Over the past two decades the majority of new housing developments have been built on private roads that are not taken over – or ‘adopted’ – by the local authority.
While owning a home on a private road has its advantages – such as improved security, better control over parking, greater exclusivity and enhanced property values – it’s important to understand the responsibilities that come with it.
For example:
- How will communal areas, roads, lighting, signage and play areas be maintained?
- What about other services the local authority would usually provide, such as gritting, road sweeping and drain gully clearance?
- Is there a need for insurance?
- Will decisions about maintenance arrangements and costs cause disagreements between residents?
Fortunately, these and other concerns can all be handled with the help of Pure Block Management.
Covering Yorkshire and Lincolnshire, our specialist property management services can take away the headaches that can come with living on an unadopted road.
Private roads: the UK law
According to the Highways Act 1980, a private, or ‘unadopted’, road is any highway that’s not maintained at public expense.
The law on the maintenance and adoption of private roads in England and Wales is complex. Full details can be found in this 2018 government report, but essentially there are two main types of unadopted roads:
- Private streets are privately-maintained roads where the public has a right of way. If a private street needs repairs, the local authority has the right to make it safe under the Highways Act and charge residents for the work.
- Private roads are roads where no public right of way exists. Residents are solely responsible for any repairs. These roads must be gated, unless registered, at least once a year to prevent through traffic, but this is usually the case all the time.
Who is responsible for maintaining a private road?
The local highway authority is under no obligation to pay for the maintenance of any unadopted or private road.
The owners of properties which front onto private roads (known as ‘frontagers’) are responsible for paying for any repairs or maintenance required.
If there is a danger to traffic in a private road, the law allows the local street works authority to demand that frontagers undertake the necessary repairs under ‘statutory provision’.
Fail to do so and the authority can carry out the repairs before recovering the costs from the frontagers.
Depending on the circumstances, frontagers do have the right to object to the authority making a demand for payment for any repairs they carry out on a private road.
All unresolved objections will be heard by a Magistrate's Court, who decide whether the authority can demand payment. Any homeowner who is unhappy with the Magistrate’s decision has the right to appeal against the demand to the Secretary of State for Transport.
Should residents insure their private road?
There is no legal obligation to insure a private road but it’s definitely a good idea – especially if you want to avoid being held liable in the event of an accident.
Taking out private road insurance or public liability insurance gives residents peace of mind and protects them from footing the bill in the event of any claims being made.
How to manage your private road
If you’re thinking of buying a house in a private road, or if you already own one, it will pay to do a little bit of research.
If you can, try to find out:
- Is there an active and well-run residents' association?
- If not, is the road managed by a specialist management company?
- What are your exact responsibilities as a resident?
The decision to live on a private road shouldn’t be taken lightly. You’ll be required to pay ongoing management charges – and if the worst was to happen and the road collapsed, you’ll need to make sure there are sufficient funds to pay for repairs.
At Pure Block Management, we manage and maintain private roads on behalf of homeowners, developers and freeholders.
If residents are unhappy with the service provided by their existing management company/arrangement, call us on 01482 326677 to see if we can help or if you’re a developer needing initial advice on setting up a service charge or managing the road, get in touch.
Working closely with homeowners/developers and freeholder, we’ll help to make expensive and ever-increasing maintenance charges a thing of the past – and minimise the financial risks that comes with private roads.
If this sounds like a community-focused approach that could work for you, call us on 01482 326677 for an informal discussion.
