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We sold our house in July last year and moved house.
When we first moved in to the old house we were made aware of a gate at the rear of the garden that exited onto council land (a tarmac accessway to a forecourt of council owned garages). The previous owners had a licence with the council that gave them permission to use the gate for a fee of £100 per year.
We were told the licence was not transferable. When we moved in to the property the council contacted us and asked us to establish a new licence which we did. We paid an administration fee of £150 and then paid £100 fee for each year that we lived in the property.
When we listed the house for sale we included that we had a licence for the accessway and that there was an associated fee. When we went through conveyancing with our buyers we explained to them the situation, provided them with a copy of the licence and informed them that it was not transferable. They asked us how they could get a licence and we informed them that we were contacted directly and shared the name of the person who we corresponded with.
When we moved out we assumed that the licence was terminated. We informed the council that we had left the property for council tax and electoral role purposes.
However we overlook that in the licence it states that we must give 1 months written notice. It is no excuse but in the stress of a long drawn out sale and purchase and move we overlooked it.
I received a forwarded letter this week asking us to pay our annual £100 fee. I contacted the council to say we no longer live there and they explained that "Whether you live at the property or not, is not relevant as the licence is not transferable to any new occupier."
They also pointed out a clause in the licence that says "you are required to close the accessway and reinstate the Council’s land (if any changes made) to a condition similar to that in which it was prior to the commencement of the licence and to the reasonable satisfaction of the Council’s Proper Officer."
I have pointed out that when we bought the property the gate was already in situ and that the licence was not transferred to us. So explaining that the property is in the same state as when we purchased it.
They stated: "As you took over the benefit of the right of way from the previous licensee, they were not required to close the accessway. The same would apply for you if the new occupier wanted to benefit from the right of way. Unfortunately, the new occupier has not requested a licence for a right of way and therefore you are required to close the accessway. Please provide photographic evidence to confirm when this has been done."
I think it is quite extreme to expect us to close an accessway on a property that we no longer own.
I just want to know what our options are at this point? Obviously I could go knock on the door of the house and explain the situation and ask if they would be willing to take on a new licence (that they were aware exists). But that feels a bit messy and what if they say they will and then don't or want us to pay for something. If they say no then I have to threaten to close a gate on their property?
On the other hand should we be taking this up with the conveyancer who processed our sale? We shared with them details of the license should they have considered this, do they have any responsibility? We used a big conveyancing firm and suspect it will be very hard to get any response from them, especially with the SDLT change happening next week.
Hope that all makes sense - any advice greatly appreciated
When we first moved in to the old house we were made aware of a gate at the rear of the garden that exited onto council land (a tarmac accessway to a forecourt of council owned garages). The previous owners had a licence with the council that gave them permission to use the gate for a fee of £100 per year.
We were told the licence was not transferable. When we moved in to the property the council contacted us and asked us to establish a new licence which we did. We paid an administration fee of £150 and then paid £100 fee for each year that we lived in the property.
When we listed the house for sale we included that we had a licence for the accessway and that there was an associated fee. When we went through conveyancing with our buyers we explained to them the situation, provided them with a copy of the licence and informed them that it was not transferable. They asked us how they could get a licence and we informed them that we were contacted directly and shared the name of the person who we corresponded with.
When we moved out we assumed that the licence was terminated. We informed the council that we had left the property for council tax and electoral role purposes.
However we overlook that in the licence it states that we must give 1 months written notice. It is no excuse but in the stress of a long drawn out sale and purchase and move we overlooked it.
I received a forwarded letter this week asking us to pay our annual £100 fee. I contacted the council to say we no longer live there and they explained that "Whether you live at the property or not, is not relevant as the licence is not transferable to any new occupier."
They also pointed out a clause in the licence that says "you are required to close the accessway and reinstate the Council’s land (if any changes made) to a condition similar to that in which it was prior to the commencement of the licence and to the reasonable satisfaction of the Council’s Proper Officer."
I have pointed out that when we bought the property the gate was already in situ and that the licence was not transferred to us. So explaining that the property is in the same state as when we purchased it.
They stated: "As you took over the benefit of the right of way from the previous licensee, they were not required to close the accessway. The same would apply for you if the new occupier wanted to benefit from the right of way. Unfortunately, the new occupier has not requested a licence for a right of way and therefore you are required to close the accessway. Please provide photographic evidence to confirm when this has been done."
I think it is quite extreme to expect us to close an accessway on a property that we no longer own.
I just want to know what our options are at this point? Obviously I could go knock on the door of the house and explain the situation and ask if they would be willing to take on a new licence (that they were aware exists). But that feels a bit messy and what if they say they will and then don't or want us to pay for something. If they say no then I have to threaten to close a gate on their property?
On the other hand should we be taking this up with the conveyancer who processed our sale? We shared with them details of the license should they have considered this, do they have any responsibility? We used a big conveyancing firm and suspect it will be very hard to get any response from them, especially with the SDLT change happening next week.
Hope that all makes sense - any advice greatly appreciated
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