Our shared driveway is damaged, but my neighbor doesn’t want to help with the repair costs. Can I force him to pay?

My property shares a driveway with a neighbor and the house was built around 1938. Over the past five years the driveway has deteriorated to the point that the asphalt no longer protects the driveway.

The problem I have is that of my neighbor who does not want to contribute to repairing or resurfacing the driveway.

Is there any way to legally force him to support the driveway maintenance?

I’m reluctant to pay for the entire renewal since it’s a shared ride.

Jane Denton of This is Money responds: A shared driveway is a driveway that multiple households must have access to.

While some modern developers use them on new construction sites to save space, others predate the 1930s.

Some people who live with a shared driveway will never run into problems, but for others they can be a nuisance.

You should carefully examine your home’s title deeds to determine who is responsible for what when it comes to the driveway or other shared areas.

In your case, keep in mind that different ownership models may apply, so you can’t assume anything.

Ideally, all parties involved contribute to the maintenance, but this is not always easy to achieve.

According to Checkatrade, entering into a mutually agreed maintenance agreement for shared driveways can help avoid disputes later.

Hassan Dervish, director of housing law at Duncan Lewis Solicitors, said: These problems are becoming increasingly common, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

The good news is that there may indeed be a way to require your neighbor to contribute to the maintenance or even renewal of the shared driveway.

The first step is to research the title deeds and property records of both your property and those of your neighbors. This clarifies ownership of the driveway and the rights and responsibilities each of you has.

You can examine the title deed of any property in Britain, even if it is not yours. Title deeds and related documents can be accessed via the HM Land Registry website. For a small fee you can request the title register and title plan.

It may turn out that you and your neighbor are equally responsible for contributing to repairing or renewing the shared driveway.

But even after you review the documents, your rights may not be completely clear.

The problem can become more complicated if your neighbor is not the original buyer of the property.

Once you understand the facts, it is worth approaching your neighbor again to try to reach an amicable solution. They may simply have misunderstood their obligations under the documents.

This is a tricky situation that requires tact and sensitivity, because no one wants things to escalate.

If your neighbor continues to reject your efforts, consider hiring a professional mediator, who can help facilitate a constructive discussion and suggest ways to move forward.

If necessary, you can seek advice from a lawyer who specializes in neighborhood disputes. They can help you clarify your legal situation and, if necessary, draft a letter to your neighbor describing your concerns and the possible legal consequences if the problem remains unresolved.

Olivia Egdell-Page, partner and head of real estate at Joseph A Jones & Co LLP, said: The Highways Act 1980 states that a private or unapproved road is by definition a highway that cannot be maintained at public expense.

The local road authority in this case is therefore not obliged to pay for maintenance, and this is the responsibility of the owners of the road or access road, or those who are obliged to do so under the covenants in the legal title.

When purchasing a home with its own driveway, we always check who is responsible for its maintenance and how the maintenance costs are divided between the owners of the home.

Depending on the position of the properties and access levels, you may both own part of the driveway, or one property may own the entire driveway area, while the other property owner has rights to the same. to use.

Often these rights are granted on the condition that that person contributes a percentage of the cost of the maintenance, or that a contribution is made ‘as per user’, i.e. based on your respective usage.

The key issue for you is whether the legal title includes an obligation on your neighbor or the properties jointly to maintain the surface of the driveway, and if so, whether this must be maintained to a certain standard.

For example, it could be stated that the driveway must be maintained ‘in good repair and condition’, which is clearly not the case here.

Depending on how the title documents are drawn up and when maintenance has not been carried out, one party may have the power to carry out the work and recover the costs, or part of them, from the other property owner.

Other titles are silent on maintenance obligations, which would put you in an awkward position as it may not be clear who should carry out the required work.

I would suggest that you review your property’s title documents, and perhaps the advice you received when purchasing, as I hope this will also include information about the driveway.