Right of way not registered

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fcassapula

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Hi, I'm selling a property with a corridor that the neighbor has used to access their backyard for over 20 years, giving them a legal right of way. However, they've never registered this right, causing difficulties in selling the house. The neighbor is elderly and in critical health, making it unlikely they'll register the right now. I have no objections if they do. Any ideas on how to resolve this? My sale is agreed, but the buyer's solicitor won't send the contract until we sort this out. Thanks.
 
fcassapula said:
My sale is agreed, but the buyer's solicitor won't send the contract until we sort this out. Thanks.
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Surely your own solicitor has told you what needs to be done. Which I would suggest is a 'rectification of title'. Where you give your neighbour a right of way. Which will cost you to do. Not sure if this can be done without the neighbour being involved.
 
The Land Registry has a mechanism where a right of way can be registered directly with them if all parties agree to the right of way's existence. It's called a Form 68. That might work out faster than getting it confirmed in the District Court but I'd recommend ringing the Land Registry to see if there's a backlog on them at present.

Arguably, the seller's solicitor is being over cautious. If their client accepts the ROW exists then things can continue as they currently are after the sale. If they would prefer the ROW wasn't used (many people's preference) they have a better chance of that happening if it isn't registered on the deeds and when the elderly neighbour passes, the new property owner may not be interested in using that backyard access.
 
Reactions: Leo
The law in this area has been changed in recent years. After initially proposing to extinguish all rights of way not registered by a certain date, they rescinded and there is no longer a requirement to register rights of way. Doing so simplifies life in the future for those depending on access, but there's no requirement for the land owner to register it.
 
Thanks for it. Would you know if i would need to involve the neighbor on this process (form 68) ? Thanks again
 
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