As others have said check with the Land Registry over ownership of the land. In addition check your sister's own title documents at the LR to see if there is any right of access.
You mention that it is built over an alleyway. Check to see if there is any public (as opposed to private on the deeds) right of way over the land. The Council will hold the Definitive Map that has a record of all known public rights of way, you need to speak with the ROW/highway dept this is not a planning issue. Even if there is no public right of way at the the moment on the DM it does not mean that a right may not have arisen over time, again the ROW officer will advise about this. You can petition to have one added based on user evidence.
It is all to do with access, of ROW. My parents live half way up a 50m driveway that leads to another house at the top, who own the whole driveway, apart from a 2ft boarder outside my parent's home. The vile man who lived there used to try and make their lives hell by restricting access to the house and garage and told us to park at the bottom and walk on the 2ft gap only. The hassle he created was all quashed when the ROW to drive to our garage, was in the deeds and couldn't not be changed. He was furious. His wife is a lot more amenable, as the man is dead and when there is maintenance to be done, my parents happily pay for half of the upkeep.
You can't just stop access that has been their for years. Even if your sister has no right of way on the land originally, after 7 years of use, they now have. I might be slightly off, here with the number of years, but I definitely know this neighbour cannot just stop access that has previously been used for a number of years. Same thing if someone sneakily extends their land by a few meters. If no one complains after a certain number of years, the land becomes theirs.
It is all to do with access, of ROW. My parents live half way up a 50m driveway that leads to another house at the top, who own the whole driveway, apart from a 2ft boarder outside my parent's home. The vile man who lived there used to try and make their lives hell by restricting access to the house and garage and told us to park at the bottom and walk on the 2ft gap only. The hassle he created was all quashed when the ROW to drive to our garage, was in the deeds and couldn't not be changed. He was furious. His wife is a lot more amenable, as the man is dead and when there is maintenance to be done, my parents happily pay for half of the upkeep.
You can't just stop access that has been their for years. Even if your sister has no right of way on the land originally, after 7 years of use, they now have. I might be slightly off, here with the number of years, but I definitely know this neighbour cannot just stop access that has previously been used for a number of years. Same thing if someone sneakily extends their land by a few meters. If no one complains after a certain number of years, the land becomes theirs.
If someone sneakily extends their boundary by a few metres the land will only become theirs if they have fenced off the land and excluded all others for 12 years, then they can apply for "adverse posession" which they will have to apply to the Land Registry for and prove to the Land Registry lawyers that they planned to take adverse posession and have done so.
I have recently been through all this with the Land Registry and the council.
When someone was trying to take some land at the back of my house and gain planning permission for an extended garden onto land they didn't own (which, unbelievably, is perfectly legal) they were forced to amend their plans because the planning department said that 6 metres access is required for access to a person's garage, they had to move their proposed boundary back by 6 metres!
If someone sneakily extends their boundary by a few metres the land will only become theirs if they have fenced off the land and excluded all others for 12 years, then they can apply for "adverse posession" which they will have to apply to the Land Registry for and prove to the Land Registry lawyers that they planned to take adverse posession and have done so.
I have recently been through all this with the Land Registry and the council.
When someone was trying to take some land at the back of my house and gain planning permission for an extended garden onto land they didn't own (which, unbelievably, is perfectly legal) they were forced to amend their plans because the planning department said that 6 metres access is required for access to a person's garage, they had to move their proposed boundary back by 6 metres!
I won the planning battle btw.
Good for you
This is good advice for the OP. I was being vague as I didn't know the exact details that you do.
Comments
It's a Honda HRV, not a huge car. I couldn't get my Focus in there.
You mention that it is built over an alleyway. Check to see if there is any public (as opposed to private on the deeds) right of way over the land. The Council will hold the Definitive Map that has a record of all known public rights of way, you need to speak with the ROW/highway dept this is not a planning issue. Even if there is no public right of way at the the moment on the DM it does not mean that a right may not have arisen over time, again the ROW officer will advise about this. You can petition to have one added based on user evidence.
You can't just stop access that has been their for years. Even if your sister has no right of way on the land originally, after 7 years of use, they now have. I might be slightly off, here with the number of years, but I definitely know this neighbour cannot just stop access that has previously been used for a number of years. Same thing if someone sneakily extends their land by a few meters. If no one complains after a certain number of years, the land becomes theirs.
If someone sneakily extends their boundary by a few metres the land will only become theirs if they have fenced off the land and excluded all others for 12 years, then they can apply for "adverse posession" which they will have to apply to the Land Registry for and prove to the Land Registry lawyers that they planned to take adverse posession and have done so.
I have recently been through all this with the Land Registry and the council.
When someone was trying to take some land at the back of my house and gain planning permission for an extended garden onto land they didn't own (which, unbelievably, is perfectly legal) they were forced to amend their plans because the planning department said that 6 metres access is required for access to a person's garage, they had to move their proposed boundary back by 6 metres!
I won the planning battle btw.
Good for you
This is good advice for the OP. I was being vague as I didn't know the exact details that you do.