A right of way can look like a small legal footnote until you try to sell. Then it turns into questions from buyers, lenders and solicitors, often late in the process when everyone’s stressed. Most issues are manageable, but only if you know what you’re dealing with and you disclose it properly. Get it wrong and you risk delays, price chips or a buyer walking away. This guide is about keeping the sale on the rails.
If you’re worried about right of way selling house issues slowing things down, it helps to understand what buyers actually need to see, what goes on the forms and what counts as a red flag.
In this article, we’re going to discuss how to:
- Work out whether you’re dealing with a right of way, an easement, or an informal arrangement.
- Disclose access rights properly, with the right paperwork and plain-English explanations.
- Spot the situations that trigger delays, disputes, or lender concerns, and deal with them early.
Right Of Way And Easements: The Plain-English Difference
An easement is a legal right that one piece of land has over another. A right of way is a common type of easement: it gives someone the right to pass over land they don’t own, for example using a shared driveway or a path across a garden to reach their property.
In an easement property sale, what matters is not the label but the legal effect. The right might benefit your property (you can cross a neighbour’s land to reach your garage), or it might burden your property (a neighbour can cross your land to reach theirs). It can also cover things like drainage, cables, support and rights of access for repairs.
Don’t confuse a legal right with an informal habit. If the neighbour ‘has always used’ a route but there’s nothing in the title and no formal agreement, that’s not automatically a legal right of way. It might still become an issue if there’s a dispute, or if long use has led to a claim, but it’s a different conversation.
Right Of Way Selling House: What Buyers And Solicitors Look For
When you’re dealing with right of way selling house questions, most buyer solicitors want three things: clarity, evidence and consistency. They will check the title register and title plan, ask how access works in practice and compare your answers to what they can see on the paperwork.
Here’s what usually gets scrutinised:
- What the right allows: on foot only, vehicles too, at all times or limited hours, specific route or ‘as convenient’ wording.
- Who can use it: only the current neighbour, or any future owner, plus their visitors and trades.
- Maintenance responsibilities: who pays for the shared drive, gates, lighting, repairs and resurfacing.
- Anything that restricts building: you may not be able to extend over a route or obstruct it.
Even if access rights are normal for your area, they still need to be explained cleanly. A buyer may accept a shared drive, but they won’t accept uncertainty.
Where Rights Of Way Show Up In The Paperwork
Most formal access rights are recorded in the Land Registry title register, often under ‘Charges Register’ or ‘Proprietorship Register’, with wording that either grants rights to your property or reserves rights over it. You may also have a separate deed, transfer document or conveyance that sets out details and includes a plan with a shaded route.
If your property is registered, your conveyancer can pull the register and plan quickly. If it’s unregistered, older deeds might hold the key. Either way, it’s worth gathering what you already have: the purchase pack from when you bought, any deeds, and any written agreements with neighbours.
For the legal background on how easements are recorded and interpreted, HM Land Registry’s Practice Guide 62 on easements is a solid reference point.
Disclosure: What You Must Say, And What You Should Say
In most sales you’ll be asked to complete the Property Information Form (often called the TA6). That’s where sellers commonly trip up. The form asks about disputes and complaints, boundaries and rights and informal arrangements. If there’s a right of way, it’s not something to keep quiet because you think it will ‘spook’ the buyer. If it comes out later, it tends to spook them more.
Practical disclosure usually looks like this:
- State what the title says, in plain English, and attach the relevant extract or deed if your solicitor advises.
- Explain how it works day-to-day, for example ‘Neighbour at No. 12 uses the rear path for bins once a week’. Keep it factual.
- Declare any disagreements, even if you consider them minor. A single heated email about parking on a shared drive can become a ‘dispute’ in legal terms.
- Confirm any gates, bollards or locks, and who has keys. Buyers worry about access rights being obstructed.
If you’ve had a falling out about access, treat it like any other neighbour issue: document it and disclose it. The post on Selling house with boundary dispute is relevant because access arguments often overlap with boundary positioning and who ‘owns’ which strip of land.
Common Red Flags That Delay A Sale
Most access rights are routine. The problems tend to cluster around uncertainty, recent conflict, or anything that affects use of the property.
Watch for these:
- Rights used differently to the deed: the paperwork says ‘on foot’, but vehicles use it daily.
- Undefined routes: wording that doesn’t match what’s on the ground, or no clear plan.
- Obstructions: sheds, fences or planting that narrow or block a route, even if nobody’s complained yet.
- Shared drive parking rows: repeated issues about blocking access can worry lenders and buyers.
- Access needed for repairs: rights for scaffolding or access to maintain a wall or roof can matter with terraces and converted buildings.
If you’re in a time-sensitive sale, the safest approach is to flag these early to your conveyancer. If you wait until enquiries come in, you can lose weeks. If you want a sense of where this fits in the bigger process, see Conveyancing timeline selling a house.
Does A Right Of Way Affect Value Or Mortgageability?
Sometimes, but not always. A modest right of way over a side passage is common and rarely affects value. Bigger impacts come when the access right is essential to someone else’s property, heavily used, or reduces your ability to extend, secure or privately enjoy parts of your land.
From a lender’s point of view, the concern is usually marketability. If a future buyer might be put off, or if there’s a live dispute, the lender may ask more questions. Clear documentation and honest disclosure tend to keep it straightforward.
If your property relies on someone else’s land for access, lenders may want confirmation that the right is properly granted and enforceable. If the access is informal only, you may need legal advice on whether it can be formalised before sale.
Practical Checklist Before You Go To Market
Use this as a pre-sale tidy-up, not a panic list.
- Confirm what exists: check your title paperwork for easements, rights of way and any plans.
- Match paper to reality: does the route on the ground match the plan and wording.
- Gather evidence: any deeds, written agreements, shared maintenance notes, photos of the route and gates.
- Be straight about disputes: if there have been rows, write down dates and what happened so your answers stay consistent.
- Talk to your conveyancer early: small fixes, like clarifying a plan, are easier before you accept an offer.
If you’re selling on behalf of someone else, be careful with disclosure. Executors and attorneys can miss historic neighbour issues because they weren’t living there. The guide to Selling house with power of attorney is helpful for understanding what paperwork you’ll need and how to answer questions when you’re not the occupier.
Conclusion
Rights of way and easements don’t automatically kill a sale, but they do reward preparation and honesty. If you can explain what the documents say and how access rights work in practice, most buyers will move forward. Where things go wrong is vague paperwork, hidden disputes, or arrangements that only exist ‘because it’s always been that way’.
Key Takeaways
- Know whether the issue is a legal right of way, another easement, or an informal arrangement.
- Disclose access rights and any disputes clearly on the TA6, and back it with the title wording or deeds.
- Fix uncertainty early, because it’s a common cause of conveyancing delays when right of way selling house questions start.
FAQs
Do I Have To Disclose A Right Of Way When Selling?
Yes, if it’s in the title or affects how the property is used, it should be disclosed. If there’s been any dispute or complaint about access rights, that also needs to be declared.
What If The Neighbour Uses A Path But There’s Nothing In The Deeds?
That’s not automatically a legal right of way, but it can still raise questions for a buyer. Tell your conveyancer early, because they may suggest steps to clarify the position before exchange.
Can A Right Of Way Stop Me Building An Extension?
It can, if the extension would obstruct the route or reduce the usable width, even slightly. You’ll need to check the exact wording and plan in the title and get legal advice before assuming it’s fine.
Will A Buyer’s Mortgage Lender Refuse Because Of A Right Of Way?
Usually not if the right is clearly documented and there’s no active dispute. Problems are more likely where access is unclear, informal only, or linked to ongoing neighbour conflict.
Information Only Disclaimer
This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Property law and disclosure duties depend on your title documents and the facts of your situation, so speak to a qualified conveyancer or solicitor for advice.
