Bristol Conveyancing Solicitors advise on shared garage drive on Rookery Road

Rookery Road, Bristol

Purchasers of a semi-detached freehold house on Rookery Road, Bristol, BS4, instructed Fridaysmove Bristol Conveyancing Solicitor Irene Bonsu-Amoako to act on their behalf.

When details were received from specialist agents Besley Hill of 165 East Street, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 4EJ, it was noted that the house was semi-detached and appeared to share a garage drive with the adjoining building. This was confirmed when a copy of the Land Registry title was provided by the seller’s Conveyancing Solicitors Metc.alfes of 46-48 Queen Square, Bristol BS1 4LY.

It is a common arrangement for adjoining properties to have garages at the rear with a common drive-way, but Conveyancing Solicitors representing anyone buying such a property will want to make a number of checks, for example:

• Where is the legal boundary?
• Usually this will run on the centre line between the two houses, but not necessarily
• Does the title contain clear evidence that the owner will have a legal right of way over the part of the drive in the adjoining title?
• Has the person selling been able to use the right without any difficulty or obstruction?
• Has anyone had to pay for repairs to the drive, or asked the neighbour to make a contribution?
• Have there been any disputes about the use of the access?

The use of shared drives is a common cause of disputes between neighbours, so Property Solicitors will want to make sure that their clients do not encounter any problems once they have completed.

Because the width of these driveways is not always sufficient for modern cars they may ceased to be used, but this does not mean that any legal right has been extinguished. In a law case a few years ago, the judge decided that the right to use a path had not ceased to exist just because it had not been used for nearly 60 years!

If the replies to enquiries indicate any potential problems, the Conveyancing Solicitor will consider how serious these are and how difficulties can be resolved. Even if everything is satisfactory the client will be advised about the legal implications of the situation.

Happily in this case there was a clear legal right to use the driveway, and it had been used without any problems, so Irene successfully completed the purchase without delay.

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