Wayleave Agreement Required

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AFB01

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Hi all,

Hoping to get some advice...

I have agreed to buy a property and have come to the final legal stages. The only main issue now is that we require a wayleave agreement from the owner of the field next to us (who is also the vendor) so we can sort out the sight lines to make them in line with planning regulations. The vendor has said that she does not want to provide a wayleave agreement but will sort out the issue herself (this would be ongoing as she would be required to cut an 80m hedge). My solicitor has advised that my lender will not lend without this agreement. Can anyone advise if this is correct or if there is any other way around this? Would it be possible to make the wayleave agreement valid only if she does not stick to her agreement of keeping the hedge cut etc.?

Would appreciate your comments/ suggestions, thanks.
 
From a lenders perspective this would not be acceptable. If you have no access to the hedging in question then you cannot comply with the planning requirement. Your solicitor should have advised you not to close the sale of the sight without this issue being sorted!
 
Thanks Brendan.
We have not closed the sale yet, it's been a very drawn out process from when the offer was accepted almost six months ago. We are only coming to the final stages now and my solicitor has gone back to the vendor requesting the agreement explaining that the bank won't lend without it (although I would not be too surprised if she still refuses). We would have access to the hedge from the main road so technically we would not need to go on to her land, would that be acceptable? I'm just reluctant to let the whole thing fall through over a hedge!
Thanks again.
 
You will be building on this site. The engineer will need to confirm to the bank that all planning issues will be fully complied with. I am assuming that the "line of sight" issue relates to the cutting down of this hedge to a certain size and maintaining it at this level. Without a wayleave you have no legal right to cut this hedge ( any more than you would have a right to cut the hedge of a neighbours house from the road). In my view an engineer would have difficulty in signing off on this requirement. However best option is to consult both your engineer and solicitor on the issue and take their advice. If you close the sale leaving this risk open, you have no comeback if you cannot progress the build.
 
Thanks Brendan. The house is already built. The issue lies only with the sight lines when exiting the driveway. I was hoping there would be some way around it or that we could put it in such a way that would make the vendor more comfortable but I guess not. Hopefully she will sign the agreement.
Thanks again.
 
"The vendor has said that she does not want to provide a wayleave agreement but will sort out the issue herself "

Oh dear. That does not augur well for the future

If you're absolutely set on the house, then make sure you do get the wayleave. Your solicitor won't be able to draw down your funds without that so its a no-brainer

mf
 
Surely planning permission cannot be granted on the basis that a hedge is kept to a certain height, no matter who owns it.
 
Sounds like you'd have a future awkward neighbour there - and she's selling the site! You'd think she'd bend over backwards to see that the sale would proceed smoothly.

Personally, I'd be walking away from the whole deal. I'd be telling her to keep her hedge!!
 
AFB01 said:
Hi all,

Hoping to get some advice...

I have agreed to buy a property and have come to the final legal stages. The only main issue now is that we require a wayleave agreement from the owner of the field next to us (who is also the vendor) so we can sort out the sight lines to make them in line with planning regulations. The vendor has said that she does not want to provide a wayleave agreement but will sort out the issue herself (this would be ongoing as she would be required to cut an 80m hedge). My solicitor has advised that my lender will not lend without this agreement. Can anyone advise if this is correct or if there is any other way around this? Would it be possible to make the wayleave agreement valid only if she does not stick to her agreement of keeping the hedge cut etc.?

Would appreciate your comments/ suggestions, thanks.
Click to expand...

I purchased a site and could not secure planning until a adjoining landowner signed an agreement allowing me to cut back his hedge in order to achieve 65m and to do so in the future to maintain this sight line.
The fact that the vendor refuses to sign an agreement sounds alarm bells. What type of relationship/problems will you have with your neighbour in the future.
The chap that signed my agreement was selling me nothing and could easily have told me to get stuffed. I had to fight with him to give him a bottle
as a thank you gesture. Thread carefully dealing with such a vendor. Ask yourself why the vendor will not sign?
 
Thanks for all the comments folks.
My solicitor has gone back to her requesting the agreement and if she refuses that'll be it....after wasting 6 months not to mention the money on surveyors reports etc.
The background is a bit awkward, it's an ex-couple selling the house which is in negative equity and they can't afford its upkeep. (It was an investment property). The bank have agreed to the sale. Only one of the vendors owns the field beside the site. I guess if she refuses to sign the agreement the property will go into receivership and sold for cash...but even at that would anyone buy a house that was not in line with planning! You'd think she'd want to get as much as possible written off the debt...
 
I can certainly understand the vendor's stance - after all, who would voluntarily agree to have a neighbour cut the hedge on your own land ? Supposing they cut back too much, destroyed a valuable sloe, cut between March and August when it is legally forbidden, left branches etc all over the road ?
Recipe for absolute disasterous neighbourly relations.
In my opinion the vendor is simply protecting her own future peace and privacy - and by agreeing to have the hedge maintained herself, has provided the only option that would provide peace of mind for herself.
And what happens if the new vendor decides to sell in a few years and another absolute stranger then has some right to interfere with the vendors land ?
Disaster - and a ridiculous situation.
 
I agree that the situation is ridiculous but why bother putting a property on the market without checking these issues first!? Absolute waste of time, money and energy...
 
grenzgebiet said:
I can certainly understand the vendor's stance - after all, who would voluntarily agree to have a neighbour cut the hedge on your own land ? Supposing they cut back too much, destroyed a valuable sloe, cut between March and August when it is legally forbidden, left branches etc all over the road ?
Recipe for absolute disasterous neighbourly relations.
In my opinion the vendor is simply protecting her own future peace and privacy - and by agreeing to have the hedge maintained herself, has provided the only option that would provide peace of mind for herself.
And what happens if the new vendor decides to sell in a few years and another absolute stranger then has some right to interfere with the vendors land ?
Disaster - and a ridiculous situation.
Click to expand...

Ah but you see its herself that's selling it! And this was probably an issue well flagged.

And its a bank forced sale, and the vendors have separated and on and on and on.................

mf
 
It's an absolute disgrace that anyone would knowingly let it go on this far. Not only have they wasted my time, money, energy and potential purchase of a different suitable property I am now restricted to new central bank rules regarding the amount I can borrow.

Anyway, that's life...not much I can do about it except hope that my next experience will be better...
Thanks to everyone for your comments/time.
 
Does anybody actually enforce these sight line requirements in later years? I've never heard of it happening.
 
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