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Original poster

Property right of way

14 replies

kellyWood · 15/01/2018 18:19

Hi there

Just wondering if any of you have any advice. We bought our property a while ago and at the very end realises that part (quite a large amount) of the land we use (fenced off with gates by previous owner) is a right of way. The landlord has now been in touch about the land so need to know my rights. Within the right of way we also own a small piece of land which I presume was an outdoor lavatory some years ago so this may affect any plans of taking this back. Can we take this land and use it for his benefot now if we also have a right of way over it? So confused...please help

OP posts:
dotdotdotmustdash · 15/01/2018 18:29

'Just wondering if any of you have any advice. We bought our property a while ago and at the very end realises that part (quite a large amount) of the land we use (fenced off with gates by previous owner) is a right of way. The landlord has now been in touch about the land so need to know my rights. Within the right of way we also own a small piece of land which I presume was an outdoor lavatory some years ago so this may affect any plans of taking this back. Can we take this land and use it for his benefot now if we also have a right of way over it? So confused...please help'
I'm afraid I'm confused too. Whose landlord is it? Who owns the land? Who is planning to take it back? Who has the right of way?

Original poster
kellyWood · 15/01/2018 18:49

Sorry I should have explained a bit better. I didn’t mean landlord I meant the owner of the leasehold land on which our property sits and also the right of way. Four properties have the right of use over this land however the previous owner of my property took the land for his own some 11 years ago and the owner neighbours are happy not to have use over it. Now someone purchased the land which it sits and he apparently wants this back as he has bought one of the houses that sit on this land

OP posts:
Spickle · 15/01/2018 19:02

You need to get the registered title and plan for your property and the "land" in dispute from Land Registry. Any rights will be stated in the registers, will show you who the owner is and the plans will show you the boundaries. You may need to seek legal advice as rights are not easily removed and it might be of benefit to ensure that the new owner doesn't block your access.

Bowerbird5 · 15/01/2018 20:02

Agree with sickle go into council and find the Land registry people. It will be documented having said that we had a guy come out to our property and tell us that we owned more land as someone had moved the fence on both sides. Don't know why it wasn't coming up in searches but in the end we just let it go as it would have been such a problem with neighbours. One side had a large shed on there. The other side wouldn't have minded I found out later as it was an odd shape and he doesn't like mowing that bit!😁

Spickle · 15/01/2018 20:13

Kelly you can obtain title deeds on the HM Land Registry site, not the Council.

Nothomealone · 15/01/2018 20:27

Reading through I am guessing you don't mean a public right of way but that your neighbors have access across some of your land? We once owned a house where the next door neighbors could walk along a path to access his garage, this right was clearly laid out in the deeds when we brought the house. Do your deeds make any reference to access? Does a search bring this up? I would imagine you could build as long as you don't interfere with whatever dimensions the access path has to be?

Original poster
kellyWood · 15/01/2018 21:03

Hi all
The deeds and land registry plans clearly state this is a right of way. What I need to know is whether as the Property I own has had the sole use of this right of way for a period of some 13 years, whether I have any sort of claim over the land. I know the rule of thumb is 20 years.

OP posts:
wowfudge · 15/01/2018 21:13

Did your solicitor not go through this (or put it in their report they sent you) with you? Find the report and re-read it. The best placed person to advice you is the solicitor who acted for you in the purchase as they should have already have seen the relevant documents.

LIZS · 15/01/2018 21:32

I think you are trying to use Adverse Possession but not sure it is as straightforward as it once was. Can you go back to the solicitor you bought through?

wowfudge · 16/01/2018 07:33

Adverse possession has never been straightforward. It is really not very clear what rights the OP is trying to assert. This 20 year 'rule of thumb's: what is that about? Land law is complex and generalisations cannot be made.

Spickle · 16/01/2018 19:23

I think the 20 year "rule of thumb" is described when talking about claiming prescriptive rights, i.e. there are no rights officially, however some people are using a piece of land to cross over, have done so for years and after 20 years of using the land in that way, can claim prescriptive rights over it. Not very easy to do if the owner of the land has died or cannot be contacted/located.

BubblesBuddy · 16/01/2018 20:33

Did the previous owner separate off the land without permission of the freeholder? If he did, then it’s not permissible to deny the right of way (access?) to the other houses. It’s not what those owners are ok with, it’s what is in the deeds that counts. Just because he did it 13 years ago, it doesn’t make it right. See your solicitor for clarification.

Original poster
kellyWood · 16/01/2018 21:30

Thanks everyone and bubblesbuddy yes the previous owner took this land to use for his sole purpose and now I’m afraid the freeholder wishes to take this back for his use although not quite sure how as I also have a right of way over it

OP posts:
Nothomealone · 17/01/2018 01:17

Have you paid for land that you believed to be yours but now you have discovered belongs to the lease holder? Was this land included in the property details when you bought your property? I would talk to the solicitor you purchased the property with.

On a separate note the leaseholder would still need to honor your right of access through the property and that should be made clear to them.

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