Before the contract exchange, a local search is carried out by the buyer`s lawyers. This will provide information on the condition of the roads serving the property and determine whether or not a Section 38 agreement is in effect. Since there is no Section 38 agreement or that there have been significant delays in its adoption, it is strongly recommended that the purchaser, through counsel, retain a portion of the purchase price of the property in order to pay for future roadworks. While it is not possible to guarantee that the withholding amounts jointly cover the costs of all road works necessary to move closer to acceptance standards, this can make a significant contribution to the guarantee of acceptance or to an acceptable outcome for residents. A – The reasons, perhaps, because the sewers and highway never intended to be made public, or simply the case where the agreement was established has not yet been sealed. In these cases, we advise you to contact us (info@raag-online.org.uk) with the details of your website in order to get more support and advice. A – This is a common problem and is often seen as an excuse by highway authorities as a reason why the acceptance of roads and footpaths did not take place. Some councils require that sewer approvals have been reached, but rarely discuss with the water company, which is disappointing because the Council can influence water companies and is even previously referred to sanctions to compel the developer to take the necessary action. Large constructions, including a large road and pedestrian network, are often divided into phases, with a separate S38 agreement for each phase, sometimes with different developers. This scenario is the biggest challenge in defining road construction and completion rates, as developers are often under pressure to build and sell homes in normal order due to the demand for markers. Different developers build at different speeds and not all stretches of road inside a building can be completed one after the other. For a section of road to be accepted, it must be connected to another section of the highway. This can sometimes lead to the completion of road sections to appropriate standards, but will only be accepted when the sections of road that connect them to the supposed highway are also completed to an acceptable standard.
The passage under Section 37 allows the developer to build the road and complete the development without the need for a formal agreement with the road authority. If the road is considered useful enough to justify its maintenance at public expense and built according to an acceptable specifications, the road authority would accept notification of the proposed dedication by the proponent and, after a 12-month maintenance period, the road would become passable at public expense. The assumption is that the highway authority agrees to maintain the road at a public expense from an agreed date.