Ransom strip across middle of garden

[Hittapotamus]

Most of the research I've done suggests ransom strips are at the boundaries of people's land so a ransom must be paid for access.

The house I'm looking at buying has an enlarged garden and the end bit has a ransom strip all the way across it. The landowner clearly sold the current owner the extra bit to enlarge the garden (land registry edged in red) but even on the land registry document there's a dashed line about 10m from the far boundary. For scale the garden is about 65m long.

In practical terms what does this mean for the end part of the garden please? It backs onto fields.

Does the property have an easement over the ransom strip? I.e. would you have the legal right to use the ransom strip to access the bottom of your garden or does the current owner only have a license from the owner of the strip (which they could withdraw at any time)?

Does the dashed line definitely indicate a ransom strip owned by a third party, and not simply where the previous boundary was?

How long ago was the additional land purchased? It is possible to establish an easement by prescription.

What do the Land Registry registers say the dashed line denotes?

I will have to ask at the next viewing about easement. The current owner uses it as one garden.

It's definitely a random strip as it's across the whole of the back of the village on land owned by a family who owns many of the fields surrounding the village. I came across it when a friend of mine bought a house up to the strip and we discovered what it means. Additional land bought in 2005.

I once owned a strip of land , which was of varying width, but 1metre at it's narrowest bit, for about 2 metres long, before it broadened out.
On the Land Registry plan, it was clearly visible as a strip. So, two lines, close together, indicating the sides of the strip.

So if the mark on your deeds is simply a line, I don't see how that can actually indicate a strip of land.

Another thought. HMLR usually try to clarify anything a bit ' odd' in words, as well as on the plan.
Have you read the title register as well as looking at the plan? ( Can download for v small fee)

As previous posters have said, you'll need to read the register in conjunction with the title plan to find out the significance of the line - what makes you think it's a ransom strip? A dashed line could indicate drainage or another easement but the register should refer to it.

Definitely a ransom strip (you'll have to trust me on that one) but in the rest of the village it's at the edge of gardens. It's just this one it's across the middle. I'll check with the landowner/owner what the land registry says. I have the location plan but not the easements.

Perhaps these will make it more obvious?

My guess is that the broken line on the title plan is not related to the ransom strip at all. I wonder if the landowner has reserved some rights, eg of access over the land edged red on the first plan. That land abuts the back gardens of all the houses and is not in the same position as the broken line on the title plan.

If you order a copy of the register I'm sure all will be revealed. You can order and download it online if you are in a hurry to know.

The only thing that will make it "obvious" is reading the registers whilst looking at the plan. Otherwise it's just guesswork.

The hatched red bit is a different site to the bigger and refers to the land at the bottom of my friend's garden hence I've seen the bigger picture so to speak.

Land registry it is!

Different site to the second map not bigger!

£6 to confirm what I already knew in a sense. But nothing in the title deeds about easements. Just about a 3 foot high boundary fence.

Back to Cohle's original question then.

How curious. Yes, as cohle says, you'd need to be certain of rights over the strip to access the rest of the land.

I'm meeting him tomorrow so I will ask. I'm also surprised there's literally nothing in the deeds as I've read easements regarding utilities etc before.

What did he say OP? I'm curious.

@Hittapotamus have you got an update for us?

He said he spoke to his solicitor who told him not to worry about it. I obviously need a shit hot solicitor then who WILL worry about it and get it nailed down. He's a man whose main trade is not in any way linked to landowning. He took advice from friends years ago to buy land for 'pennies' and now wants to make an easy fortune. So it's important I get excellent legal advice to get a better answer. The garden all looks one big entity and has been used as such but I don't want the hassle of owning something when I can't use part of it!

Gardenlaw.co.uk is a forum I’ve found useful.

Don't the land registry papers say something like "the area edged in red" is what you are buying?

If there is not a strip edged in red, that you are not buying, then surely you are buying all the area edged in red.

Sorry, I hadn't seen the bit about the blue line.

is it drainage & its about the farmers access to clear? Check on drainage searches this might be mentioned there (or water supply???)

How long has he owned it for?

Do any services run under it?

Is it maybe an access strip in case he wants to access the field boundary at any point? Or he could be perhaps retaining it in case he gets planning permission to build on the field which would mean he could change it to an access road.

It is obviously retained for some reason. Be very wary.