House Purchase Issue with Ownership of Driveway

Hi,<br> <br> We are in the process of buying a house but on receipt of the Land Registry document we see that although we would own the house, obviously, and an outbuilding at the end of the driveway, the driveway itself is not listed. This is despite the fact that the driveway is bordered on 2 sides and creates no thoroughfare at all. Essentially the lane stops at the driveway. This is a major concern for us as we are unsure whether to proceed with the purchase given that should the neighbour decide to cut down the fencing and established hedges at the side of the drive to create another access point to there home we would not only lose our parking we would have no recourse to stop them currently.&#160;<br> We have contacted the estate agent and the local council and drawn a blank with both currently but if this road is unadopted can we adopt this piece of tarmac and have the land registry deeds changed accordingly?&#160;<br> For reference, the title number is WYK634810 and the file is attached too.&#160;<br> <br> If you look on Google street view you can also see that the driveway has a border separating from the public lane which we know is council owned.&#160;<br> <br> Look forward to feedback on this query and thanks in advance.&#160;<br> <br> Pete

Hi Pete - very much an issue to raise with the seller/your conveyancer as the access is registered and owned by one of the neighbouring titles.&nbsp;<br> As the access is private the council would not have adopted it and the same process of adoption would not apply to a private individual<br> You should be checking the registered information for your property to confirm what rights of access you have and any obligations re same as appropriate - all part of the standard conveyancing involved when buying a property<br> WYK634810&nbsp;

<p>Hi Adam,</p> <p>Thank you for such a quick reply and for the further details provided.&#160;<br> Would it be possible to let me know which neighbouring title owns the land please? We believe it would be number 31 given their position in relation to both the driveway and our house.</p> <p>Kind regards,</p> <p>Pete</p>

Pete - it is 31 but these are the sorts of things you should be searching for and checking when buying a property -&#160;<a href="https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry">Search for land and property information - GOV.UK</a>

<p>Hi Adam,</p> <p>Completely agree and it was the first thing we asked both the seller and the estate agent handling the sale and were provided assurances that there were no issues. Unfortunately we now see this is not the case and is very frustrating and disappointing.&#160;<br> &#160;</p> <p>On a more positive note, can I say this forum and the speed of response is fantastic, if only more government agencies offered this kind of service the country would be in a far better place I’m sure.&#160;<br> &#160;</p> <p>Thanks again Adam.</p> <p>Kind regards,</p> <p>Pete</p> <p></p>

Pete - thank you for your kind words.<br> The registered information should help clarify who owns what and what shared or otherwise responsibilities exist. If the registered information doesn't do it then it often comes down to the seller providing information as to how things have perhaps 'worked' over the years for example although how far that reassures is one for the conveyancer to really advise on as it's not part of the registered information&#160;