Unlclaimed access to property - searches by land registry

[TheHazelPombear]

Hi

We are in the process of buying a house and there's a piece of land that has been flagged by the searches which is a gap between the property boundary and public highway (pavement). There is currently a legal statement coming from the vendors via the solicitor confirming they have been using it for the last number of years. See attached (green).

See the official solicitor wording:

As you will see from these plans there is a gap between the road and the property and where these situations arise, you will need legal rights of way in place to use the unadopted “gap” however, there are no such rights noted on the title in this respect. The Sellers will be providing a Statement of Truth which is a legal document confirming their use of this “gap” during their ownership of the property and this will be submitted to the Land Registry following completion, to see if the Land Registry will note the claimed right on the title.

Any suggestions here?

Thanks

The LR has not “claimed” the land, they have noted the purported existence of a right of way over the land on the title to the benefitting property. You can’t get the land registered to the seller - it isn’t theirs they aren’t claiming it is and they don’t have possession of the land. The outcome you have is the best you can hope for. You either accept it or withdraw.

here. brown signifies that the LR has claimed.

There is also a planning application for bungalows at the rear, which would use this access/drive. Will this cause any issues?

What about https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/easements-claimed-by-prescription/practice-guide-52-easements-claimed-by-prescription#:~:text=A%20registered%20proprietor%20may%20apply,be%20interested%20in%20the%20land.

The LR has not claimed it - they’ve noted a right on the title to the property you’re purchasing. Which will help you register a prescriptive easement when you come
to sell as it will show the use over a period of
time extending beyond your ownership.

Yes the bungalows at the rear will have the same title defect as the property you’re purchasing. Unless they’ve actually agreed an easement (right) with whoever does own the unregistered land, which seems unlikely.

Has planning permission been granted?

But yes, potentially all the construction vehicles, and all the bungalow occupiers, visitors, deliveries etc, will be using that piece of land to access the site. How close is it to the actual property?

My advise - only buy if the sellers send the request to land registry BEFORE the sale and it gets accepted with no push back.
It happened to me. I live in a semi detached maisonette flat. The old service alleyway was claimed as part of the flat’s garden but the sellers never officially claimed the land.
They issued a statement of truth so I could go ahead and claim the land and I closed the transaction. Turns out the statement of truth was a lie. Upstairs neighbours and joint freeholders said they wouldn’t be supportive of me going ahead and claiming the land as they want to have the option to access their garden through the side alleyway (there is no access currently).
Now I have to decide what to do. If I just let it be or just start a big mess. Lying in the statement of truth can even cause jail sentence….

If you are in south wales please pm me

Not yet.

Somerset

Presumably, that's what they have done - sent the request to the LR, and they have updated their plans/wording.

OP you also mentioned contaminated land. This would worry me.

They’ve updated the title by reference to the plan.

I did.

See here:

Next steps for consideration:
Based on the property age, we recommend contacting the environmental health department (or
equivalent) at the local authority. We require confirmation that they are:
Aware of the previous land use of the area (as specified in this report);
Whether the site has been designated 'Contaminated Land' (as defined under Part 2A of EPA 1990), the
designation status of a site can also be found in your Local Authority CON29 search.
If the site has not been formally designated as Contaminated Land, we require confirmation of the
following:
If the local authority are intending to investigate the site under this legislation;
The level of priority assigned to the site; and
The timescale until potential investigation.
It would be prudent to determine how many sites are on the local authorities inspection list.
Our experts will review the information and, if appropriate, revise the report to a pass free of charge.
All information should be emailed to [email protected] ↗
Alternatively, you may wish to consider environmental insurance. This may be expensive and does not
address the contamination, only financial liability that may be associated with it. Care should be taken
as there are a range of insurance options and you should confirm with your broker that the insurance
policy meets your needs. If you are considering this option you can contact Groundsure for further
details.
Ground stability
The property is indicated to lie within an area that could be affected by infilled land. You should consider the
following:
Next steps for consideration:
if a survey has been undertaken at the property that considers ground instability and no issues were
found, no further action is required
however, based on the findings of this report, the purchaser should be encouraged to consider
potential instability in any future development or alteration of the ground including planting and
removing trees, and regardless of the survey outcome
if no survey has yet been undertaken, we recommend one is carried out by a suitably qualified and
experienced person
if ground instability issues have been or are subsequently identified in a survey we recommend
following any advice given in the survey findings
you should also check whether the property benefits from a current NHBC guarantee or other
environmental warranty that often covers structural issues. Please note the presence of an NHBC
guarantee wouldn't change the risk assessment of this report

3

Other considerations

These are next steps associated with non-environmental search returns on matters of energy facilities,
transport infrastructure and planning constraints.

Contaminated Land
Our Contaminated Land searches have found some
potentially significant contamination risks. These could
include risks relating to industrial processes, petrol
stations, or landfill.

Contaminated Land Liability Action Required
Past Land Use Identified
Waste and Landfill Passed
Current and Recent Industrial Passed Please see page 9 > for details of the identified issues
and Click here ↗ for our assessment methodology.

and theres indemnity insurance for the contaminated land too.

So presumably it was once a farmhouse with a septic tank and they’ve built out? Why’s that a concern 🤯

Do you speak to your solicitor OP? Are you just looking for an excuse not to buy?

Of course, I do, but they are not suggesting or recommending anything. Purely sending me the docs and letting me decipher and decide.

Well ring and ask what it means - obviously they can’t make a decision for you but they can outline the risks of proceeding.

Risks are the same. Legally, the land is not owned by anyone that they can find, so there's always going to be risk, but the indemnity cover will back up. They reckon the plans are drawn incorrectly as the council plans show them differently. Fendors could contest it, but it would take ages to sort.

Going ahead with the purchase

Thanks for the input

i see you are pressing on OP but you have to wonder why the vendors did not sort this out in the past twenty years?

they also have contaminated land and it’s going to be one a building sire soon with bungalows everywhere?

put yourself ten years into the future and imagine trying to sell this property with these multiple issues. Good luck …

Look at the enviro search - it just shows there was once a septic tank. Which suggests to me there was once a farmhouse and now it’s been developed out - hardly cause for concern. Its revealed a “risk” of contaminated land, not definitively said it’s contaminated… The whole point of the searches is to
alert you to potential issues so there will always be entries which are almost irrelevant to you.

The drawing shows a former industrial land use right next to the property.

Bit bemused why septic tank = farmhouse though? Lots of properties have a septic tank without being on a farm?

What a shit lazy solicitor, they don't want to do the work. Read up on Property Law & Practice and Unregistered Land.

Ask about the Epitome of Title.

Well it’s just as it’s off mains and someone had to have the land to develop out - ie a farmer. But I agree it’s not conclusive.