private right of access in our back garden - we want to move it -please help!!

[worley]

hi
we have a private right of access half way through our garden. our neighbour on the right has to provide access to both me and my neighbour on the left, i have to provide access only to our neighbour on the left. iyswim!

my right hand side neighbour and i want to move the walkway to the very rear of our gardens so we can completly fence the gardens in and our kids can play out and we know we wont get random nosey people walking up the passage way and into the garden.

however, the left handside neighbour only agrees to moving it if we make it wide enough to allow for vechicular access for her son and his friends to get to the bottom of her garden with their cars!!!

right neighbour and us want to keep it only to walking right of way only.

SO question is, can we move it as the dominant serviants to the rear of the garden with out her permission, she will still be able to get into her garden with her bins etc, she just has to walk an extra 10 meters.

if we keep it as a walkway, does it still hgave to go through the slicitors or can we do it all with the land registry and mortgage company ourselves?

thankyou, i hope some one can help!!

Can you get a copy of the title register for your house and your two next door neighbours and see exactly what the title registers and plans say? You need to check exactly what the register says and the plan will show the route of the right of way. It will cost you about £6-£8 at the Land Registry per register.

From what you say, it sounds like it is stricly a pedestrian right of way. I would expect the Land Registry title registers to say that it is a right of way "on foot at all times" or similar. If it does say that, your neighbour who is demanding that cars be allowed down, would not have any right to demand vehicle access. Your starting point with her might be somehting like: "Oh sorry, we can't change the access to make it wide enough to take cars because the right of way registered on the title is clear - it only applies to people "on foot", so no can do. But that doesn;t stop us altering the route, so surely you don't mind because it is very simple to do that. We'll do it all properly".

You could try to alter the route and do it yourselves if you reach an agreement with your neighbours, but rights of way can be very tricky and if it is not done properly you may find that you have to sort it out when you come to sell. I'd suggest speaking to a solicitor specialising in property law and rights of way.

I agree with GryffinGirl, get a copy of your deeds and both your neighbours, mainly to see that they all say the same thing. It is around the £6 per title and is worth it as it means you are armed with the right information.

If it does say that it is for foot access only then you can kill this dead in the water.

Good luck.

sorry - forgot to add that you will need mortgage company's consent(s) to any formal change of the right of way because you won't be able to change to Land Registers/right of way without their consent. They should be fine provided that it is only the route and a good plan is provided and it doesn't compromise anyone else, but be prepared to pay their legal costs for approval.

Hi, are you in Scotland or England??

hi all, sorry not been back to check up.

im in england, it does say on our deeds that is is a foot path, not even allowed to ride bikes down it!
we did already speak to our mortgage company who said they would have no problem but we have to make the request via a solicitor, which seems to just add to the expenses.

it will have to be done properly and legally as eventually we want to move but not for another 10 years or so.

thankyou

you can do a lot of the ground work (no pun intended) yourself, but it can be semi-tricky to get plans to be Land Registry compliant and a deed of amendment drawn up. A solicitor would be necessary to get the lenders to consent.

Good luck

If it affects everyone, everyone needs to agree. If you can reach an agreement you need to get a solicitor to draw up a Deed of Variation and get everyone (and everyone's mortgage company) to execute it (which means signing it in the presence of a witness).

Then your solicitor will send it to the Land Registry and it will be noted on everyone's deeds.

But, everyone must agree.

We had this at our old house.

I strongly suspect that all your neighbours have is a pedestrian 'right-of-way'.

However, you can't alter the existing route without everyones permission. If you do get everyones permission-it needs doing through a solicitors and all other relevant channels (mortgage company, land registry, etc).

You also need to check with water and other utility companies for route of all services. Additionally - as it's for your benefit, your responsibilities include making the entire access route right (you pay for their walls, fences, etc to be moved and replaced as new).

Advice needed. If a right of way is below the required width what can be done,? The right of way benefits my neighbour not me. Because the width issue is causing damage to side of my house. Any help.....

You would be better off starting a new thread as the one you are joining is quite old.

And I would start it in legal matters, not money.

You are the servant tenant, not the dominant tenant. The right of way is part of your neighbour's property, though you own the land it goes over. You can only move it with their permission.