Key Takeaways
- A claim against a solicitor who failed to identify a public right of way may succeed if the failure caused you a recoverable financial loss.
- You must prove duty, breach, causation and loss. Showing that the solicitor did not mention a route is not enough on its own.
- Land Registry title plans show general boundaries, so the highway authority’s definitive map and statement is the place to check for public rights.
- Obtain your conveyancing file, search results, route records and valuation evidence before alleging conveyancing negligence over a right of way.
- Compensation usually reflects the property’s reduced value. Inconvenience alone may produce limited or no damages.
- The limitation period is commonly six years from breach in contract, or runs from the date of knowledge in negligence. Concealment and latent damage can change the position.
- Start with the firm’s complaints procedure, but you will usually need a negligence claim to recover financial compensation.
- Go Legal is rated Excellent with over 300 five-star reviews and 5/5 on Trustpilot and Google, placing our solicitors among the best-reviewed litigation lawyers in England and Wales.
Can You Claim If Your Solicitor Missed a Public Right of Way?
You may have a professional negligence claim if your conveyancing solicitor failed to identify or advise you on a public right of way and that failure cost you money. The claim turns on four things: the duty your solicitor owed, whether they fell below a reasonably competent standard, whether the failure caused your loss, and how much that loss is worth.
A Land Registry title plan does not prove that a public right of way does not exist. It usually shows general boundaries, while the highway authority’s definitive map and statement record public footpaths, bridleways and other public routes.
Our London-based solicitors can review your conveyancing file, search results, route records and valuation evidence. Call 0207 459 4037 or book a free consultation to discuss your position.
What is a Public Right of Way in England & Wales?
A public right of way is a legal right for the public to pass over land. It can cross gardens, farmland, development sites, private drives or land that appears to sit inside a registered title.
The four categories are:
- Public footpaths
- Bridleways
- Restricted byways
- Byways open to all traffic
A public right of way is different from a private easement. A private easement usually gives a neighbouring landowner, tenant or occupier a right of access over your land. A public route can be used and enforced by any member of the public, and it is recorded separately from your title deeds.
The legal record of public rights of way is the definitive map and statement. It is held by the highway authority, which is usually the county council, unitary authority or metropolitan district, and not by HM Land Registry.
A public route can therefore affect land even where the title register says nothing about it. The procedures for recording and changing public routes are also separate from private easement disputes between neighbours.
Why Land Registry Title Plans Do Not Always Show Public Rights of Way
A Land Registry title plan cannot prove that land is free from a public right of way or highway rights. It shows general boundaries only, and public routes are recorded by the highway authority, not on the register.
Does a Land Registry title plan show a public right of way?
HM Land Registry states that title plans “usually show general boundaries, not exact legal boundaries”. The red edging shows the general extent of the registered land. It does not fix the precise legal line between private land and highway land.
Where land borders a public highway, HM Land Registry warns that the title plan will not show the exact boundary between the two. Land that looks private may still form part of the highway.
It has recently repeated that warning and directs owners to the local highway authority for highway records. Land inside the red edging may therefore still include:
- Highway land
- A public verge or path
- A strip affected by highway rights or a public right of way
A buyer whose solicitor relied only on the official copies and title plan may have missed a separate highway issue. That matters most where the land was bought for privacy, secure access, redevelopment or an extension.
What is the definitive map and statement for public rights of way?
The definitive map and statement are the statutory records of public rights of way kept by the highway authority. Under Part III of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the surveying authority must keep them under continuous review and modify them where required.
They carry real legal weight. Government guidance explains that the map is conclusive evidence, to the relevant extent, of a right of way shown on it. The statement can also provide conclusive evidence of matters such as the route’s position, width and limitations.
A proper investigation compares the title register and plan with the definitive map and statement, search results, replies to enquiries, planning documents and the physical position on site. Where a public route, highway boundary or access point is in question, a title review alone may not be enough.
When Does a Solicitor’s Failure to Identify a Public Right of Way Amount to Negligence?
A solicitor’s failure to identify a public right of way amounts to negligence only where the solicitor owed a relevant duty, fell below the standard of a reasonably competent solicitor, and that failure caused you a recoverable financial loss.
What must you prove in a professional negligence claim?
| Element | What it means | Key evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Duty of care | The solicitor owed duties under the retainer, which sets out what they were instructed to do | Client care letter, terms of engagement and your instructions |
| 2. Breach of duty | The solicitor fell below the standard of a reasonably competent conveyancing solicitor in that transaction | Search results, report on title, file notes and emails |
| 3. Causation and loss | The breach caused a recoverable loss because you would have acted differently if properly advised | Valuation evidence and evidence of what you would have done |
A missed route does not make a solicitor automatically liable. You must show what a reasonably competent practitioner in the solicitor’s position would have done with the information available at the time.
Causation also requires evidence of what you would probably have done with proper advice. This might include renegotiating the price, withdrawing from the transaction, making further enquiries or changing your development plans.
The scope of the retainer is often decisive. A conveyancing solicitor may be expected to investigate relevant title entries, searches, replies to enquiries, planning information, physical access and disclosed rights affecting the property. The precise obligation depends on what they were instructed to do and what the transaction revealed.
What solicitor errors can amount to conveyancing negligence over a right of way?
Claims typically arise from:
- Failing to order or properly review the local authority search
- Failing to inspect the definitive map where the transaction raised an access issue
- Failing to advise on a footpath symbol or route disclosed in the search results
- Missing a route mentioned in planning documents or replies to enquiries
- Not raising enquiries where a path, gate or track was visible on site
A claim is strongest where the documents or visible facts gave the solicitor a clear reason to investigate and they did not, or where they found the route but failed to explain what it meant for you.
What Losses Can You Claim if Your Solicitor Failed to Advise on a Public Right of Way?
The main loss is usually diminution in value. This is the difference between the property’s value as it was represented to you and its actual value with the public right of way.
The measure of damages is not simply the cost of removing or diverting the route. A route may be difficult or impossible to move, so the focus is on its effect on market value.
Depending on the facts, a claim may also include:
- Additional access or development costs
- Transaction costs
- Damages paid to another party
- Costs of obtaining an injunction or declaration to resolve the position
Why is valuation evidence central?
An expert surveyor compares the property’s market value with and without the route. The analysis may consider privacy, security, use of the land, saleability, the layout of any proposed development and whether alternative access is realistic.
If the route is inconvenient but has not reduced the property’s value, compensation may be limited or nil.
You must also mitigate your loss. Unreasonable delay, failing to inspect the route, ignoring obvious enquiries or pressing ahead despite warnings can all reduce the damages recovered.
What Searches and Enquiries Should a Solicitor Make Before Purchase?
Before purchase, a solicitor would ordinarily obtain Land Registry official copies and the title plan, a local authority search (usually the CON29) and an environmental search. Further enquiries follow if anything points to a route or access issue.
The local authority search should reveal public rights of way recorded on the definitive map and statement. That makes it the first document to check if a route later appears. If the search disclosed it, the question becomes whether you were properly advised.
Additional enquiries may be needed where the facts call for them, including:
- Inspecting the definitive map at the highway authority
- Reviewing the planning history for references to access or routes
- Considering physical signs on site, such as paths, gates or stiles
- Asking the seller to explain any unexplained strip of land or access point
A standard search alone may not be enough where a route is disputed, recently modified or not yet recorded. In those cases, the appropriate investigation depends on the warning signs the transaction disclosed.
Time Limits and Procedure for Claiming Against Your Solicitor
Time limits run from fixed legal starting points. Making a complaint or negotiating with the firm does not stop the clock on a court claim.
For a claim in contract, the limitation period is commonly six years from the breach. For a claim in negligence, section 14A of the Limitation Act 1980 applies to qualifying claims where the relevant facts were not known when the cause of action accrued. It gives:
- Six years from the date the cause of action accrued, or
- Three years from the statutory knowledge-based starting date, if that expires later
The three-year knowledge period is not available in every case. It depends on the statutory conditions.
Section 14B of the Limitation Act 1980 adds an overriding 15-year longstop for certain negligence claims not involving personal injury. Section 32 can postpone the start of the period in cases of fraud, deliberate concealment or mistake.
Because the answer turns on when your loss occurred and when you knew the relevant facts, limitation should be checked as soon as the route comes to light.
A typical claim follows this sequence:
- Review the retainer and conveyancing file.
- Obtain definitive map, planning and valuation evidence.
- Assess breach, causation and loss.
- Send a letter of claim under the Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol.
- Consider the response and negotiate.
- Issue court proceedings if the claim does not resolve.
The Protocol does not change statutory time limits. Proceedings must still be issued in time, although the parties may agree a standstill arrangement in appropriate cases.
The solicitor’s professional indemnity insurer will usually cover a negligence claim and may investigate, then settle or defend it.
Service complaints should normally start with the firm’s complaints procedure. The Legal Ombudsman can consider eligible service complaints within certain time limits. The Solicitors Regulation Authority deals with professional misconduct and does not award compensation, so financial redress usually requires a negligence claim.
What to Do if You Discover a Public Right of Way After Purchase
If you discover a public right of way after purchase, confirm its legal status, secure your conveyancing file and obtain a valuation before taking any action on the ground.
How to investigate the issue
- Obtain the definitive map and statement. Request the records from the highway authority to establish the route’s status, position and limitations.
- Secure the conveyancing file. Ask for the retainer, searches, official copies, report on title, replies to enquiries and correspondence.
- Check what was known before completion. Did the solicitor order and review the local authority search? Did it reveal the route? Was advice given?
- Record the impact. Keep photographs, planning correspondence, enforcement notices and communications with neighbours or the highway authority.
- Obtain valuation evidence. Instruct a surveyor to assess the effect on value, privacy, saleability or development potential. If the route blocks development or planning permission, the loss may be the difference between the land’s value with and without that development potential.
- Take specialist advice promptly. Delay can affect both limitation and your ability to mitigate. Our solicitors can assess liability, causation and loss, and the right route forward, whether a professional negligence claim or a wider commercial dispute.
Can you remove or divert a public right of way?
You cannot usually end a public right of way, and a landowner has no private right to close or move one. A diversion is possible only in limited circumstances through a statutory order.
Under Part IV of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949, a diversion order must not be confirmed unless the statutory requirements are met. These include that the path will not be “substantially less convenient to the public” as a result.
Diversion and negligence are separate questions. Even if a route can eventually be moved, you may still have a claim if your solicitor should have identified it and advised you before purchase.
How Go Legal Can Help with Solicitor Negligence Claims
Go Legal is a London-based commercial litigation law firm acting for individuals, directors, professionals and businesses across England and Wales. We act for clients who have suffered loss through solicitor errors in conveyancing, land purchases, development and access disputes.
Our solicitors can:
- Review the retainer, conveyancing file and the advice you received
- Compare your title documents with the definitive map and statement
- Assess duty, breach, causation and recoverable loss
- Obtain and test valuation evidence
- Manage pre-action correspondence, negotiation and, where necessary, court proceedings
Waiting rarely helps. Delay can put your limitation date at risk, weaken your mitigation position and make the evidence harder to assemble.
We are rated Excellent, with over 300 five-star reviews and a 5 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot and Google. To discuss your position, call 0207 459 4037 or book a free consultation with one of our qualified lawyers.
