Indemnity insurance - unadopted estate roads

[Andeh13]

We are just about to send the contract in for a house we are buying, house is 7 years old. From day one I have known the road is unadopted, but is due to be adopted (has an adoption agreement) in 2016.

My solicitor has says no indemnity insurance is required because we have full access rights to the road. I have not been filled with confidence from them so wanted to double check here.

If the road was to suddenly fall apart, would it be Taylor wimpy (who bought out Bryant homes who built the estate) who would have to sort out the repairs?

For street lighting etc, would it again be their responsibility to keep it in good order?

Anyone ever heard of a council taking 10yearsto adopt an estate?

Cheers guys

[kalniel]

Not first hand experience, but yes have friends who live in a housing development, sort of a new hamlet/town build, and the council have still to adopt it 10 years later, but it is happening.

[ik9000]

it would almost certainly fall to the developer to sort it out. They are responsible for developing the estate, constructing the road and so forth. They would have had to comply with the local authority requirements for adoptable roads (ie basically the Highways Agency standards). It should therefore be a perfectly straightforward process for the council to adopt the road. Your ownership of your house does not presumably include deeds of ownership for the road? If so you're not responsible for it, nor is anyone else on the road, unless they've signed up to it in small print somehow.

Reasons for delaying the adoption are:
1) the council doesn't have to worry about maintenance for the period until 2016. Since adoption is happening then, the developer will be responsible for fixing any defects that have occurred in the interim to the council's satisfaction (unless they're got some small print somewhere to enable them to charge the property owners for any of it)
2) the estate doesn't have to worry about the council imposing parking restrictions, meters and the like.
3) the developer retains control over who can dig up the road - thereby ensuring that the deal they made with virgin/whoever to be the sole supplier to the estate is not easily overturned since another company can't dig up the road without their consent. Reason I can't get cable at my current flat. ********s

So by delaying the handover of the road to the council the developer is trying to give early purchasers some protection, and the council like it cos they know that any shoddy workmanship should have become apparent before they take on responsibility for the road. And the developer gets some benefit too.

[Andeh13]

Cheers guys, council sent me the S38 form which is the paperwork the developer has signed to maintain the road until the council have formally adopted. All seems to be in order!

[ik9000]

holy thread resurrection!

[scaryjim]

holy thread resurrection!

Not really, this thread's still warm - only a couple of months since the previous post

As to unadopted roads, while it's not an an estate there is a road round the corner from me with a primary school on it that remains unadopted. So presumably the council isn't obliged to adopt any road if it chooses not to for any reason.

[Andeh13]

Whilst the thread is up & alive again, we bought said house.. the roads are owned & maintained by the house builders and the council has plans to adopt them over the next few years. progressing slowly as the first rod they adopt is the big long one to the main estate and there is several bits & pieces that need fillings & touching up before the council take it on over the next few months. From there it is one by one until the council adopt whole site.

Council & house building confirmed all the above, and house builder came out and fixed a few things after I reported them a few weeks later! All good

[ik9000]

I see the post I replied to has disappeared. Shame...

Glad you got the place mate - must start pulling my finger out and get looking for one for me now.

[peterb]

I see the post I replied to has disappeared. Shame...

Glad you got the place mate - must start pulling my finger out and get looking for one for me now.

This one?

http://forums.hexus.net/home-garden/...ml#post2913937

[ik9000]

This one?

http://forums.hexus.net/home-garden/...ml#post2913937

No, lol, that was ages old. I replied to some post whose comment between mine and andeh's is now deleted. No problem with it being deleted... the opposite in fact. Sorry, my bad for being sarcastic....