A-Z of Self Build Guides Buying Land: Guide To The Pitfalls

Date Published:

09/06/2009

Has your solicitor checked carefully for ransom strips - and how might planning conditions affect you?

Ransom Strips & Planning Conditions

Ransom Strips
Ransom strips can create some problems when buying a plot, but if you discover or suspect that a ransom strip is in place on the land, don’t ignore it. Ransom strips are small strips of land dividing the plot from the access. They are often quite obvious and apparent on the ground, but other times, their existence can only be established by careful measurement or by detailed study of the plans. They can often go unnoticed by solicitors if they are not referred to in the deeds or the Land Registry details. If a ransom strip is in place, then it is the result of a deliberate policy to either gain from the land’s eventual development, or to prevent development in some way. It’s vital that you investigate it as thoroughly, and discreetly as possible.

If the strip is obvious and the owner is known, then you have no alternative but to enter into negotiations with them. Unfortunately, you may find that the price of their agreement is up to one-third of the value of the plot. If your investigations do reveal the owner, then it is possible that the original intentions or reason for establishing It has lapsed or been forgotten about over time. Even so, you will need to take out an indemnity policy to cover for the eventuality of someone coming along claiming ownership.

Planning Conditions

Certain access conditions can be imposed by the planning permission on the plot, so be sure to check. The most common of these is the requirement for visibility splays at the junction of a driveway with the public highway, so check that these are available within the confines of the plot. If not, and the visibility splays cut across land outside your proposed ownership, then you nay have to reach an agreement with the owners of the adjoining land that the land will be kept free of any obstruction above 1.1m in height. Effectively, this creates a ransom, which could well be one third of the uplift in the value of the plot; make sure the vendor pays for this, and not you.

Buying land by private treaty, where the price is agreed by both parties before solicitors are instructed, is the most common, and probably the best route for self builders to secure their plot. In some areas, plots are in such high demand, that it’s difficult for agents and vendors to predict the maximum possible price they can achieve for the land. In these cases, it may be decided that the best course of action is to sell the land through auction or tender.

For More On Self Building And Buying Land

Self Build Advice
Top Tips On Finding And Buying Land
Planning Permission Tips For Self Builders
What Makes A Good Building Plot?