# Legal eagles req re unadopted road



## pmcclure (Dec 6, 2011)

Bought current house 12 years ago. It was built in 1998. It's in a small cul de sac with 6 houses. We've always been lead to believe that the road in the cul de sac has been adopted by the council. (it's 75 yards long) The developer paid a bond to the council or highways agency (not to sure who) for the road to be adopted but for some reason it wasn't.
They now want more money to bring the road up to a standard for it to be adopted.

We've now come to sell and the purchasers solicitor has highlighted the fact about the road not been adopted.
The highways agency recently did some work on the road leading to our cul de sac and fitted new drains that connect to pipework in our (according to solicitors etc.) private road.

So finally to questions
Is it a condition of mortgage approval that roads have to be adopted?
If the road has not been adopted what happens to the bond?
What can we do about the situation?

Thanks in advance

Peter


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

pmcclure said:


> Bought current house 12 years ago. It was built in 1998. It's in a small cul de sac with 6 houses. We've always been lead to believe that the road in the cul de sac has been adopted by the council. (it's 75 yards long) The developer paid a bond to the council or highways agency (not to sure who) for the road to be adopted but for some reason it wasn't.
> They now want more money to bring the road up to a standard for it to be adopted.
> 
> We've now come to sell and the purchasers solicitor has highlighted the fact about the road not been adopted.
> ...


*1. Is it a condition of mortgage approval that roads have to be adopted?*
No. purchasers are buying the property and land associated with the property.

*2. If the road has not been adopted what happens to the bond?*
What bond? paid by who? to whom? For what?
This needs establishing with paperwork. It could have been paid to the council to provide services (such as water) and not to adopt the road itself. You need proof of what was paid and to whom and what it was you (or the developer) were buying.

*3. What can we do about the situation?*
Not much. The buyer is buying your property not the road. As long as you have unencumbered access the mortgage company shouldn't care too much.

The buyer may care if he has to stump up annual fees for maintenance of the road. Have you got some sort of 'maintenance charge' shared between all the properties for the upkeep of the road? Or do you each just repair the section outside your house?

And who owns the road outside your property? Do you own it? Does it form part of your deeds? Do you want to hand over that land to the council?

This may be the biggest stumbling block.


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## pmcclure (Dec 6, 2011)

No maintenance charge shared between the properties. The road itself is tarmaced in good condition, has street lighting (who provides the electricity for this?) and drainage.

No mention on the deeds.


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## david-david (Feb 24, 2013)

pmcclure said:


> No maintenance charge shared between the properties. The road itself is tarmaced in good condition, has street lighting (who provides the electricity for this?) and drainage.
> 
> *No mention on the deeds.*


So you need to establish who owns the road and who is responsible for its upkeep and that you have free unencumbered access.

Try Land Registry to see if the road shows up on your deeds or title plans. They should charge around £6.00 for this service. Anything more and you're not on the official LR website!


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## Devonboy (Nov 19, 2009)

pmcclure said:


> Bought current house 12 years ago. It was built in 1998. It's in a small cul de sac with 6 houses. We've always been lead to believe that the road in the cul de sac has been adopted by the council. (it's 75 yards long) The developer paid a bond to the council or highways agency (not to sure who) for the road to be adopted but for some reason it wasn't.
> They now want more money to bring the road up to a standard for it to be adopted.
> 
> We've now come to sell and the purchasers solicitor has highlighted the fact about the road not been adopted.
> ...


We are in a similar position & due to a dispute when the road needed resurfacing, we looked at all the relevant documentation.

In the first instance I would check with the solicitor who did the conveyancing when you purchased the property. He should have established all of these details.

Our road is unadopted, the local council will not even sweep it let alone carry out any work on it. Your deeds should clearly state if the road is part of your property. They should also state the maintenance arrangements and very importantly rights of way over the road. Ours for instance states that those properties that are liable for its maintenance, and only those, have the right to pass & repass over the road.

If you google "Private Road" you will find a whole range of different rules that are associated with them including rights of way. This is why they should be clearly stated in your deeds.

I think in your position I would be standing outside your 1998 conveyancing solicitors office tomorrow morning at opening time.


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## pmcclure (Dec 6, 2011)

In the first instance I would check with the solicitor who did the conveyancing when you purchased the property. He should have established all of these details.
I think in your position I would be standing outside your 1998 conveyancing solicitors office tomorrow morning at opening time.[/QUOTE said:


> Don't all laugh at the same time. It's the same company, but a different solicitor. The original one has left.
> 
> It has been mentioned by us that this should have been noticed when we originally purchased, but all we get is "things are different now"


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## Devonboy (Nov 19, 2009)

pmcclure said:


> Don't all laugh at the same time. It's the same company, but a different solicitor. The original one has left.
> 
> It has been mentioned by us that this should have been noticed when we originally purchased, but all we get is "things are different now"


Raise a complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. They should have all the details of the one that left.
http://www.sra.org.uk/home/home.page


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## pmcclure (Dec 6, 2011)

The solicitor that did the original purchase now has his own practice in the same town. Would be complaint be against the original practice or the solicitor?


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

Devonboy said:


> Raise a complaint with the Solicitors Regulation Authority. They should have all the details of the one that left.
> http://www.sra.org.uk/home/home.page


I think that is rather vague advice.

On the facts described so far, it is far from established as to what complaint there would be against whom.

As for details about a Solicitor who 'left'; I am sure with the name of the Solicitor, if still in possession of a Practising Certificate from the law Society it would be possible to obtain details. But for what purpose, unless one has facts to establish wrongdoing, and even then any, if doubtful, the claim would be against the firm.

In practical terms it must have been quite obvious to the prospective purchaser that the road was not maintained by the local authority.

I suspect the issue is either the Purchaser's Solicitor trying to prove worth/ramp up bill to his client or a negotiating positon on the agreed price.

Either way I suggest you call the buyer and tell him it is a waste of time going into legal arguments and ak whether there is an 'adjustment' on the price to settle the matter, but first pointiing out that he saw the unadopted road, so what is his problem.

Geoff


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## pmcclure (Dec 6, 2011)

[QUOTE In practical terms it must have been quite obvious to the prospective purchaser that the road was not maintained by the local authority.

I suspect the issue is either the Purchaser's Solicitor trying to prove worth/ramp up bill to his client or a negotiating postion on the agreed price.

Either way I suggest you call the buyer and tell him it is a waste of time going into legal arguments and ask whether there is an 'adjustment' on the price to settle the matter, but first pointing out that he saw the unadopted road, so what is his problem.[/QUOTE

Its not obvious the the road isn't maintained by the local authority. Its in very good condition and has never had any work done on it.

Both us (the sellers) and the purchasers are using the same practice but different offices (which is allowed)


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## GEMMY (Jun 19, 2006)

From an ex house builder:


You apply for planning consent to build 'x' No. of houses, the planners look at the proposal and say yes (eventually), the planners give consent but with certain conditions. They determine the cost of doing the estate road, then want a bond for that value, no money, just a bond.
The builder gets the bond from his bank, the value gets deducted from his overdraft allowance, quite often also by the builders personal guarantee.
The completion of the road is then the builders responsibility
The houses are completed and the builder has to get the road passed, if not, a small allowance of time is allowed, then the bond is 'called in' . the council will then complete to their satisfaction.


SO...........it's the council who are responsible :wink2:


tony


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

What about the sign for the name of the road? Does that bear the councils name or to the pattern of council signs? This is often an indication of whether the road has been adopted.

Geoff


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

I've bought (and sold) houses in unadopted roads and it's never been an issue on either side. Also never an issue with mortgages. The main thing is understanding what the responsibilities are for maintaining the road and how these responsibilities will be met. At my last house there were about 14 houses in the road and everyone used to pay (voluntarily) about £30 a year into a "road fund". At another property all the householders voluntarily stumped up about £1,000 each to have the road resurfaced. I would guess that if the council is asking for a contribution for the road to be adopted, then any intending purchaser will rightly want to know how much that will be. Obviously it will relieve them of any future liabilities so there will be some benefits from it.


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## pmcclure (Dec 6, 2011)

Had a visit from a man from the highways agency. The £5000 bond has now with interest grown to £9000. He was concerned that the drains ran across neighbouring properties before entering the main drainage etc and he mentioned about an "easement" which they had no paperwork for.


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## nicholsong (May 26, 2009)

pmcclure said:


> Had a visit from a man from the highways agency. The £5000 bond has now with interest grown to £9000. He was concerned that the drains ran across neighbouring properties before entering the main drainage etc and he mentioned about an "easement" which they had no paperwork for.


I doubt whether he was from the Highways Agency [you did not use capital letters I know] - they are only responsible for Motorways and major roads.

Was this visit as a result of the other parties enquiries? or is it just a coincidence?

At this point I suggest there is little for you to do but sit back and let them make their enquiries. Anything you tell them, rather than the Council, is subject to 'he would say that wouldn't he?' so of little value to resolve their doubts.

One point that I would make to you is that under the old 'Rates' system houses in 'unadopted' roads were rated lower, so paid less. Under the Council tax system the valuations for banding purposes were made in the '90s and have not yet been revised. The band of your house probably took account of the unadopted road, so you could point out to the purchaser that their Council Tax would be lower as a result.

Geoff


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