Property for sale with "borrowed" land and a blocked easement

[Mr Pancake]

Hello! I'm new here. I am interested in buying a house I have seen but my own investigations have turned up some interesting details about the land and an easement for the next door neighbour which was blocked some years ago but which still appears on the titles. I was going to post my question in the Housing & Property section but then noticed the invitation to post something in here first. So here I am! Where would you like me to post my question?

Many thanks

Gareth Pancake

[atticus]

Welcome.

Here will be fine.

[Mr Pancake]

Thanks!

I have spent a while going through the posts on this site, but I have not found anything which quite fits this situation. I have tried to anticipate the questions that a legal beagle might have but if there is anything else required, let me know and will share it if I have it.

My question is: based on the scenario below, and the present position, would I be right in thinking that this property that I am interested in buying is likely un-mortgageable, and in any event I should absolutely walk away from it now if only to avoid a world of pain down the line?



Scenario

A terrace of four cottages – A, B, C and D.

The titles for all cottages show that each has a narrow but long strip of land at the rear. See the first image.

There is an in easement (from at least the 1970s) which allows the owner of cottage B to access their rear garden by passing down the side of, and across the rear of, cottage A (see the red line). The easement appears on the titles to cottages A and B.

Over the years, the owner of cottage A made some changes to their property. An extension to the side and rear of cottage A render the easement completely blocked. There is no alternative route.

I understand that the owners of cottages A and B at the time were related and no further consideration of the (now blocked) easement appears to have been given.

Furthermore, the owners of cottages B and C agreed to let the owner of cottage A have use of a portion of their rear gardens. This may have involved payment and may in fact have been a sale of the land – memories differ. This meant that the owner of cottage A now had a substantial rear garden at their disposal. See the second image. The owner of cottage A erected some outbuildings, one of which is across the land that belongs to B, and the other is mainly on land belonging to C (see the blue highlights in the second image)

In 2020, cottage A was sold to a couple, E and F. It does not appear that any serious checks were done, perhaps because the purchase was done for cash. E and F appear to have been under the impression that “all the land” was theirs. About a year later, cottage B is sold to F alone. The purchase of cottage B is by way of mortgage.

There is also a mortgage on cottage C.

In 2025, E and F (who by now appear to have separated) decide to sell cottage A. At is at this point E and F likely discover that cottage A’s substantial garden is not reflected on the title, nor is there any evidence that the extensions added to cottage A were done with planning permission – the extensions do not appear on the title to cottage A, nor is there anything on the relevant council portal to show that permission was obtained. Rather, the titles simply reflect the original position – four simple cottages, each with a long narrow garden which extends right back. The easement is also still in place, as evidenced by the title of cottage A which was updated when E and F made their purchase, and cottage B when F made their purchase. Several potential sales of cottage A have fallen through, presumably once the lawyers got involved.


The present position

I visited cottage A as I am interested in buying it (with a mortgage). I was aware from previous estate agent listings for the property that it has a large rear garden with outbuildings. However, during the visit I discovered that E and F have a plan to avoid another failed sale of cottage A, which appears in the third image. A temporary fence has been erected part way down cottage A’s garden. The sale, I am told, is for cottage A and only a portion of cottage A’s garden as indicated in the image. This is not reflected on the current title. They say there is an option to buy the remainder of the land once the purchase of cottage A is completed. I set out below why I do not think this can happen. I also managed to get to the outbuildings which in reality are “dressed-up” static caravans and are now in a state of complete disrepair and require demolition and, somehow, removal.

I’m not an expert, but from my research today, I do not think that E and F’s plan will work either legally, or from a practical point of view. Part of the land belongs to cottage C and cannot be sold as the mortgage company objects to it. The same will likely be the case with the land behind cottage B. The remainder of the land is part of cottage A’s current title and will, as I understand it, be in the sale of cottage A irrespective of the presence of a temporary fence part way down.

By chance, I was able to speak to the owner of cottage C. They confirmed the original arrangement which allowed A to “borrow” part of their garden, as well as that of cottage B, and that this arrangement has been in place for 20 years or more. They also confirmed that E and F had approached them to purchase the land behind cottage C, but C’s mortgage company would not agree to it. I think it likely that F’s mortgage company would not agree to the sale of the land behind cottage B. However, the owner of cottage C is content for the owner of cottage A, whoever that might be in the future, to continue using their land for the time being. It has not been possible to speak to the current owner of cottage B but in the circumstances, there is every reason to think that they would not be as accommodating.

And no one apart from me seems to be concerned about the blocked easement. Should I be concerned? Is it significant that the easement is in respect of cottages And B and the same person, F, is an owner of those cottages (albeit F jointly owns cottage A with E)?

[atticus]

I have read this several times. I cannot see that there will be any insurmountable problem. I suggest that you ask a good property lawyer to examine the title to the property you wish to acquire. Surely you can ask the owner of property B, who as I understand things has an interest in the sale of property A, to execute a deed extinguishing the easement.