responded that it's not my policy to do whatever it is they're trying to make me do.

Do you have legal cover as part of your household insurance? If so id hand the whole thing over to them.

If you have your own legal insurance then that is the simple way but if not then it is up to your neighbour or the power company to pay for you to have independent legal advice if they want you to sign it.

Insurance will not cover this in the same way that they would't cover your legal fees if you wanted to sell some of your garden to a neighbour.

So a wayleave is basically:

An agreement under which a property owner gives a service provider (for example, an electricity or telephone services provider) a right to install pipe or cable passing through or over the owner's property.

Wayleaves generally only give contractual rights (i.e. unlike an easement) and so aren't treated as 'dispositions' of land and are personal between the contracting parties. Most can be terminated by giving notice – normally quite a long notice period of around six – 12 months – but can last for many years.

So really what you want is a simple agreement that gives them access simply for the work (and make it clear you want it to be as was before) and then end it. The agreement is your consent - have you seen it to check

his gets my hackles up. Whenever someone's used that line on me I've always responded that it's not my policy to do whatever it is they're trying to make me do

Yes, that did get my hackles up a bit bearing in mind they want permission from me. He also kept saying “How it works is like this, blah blah blah, and then you say yes and sign the document”, and I felt like saying ‘well how I work is like this, blah blah blah.

Lots of good points on here, thank you. I don’t feel comfortable signing a legally binding document regarding my house without having some legal advice on it first, bearing in mind it’s the biggest investment I’ve ever made.

Its a temporary agreement - have you actually seen the terms of it at all? asked for them to send it to you

This is what you want

In relation to utilities, a wayleave will usually permit the relevant company (the grantee) access to land to install, repair, maintain and replace their apparatus. Within the wayleave document, there will usually be some stipulations regarding access arrangements, notice, compensation for damage and indemnities.

I would really make sure what the compensation for damage and indemnities is. Make sure the access it clearly for that one time and that they will leave it as seen. If it does that you really should sign it

I'd tell them to bugger off just for trying to bully me into it. They're a private company, their policies have nothing to do with you. They aren't the police.

They could then apply for one anyway without your consent or apply for the land back

It simply a means of being allowed access as long as the terms are right regarding making sure it’s left as it was I fail to see what the fuss is about

You've bought a house with an electricity pole in the garden. Surely you expected it might need to be maintained? Did your conveyancing solicitor jot discuss this with you at all?

Signing the way leave is totally dependent on the provisions of it. For example if they have to dig up part of the garden where the cable emerges to go from the pole, what the provisions are to restore the garden. My experience is that these companies make a real hash of a job when it is a beautifully laid lawn for example.

There are lots of poles and other utilities going over houses and gardens without way leaves just due to history and the companies not being diligent over them so they try and catch up as and when it comes to notice which is sensible