What must be considered for a private road?

Hello,

in my town (in Rhineland-Palatinate), a large area (approx. 10,000 m2) has become available. The owner is currently selling individual building plots on it.

However, the road on this area is being developed privately by the owner.

Is there any literature where one can find information about the advantages and disadvantages of a private road or does anyone have experience with this?

Regards, Thomas

Isn't there a property owner here whose property is located on a private road?

Does the road remain private after it has been built or is it then handed over to the city/[the village]?

Hello Thomas,

Isn't there any property owner here who lives on a private road?

Apparently there isn't one - private roads are probably rare as well? I don't think there is literature specifically on this topic; rather, the regulations and associated advantages and disadvantages are established in road and path law. Private roads are not controlled by the municipality but are privately owned. Surely, all of you who purchase a property are proportionally owners of the sections of the road. This is often the case in row house settlements: there you have partial rights of way and use, but also obligations for cleaning and maintenance, as well as landscaping, its care, and snow removal. You can certainly do that yourself in front of your own door, but everyone is liable for the entire section or road. As a community of owners, you could consider hiring a road service/caretaker who would be paid for these tasks. Problems could arise in reaching agreements among several parties. The only right I see is that no one else may use the road in their own sense. So you can install a sign or a barrier.

However, I am not entirely sure.

Regards, Yvonne

Hello,

yes, they do exist
Yvonne has already told you a lot about the topic.

I built my house on my own street in Bavaria. It is 120m long and ends in a turning circle. There are 5 other properties belonging to this street.
Although they are all family-owned, precisely for that reason, we had everything legally notarized. This notary contract is arranged so that it must be accepted by the new buyer in case of a sale of the property.

Thus, for example, each property owner "owns" 1/6 per m² of the street and therefore also 1/6 of the costs per m² for development, sewage, roadworks, etc.
Everything is clearly settled in the notary contract, so I cannot list everything here without a concrete starting point. For example, it is also regulated that parking is prohibited on the street, etc.

How is it in your case, do you receive shares in the street or does it remain in the possession of the seller?

I gathered information about the pros and cons at that time from various internet sources. There is no general overview, but there are for specific topics. There are regulations for fire department, postman, garbage collection, etc.

Our last house was also located on or by a private road (a small dead-end street with two semi-detached houses in a large housing development). To allow, for example, utilities or the city to maintain lines, there were easements. Otherwise, it is a "normal" street with small differences compared to a public street. - Street cleaning was not carried out by the city - Trash bins were not collected on the street, as the waste disposal company only does this on public streets - We were co-owners of the street, and therefore also had property tax assessments on the street section (and possibly costs arising from construction measures on the street)