HI,
I am seeking helpful information regarding a situation my parents find themselves in. They own 50 acres in outer Perth. Recently their neighbours sold his 40 acres to a development company who has since subdivided the land. The road, as part of the plans accepted by the shire, finishes at my parent's property (the shires plans show the road going through there in the future). My parents have recently received a letter from the development company demanding payment of $200k for my parent's portion of the road (?) and compensation for the value of the land taken up by the road. Where do my parents stand on this? They have not made the decision to subdivide their land and do not plan to. I am about to seek legal advice on their behalf (they are elderly), but though I'd ask the forum first.
cheers
wow! What a nightmare you poor thing! My heart goes out to your poor folks. I have been forced to have to pay a compulsary road levy before, but only about $3k, that was bad enough.The worst thing was, that originally there were already sealed roads, then the dev't co tore them up & refused to re-build them. So, the saga went on for many years, about who was going to pay. Council apparently figured they needed to force the residents to, or face up to paying themselves. (as if a council would!)
I felt so sorry for the elderly,poor folk that lived there. Some had to leave cos they couldnt afford to pay. Heartbreaking.
Then,just to top it off, when they did start, it took MONTHS for them to dig out the roads, so we had to drive in boggy mush. And when they dug up my street (my house was on high side) they dropped the level too low, so I couldnt get the car in or out of my driveway anymore! (it bottomed out). Then shit really hit the fan. I started leaving my car in the middle of the road with a sign on it "this is councils idea of justice…..I paid $3k for this!…" etc. Then I started legal proceedures…. Then I got the local newspaper & residents (of which by now there was a community support/lobby group) & lastly the local councillor involved…. It got ugly.
They had to re-do my whole driveway….still didnt work….months go by with no access to my driveway…..many,many phone calls & arguments & visitors…..I got so fed up I sold the bloody thing to someone who had a 4wd & strangly enough didnt care! (and I made a great profit on the property!) Moral of the story……fight as much as you feel you can, but get out if it's too much, it aint worth it, heart breaking as it may be.Sometimes we need to be "forced" on in life. Sorry if this is no help to your situation, but maybe it will shed some light on it. Good luck. Can you report back? I am particu;ary interested in what will happen.http://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/crownland/1793.asp
Hi there
I found the above link which might be of use to review – you will need to speak to the solicitor who is familiar with planning requirements.
I would have thought that if a development of a subdivision has been permitted by council – your parents would have had previous notice of the proposed development and any costs they would be expected to incur – and would have had an opportunity to object. If they haven't then that is another issue for consideration by the solicitor.
thankshttp://www.dpi.wa.gov.au/crownland/1784.asp
Hi there a further link for review – please note the point …
The Department’s brochure “Land Acquisitions” outlines procedures for acquisition of privately owned land for road purposes, with the local government paying compensation and indemnifying the Department against these costs.
thanks
Sounds like "try on" by the development company to me.
No local Council would allow a development company to do all this without allowing the neighbors to put up any objections first.
It is the same as when anyone buys a property and submits plans to Council to change the use of the property. This also applies to raw land; before you can build you have to apply to Council for permits, and post a Notification on the property (and in the local paper as well I'm fairly sure) that there are permits pending subject to objections/approvals by the neighbors.
The only people who can force your parents to be part of this development road is the Council – assuming they have plans to extend it in the future. But before they do, they have to buy your parent's property.
I heard of a r/e developer who bought a property near the Bay once. The property behind theirs had massive trees blocking out the bay views. After settlement, the developer sent a bill for $20k to the owner of the property for the cost of the removal of the offending trees.
Of course; the tree owner said no, and the developer had picked on the wrong property owner; the developer got a solicitor's letter from the tree owner saying the tree owner was suing the developer for stress, inconvenience, grief etc.
Don't bother engaging a solicitor for this situation; simply send the developers a letter telling them to go to hell, or better still; save yourself a 50c stamp and ignore them.
Wow, thanks for all the replies.
Misty, thanks, I will certainly keep you updated.
Raddles, thanks for the links and you have raised a point I forgot to mention. About three years ago, the plans for the subdivision were submited with the shire. Residents were able to object to them etc. My folks did object, but of course the subdivision stll went through. The plans showed a plan for subdivision of the 4 farms all in a line ie may parents, their neighbours etc. About a year ago, the dev. company offered my folks X amount of money for their property (I believed they also offered the other neighbours as well who all refused). I wonder if they are trying it on like you said L.A. and scaring them into selling?
cheers
Hi there Heylyeb
I think Marc is right – you will note from the above websites that a road becomes the property of the Crown once payment to the owner is made – my understanding is the developer is trying to recover compensation from your parents with respect to property that will belong to the Crown. Bit of a scam don't you think!
thanks
Absolutely.
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