Film, Media & TV1 min ago
right of acees to drive
I own my house which has a driveway, this driveway is directly attached to my neighbours (with no boundary marked), its open plan. My neighbour has decided to build a wall down the middle of the drive which mean I would not be able to get my car on as we both had to drive over each others land at the front.
I contacted the council about boundaries and they informed me that they own a small bit of land between our two driveways. My question is as we have lived there 25 years and used this land and my flag stones for my drive are on the land the council owns can I claim it as I have been using it for 25 years without any problems
It is not a shared drivway in our deeds
I contacted the council about boundaries and they informed me that they own a small bit of land between our two driveways. My question is as we have lived there 25 years and used this land and my flag stones for my drive are on the land the council owns can I claim it as I have been using it for 25 years without any problems
It is not a shared drivway in our deeds
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There are things about this question I just don't understand.
You are going to have to describe it a bit better.
For example, in one sentence you say 'the driveway is directly attached to my neighbours'. Then in another sentence you say 'they (the council) own a small bit of land between our two driveways'.
Was your discussion with the council perhaps about the ownership of the land outside the front perimeter of your land, where it would be perfectly correct that the council do own the land (the verge and the footpath - if there is one)?
What prevents you widening your part of your driveway (on the other side to that which abuts the neighbour) to enable you to get your car in and out?
Unless there is a statement written into your original land title that enables you to have vehicular access over part of his driveway, then that wasn't the original set-up.
If you have been using part of his driveway as part of your access to your property for 25 years, without formal permission, then you may well have acquired a permanent right to continue to do this (an easement) under the Prescription Act 1832.
However demonstrating your right to this and enforcing it legally, including getting it written into both your land title and his at the Land Registry, is going to cost you money because you would have to employ a solicitor to advise and help you.
The same is true of him on you (though it appears he does not wish to invoke this opportunity if he is building a wall down the middle).
But before we go any further with this, please can we clear up this business about which bit of land may be in council ownership.
You are going to have to describe it a bit better.
For example, in one sentence you say 'the driveway is directly attached to my neighbours'. Then in another sentence you say 'they (the council) own a small bit of land between our two driveways'.
Was your discussion with the council perhaps about the ownership of the land outside the front perimeter of your land, where it would be perfectly correct that the council do own the land (the verge and the footpath - if there is one)?
What prevents you widening your part of your driveway (on the other side to that which abuts the neighbour) to enable you to get your car in and out?
Unless there is a statement written into your original land title that enables you to have vehicular access over part of his driveway, then that wasn't the original set-up.
If you have been using part of his driveway as part of your access to your property for 25 years, without formal permission, then you may well have acquired a permanent right to continue to do this (an easement) under the Prescription Act 1832.
However demonstrating your right to this and enforcing it legally, including getting it written into both your land title and his at the Land Registry, is going to cost you money because you would have to employ a solicitor to advise and help you.
The same is true of him on you (though it appears he does not wish to invoke this opportunity if he is building a wall down the middle).
But before we go any further with this, please can we clear up this business about which bit of land may be in council ownership.
at the moment my drive and my neighbours drive have no boundary marked and it looks like one big open space that we both use to park our cars on. I rang the council to ask if this boundary could be shown to us as he wants to build a wall down the middle but we both dont know exactly where this wall should be built. I was then informed that a thin strip of land between the two drives is owned by the council (they dont no why as this seems silly, it can only be about half a square meter in size). It is not the land in front or the pavement its actually part of the drive
If that is what the council say, then that is what the council say.
There is little logic in a very narrow strip of land between two adjacent properties being in council ownership. A couple of things spring to mind:
a) are both of these houses former council-owned properties?
b) were they developed at completely different times?
Out of interest, does this very narrow strip run the complete length of your plots, then? - this strip can hardly taper away to nothing.
Councils have no interest (in general) in helping houseowners establish where boundaries between adjacent properties are. By flagging this business about where the boundary actually lies, you may well have disturbed something that after 25 years of occupation would have just gone away. This strip of land can't be of any use to the council and, if unregistered with the Land Registry, would have just fallen into you and your neighbour's ownership had you merely decided and agreed between you both where the boundary between you would be drawn.
Which brings me to the next point - boundaries drawn on Land Registry title plans show what are called 'General Boundaries' and it is for adjacent owners to agree where exactly. OK, so in cases of disputes the Land Registry can get involved in a process to determine the exact boundary positions - by employing a surveyor - but this is costly and not recommended.
There is little logic in a very narrow strip of land between two adjacent properties being in council ownership. A couple of things spring to mind:
a) are both of these houses former council-owned properties?
b) were they developed at completely different times?
Out of interest, does this very narrow strip run the complete length of your plots, then? - this strip can hardly taper away to nothing.
Councils have no interest (in general) in helping houseowners establish where boundaries between adjacent properties are. By flagging this business about where the boundary actually lies, you may well have disturbed something that after 25 years of occupation would have just gone away. This strip of land can't be of any use to the council and, if unregistered with the Land Registry, would have just fallen into you and your neighbour's ownership had you merely decided and agreed between you both where the boundary between you would be drawn.
Which brings me to the next point - boundaries drawn on Land Registry title plans show what are called 'General Boundaries' and it is for adjacent owners to agree where exactly. OK, so in cases of disputes the Land Registry can get involved in a process to determine the exact boundary positions - by employing a surveyor - but this is costly and not recommended.
Having disturbed this potential hornets' nest with the council, the best thing you can do now is to pursuade your neighbour to erect his wall on an approximate line between his land and that claimed by the council - I assume this still gives you enough room to get your car out. Then just do nothing - at least the disputed council land would then be inside 'your area'. How is he going to get his car out when the wall is in place? - his width across the front must be wider than yours?
Or maybe dissuade him from erecting a wall at all. It doesn't seem to help anybody.
Or maybe dissuade him from erecting a wall at all. It doesn't seem to help anybody.
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