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Unadopted Roads
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
Has anybody had any experience with owning/living at a property on an unadopted road?
I've looked at a property that has a lot going for it, needs modernising etc... but access to it is by an unadopted road.
You go down a normal road, and then turn and go up an unadopted road, about 20 metres then theres the drive to the house at the side, you then carry on slightly further and there is access to another 3 or 4 houses...
The road isn't tarmaced and is rough and unkept but not to the extent that access is a problem.
I was just wondering what impact this has?
From searching around i gather the home owners have to pay for the up keep of the road but other than that i cant find much information about it, does it have an impact on getting a mortgage?
Is there annual bills or is it only if theres a problem? is this something that is usually covered under house insurance and if so are the premiums likely to be much higher etc??
Any help would be great
I've looked at a property that has a lot going for it, needs modernising etc... but access to it is by an unadopted road.
You go down a normal road, and then turn and go up an unadopted road, about 20 metres then theres the drive to the house at the side, you then carry on slightly further and there is access to another 3 or 4 houses...
The road isn't tarmaced and is rough and unkept but not to the extent that access is a problem.
I was just wondering what impact this has?
From searching around i gather the home owners have to pay for the up keep of the road but other than that i cant find much information about it, does it have an impact on getting a mortgage?
Is there annual bills or is it only if theres a problem? is this something that is usually covered under house insurance and if so are the premiums likely to be much higher etc??
Any help would be great
0
Comments
Do you remember if there was like an annual maintanence on it or was it only if there was a problem ?
Thanks for the reply, any one else got any information???
At the back of the road where I live is an unadopted road and it is dreadful. There are so many pits in the road that huge puddles form when it rains. It looks horrible and spoils the whole street. I wouldn't even consider buying a property on that road because eventually it will HAVE to be sorted and it will prove to be very costly. It wouldn't be so bad if they kept on top of maintaining it but they haven't. Owning a flat in a converted house (therefore jointly owning exterior walls/roof and sharing the freehold) with others, I know how awkward it can be when one party wants to do something and the other party doesn't. I can only imagine what could potentially happen should the road deteriorate further (which inevitably will happen). Take Caution!
I would say thank you but that's made me even more undecided!
A right mixed bag of opinions! The house is going to auction in a week and i have first refusal at the reserve price which is only a little higher than the auction listing price, but i dont want to say yes and then pull out after they've pulled it out of the auction for me.
I'm asking the third party to try and find out as much info as possible about it, but because the property was left in a will, they don't know a great deal about it all either.
Cheers for your help anyway people!
You would like more information about unadopted roads, and I have tried to answer your questions, see below. You are right though, there is not a lot of available information about this!
As you are aware up-adopted roads are those that are not under the control of the local authority and therefore they are under no legal obligation to maintain them. You could try contacting the local council however, who may be able to provide some information about the unadopted road in question.
Upkeep
In terms of the upkeep, you are correct in that the residents of the - road would need to maintain it themselves. Sometimes the residents form an association or a company to maintain the road and deal with all the other issues (tree surgery, parking or general upkeep). Find out if there is already something like this in place. Like the other posters have suggested, ask the neighbours. Alternatively, if you are going to instruct a solicitor for the conveyancing of the property, they will be able to find out this information for you.
Insurance
In terms of the insurance, it would be a good idea to get insurance specifically for the un-adopted road. This is because if someone is injured whilst using this road then they can bring a claim against you. You want to be prepared for this should it happen to just ensure that any house/building insurance you get covers the road.
Alternatively, you can club together with the other residents and get insurance for the road together. This may be easier to deal with any claims should they arise, as it would be just one insurance company dealing with it.
Please also note that the local authority has the power to order you (and the other residents) to carry out urgent work to the road if they believe it is in the interest of the public to do so. This is under Section 230 of the Highways Act 1980. If you fail to do so, the local authority can carry out the work themselves and then send you the bill!
Mortgage
I’m not sure how a mortgage can be affected with an un-adopted road. However, I imagine that various lenders will have different policies regarding it. For example they may want to make sure that you have sufficient insurance before they grant you a mortgage.
I hope this helps and good luck with your search for a home.
Will definitely contact the local council this week and see what i can find out, thanks everyone
Glad we were able to help you with this problem. Do keep us posted on any progress.