how much should I sell my some of my garden for?

[bruno999]

We have a 300ft garden and the houses at the end of the garden have very small gardens. We have been asked by these house owners if we would consider selling to them approx 6ft by 10ft of our garden so they can have a bigger garden. What does this involve legally and how much should I ask for this land?

[Catso]

You will have to get your house deeds changed to remove the bit of land from them, create new deeds for the piece and also get the Land Registry entries updated. Thus the little bit becomes a separate piece, in its own right, with its own deeds and LR entry. You then sell this.

With some research on the web, you could perhaps do it yourself, but IMO, when your house is involved, I'd let a solicitor do it.

You're probably looking at a few �100 costs, which (as they want you to do it) the buyer should be paying. As to the value, in real terms not much, but obviously it's worth whatever they are willing to pay. Have they suggested a price yet? FWIW, if it could only be of use as garden, I'd have guessed a few �100s.

[WendyS]

Be very cautious about selling part of your garden as if these houses obtain some of your land they could possibly at some future point sell it collectively to a developer, have their own houses demolished and you could find yourself living with a block of flats on your doorstep. Don't ever underestimate what could happen when there is an acute shortage of land for building purposes.

If your neighbours just want the land for gardening purposes, why not rent them the land for a small annual sum? That way they get a bigger garden but you retain control of your future environment. You may have to make some stipulation about no structure such as sheds being placed on this land or only plants being grown on it but if they genuinely want to enlarge their gardens for growing purposes, I'm sure they would live with your conditions.

[Catso]

Very good point from WendyS. If I were just wanting a bigger garden, I'd be happy to rent, given some security of tenure.

Or, alternatively, if you do wish to sell, you could get some restrictions written into the deed (or conveyance) for the piece of land. I think they're called covenants. So you could say, for example, that the erection of any building on the land was prohibited. These restrictions are 'atttached' to the land, so even if the purchases sell it on, the restriction remains. You really would need to see a solicitor about this sort of thing.

[willa]

WendyS speaks the truth - don't let land out of your hands! Rent it out and get the best of both worlds. In our town (in the U.S.), the town gov't has a large parcel they rent in small plots to village residents. I've never done it, but it's very popular. The residents must sign an agreement that stipulates rent, usages and restrictions.

Maybe your town has something similar you could examine. It'd be to everyone's advantage to have a signed agreement. Have it be valid for one year/season and both parties could have input when it comes up for renewal. This may not seem neighborly, but since everyone starts out with good intentions it's best to prepare for misunderstandings in advance.