# What are the qualifications for private streets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2010, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772 "2010-06-28T11:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2010, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/21 "2010-07-02T17:13:57Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Am I required to maintain my road and keep it plowed in the winter? Not unless you have an agreement to provide someone access. On family property here, we have a private road which provides access to about a dozen properties. Without our road they are landlocked. Each property owner has an “ingress-egress” easement with us. We are required to maintain the road in passable condition, only because of those agreements. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/22 "2010-07-03T02:53:09Z")
Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center is barricaded one day a year so its status as a private street is not jeopardized by the state’s law of adverse possession. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/23 "2010-07-04T21:47:59Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > If for example, the company owning the road went belly up and stopped paying taxes, the city would get the land by foreclosure for lack of taxes. they couldn’t really sell it to anyone or close off access because that would deny owners the right to their land… > > Or is all the land, including the road, owned by a condominium corporation and the owners really don’t fully “own” their land any more than a condominium owner in a high rise owns anything other than the right of occuation of their apartment? > > On such picky details do lawyers earn their pay… A minor point: it’s the county that levies r e taxes, not the city. A condo owner, in a high rise or otherwise, has an interest in the common elements in proportion to his ownership. For example, 40 owners, each gets 1/40th of the common elements. This must be compared to a cooperative, which many states no longer use as title really gets complicated since the building is put into a corporation and the apartment owners own shares. That gets really messy upon foreclosure, as all interested parties must be given notice. There’s no animal as a “condominium corporation.” Developers may design their properties as condos, pursuant to that state’s laws regarding condominiums, but title to the common elements is, as I noted above, governed by a Home Owners Association (which doesn’t have title to anything). When a tract of land is subdivided, the plat must be approved by several government authorities, including the county and the city. The plat will show the streets either as dedicated for public use or “private roads.” Since the county and the city have approved the plat, that designation is accepted. Title to the street depends upon the state and when it was dedicated. Under the common law, title remains in the subdivider unless he conveys it with the lot. (The municipality gets only an easement for public use.) Therefore, under common law, if A, the developer, conveys x to B, but does not include the adjoining street(s), title to the street remains in the developer, even 100 years later. (Of course by then it would be the developer’s heirs or devisees.) If one owner, along the chain of title, does not include the street (but it was previously included in deeds), then title to the street remains in that grantor. States have enacted plat acts, which state that if the developer follows the plat act and abides by all it entails, title in the street belongs to the municipality. If a street is vacated the word “abandoned” is used in some states), but dedicated prior to the enactment of that state’s plat act, upon vacation, title would revert to the heirs or devisees of the developer, even if they don’t know anything about it. If vacated but dedicated pursuant to the plat act, title will go to the adjoining owners. The original town of Chicago,for example, was incorporated prior to the Illinois’ Plat Act. Title to all the streets in the OT of Chicago is in the adjoining owner, and, in many cases, the owner does use the underground area for its own use. The streets can be used by the adjoining owner so long as it does not interfere with the public’s rights for street purposes. ---
**Author:** ![ChrisBooth12](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@ChrisBooth12](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ChrisBooth12)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/24 "2010-07-04T21:52:26Z")
> [@lexan](#): > > That’s true, but it’s not really a matter of law. It’s a matter of banks’ and title insurance companies’ underwriting standards. A bank is highly unlikely to write a mortgage for a property that has no guaranteed access to a public road. Maybe the current owner has an informal agreement with their neighbors that they’re allowed to cross their land in order to get to the public road. Heck, they may own the neighboring lot. But if the bank forecloses on the property, they won’t be able to re-sell it if they can’t guarantee access for the new owner. So they typically won’t make a loan on the property without requiring the borrower to obtain an access easement (different jurisdictions use different names; it could be called an access easement, private road easement, ingress/egress easement, or right-of-way agreement) and have it filed in the county land records, as **NinetyWt** describes. > > Similarly, a title insurance company will not insure that the owner of the land, or the holder of the mortgage, has a clear title without guaranteeing access over the private road. They can write an insurance policy, but it will include a massive exception from coverage, excepting any claims that may arise from a lack of access to a public road. Meaning that, if one day you’re coming home from work and find that your neighbor has barricaded their portion of the road, leaving you homeless, your title insurance company will not reimburse you for the home you’ve lost, or reimburse you for legal fees you may incur by seeking a court order to force your neighbor to grant you an easement. Owners may be comfortable with such a large exception from coverage on their policies; banks virtually never are–most banks will not accept a title insurance policy with any exceptions from coverage beyond what’s required by statute in that jurisdiction. > > It’s possible to seek such a court order; it’s difficult to give a general explanation of the likelihood it will be granted, as the governing law varies by jurisdiction, and the court must consider the particulars of the situation. helicopters ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2010, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/25 "2010-07-04T22:22:00Z")
> [@barbitu8](#): > > Title to all the streets in the OT of Chicago is in the adjoining owner Are you sure that’s the case for the original townsite, or are you maybe thinking of the School Section (Madison to Roosevelt, State to Halsted), where there was some problem with the streets never properly being dedicated or accepted? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/26 "2010-07-05T01:20:10Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > Are you sure that’s the case for the original townsite, or are you maybe thinking of the School Section (Madison to Roosevelt, State to Halsted), where there was some problem with the streets never properly being dedicated or accepted? It is true for the OT of Chicago. Many of the financial institutions and other large corporations have archived files and other stuff underneath Dearborn, Clark, and other downtown streets. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/27 "2010-07-05T10:52:33Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > If for example, the company owning the road went belly up and stopped paying taxes, the city would get the land by foreclosure for lack of taxes. they couldn’t really sell it to anyone or close off access because that would deny owners the right to their land… I forgot to note on my prior note to this post that not only is it not the city, but there is no foreclosure, at least in those states in which I did some title work. If the county r e taxes are not paid, they become delinquent and are sold at a tax sale. States have different laws on the procedure of these sales. In Illinois, the law is if delinquent for two years, they are held at a public sale. If nobody bids, the delinquent taxes are added to the next sale. These sales are held perioidically In Illinois, the interest to redeem the property is set by law. In Cook County, most of the bidders are professional. Once the property is sold, the owner has a limited time to redeem. IIRC, it is two years. The interest to redeem is set by law and depends on how long after the sale the redemption is had. Most of the properties that have delinquent tax sales are vacant lands. Mortgagees will escrow the taxes, so they never become delinquent, as taxes are prior to any other lien. Even if no mortgage, no valuable property owner will allow his land to be delinquent for two years. Some of these lands will have taxes delinquent for many years. This is different from a foreclosure because it is a non-judicial proceeding: no court proceedings, although due process is observed by giving due notice. Moreover, the procedure for redeeming is different, as redemption requires paying interest to the purchaser as provided by law. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/28 "2010-07-05T11:07:26Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > This is interesting,because there’s a whole pile of laws (IANAL) about easements and acess to private property. You cannot usually get a lot without having some access to it from the public land. > > So if a bunch of people own a series of lots on an area of land, and their only access is through a “private road”, what would their rights be and what rights do th owners of the road have? Do they actually own their land properly, if theer is no easement included in the title? or are they joint owners of the road land? If for example, the company owning the road went belly up and stopped paying taxes… I guess I should have replied to the entire quote in one post. Private roads are not created by magic or by a mystical company. They are created by the owner or owners of the land. Usuually one person will own an entire tract and sell off lots to others, creating a private road or easement to access a public road. The location of the easement will be described in the initial deeds, but do not have to be repeated in subsequent conveyances because they run with the land and, since recorded, are of record. The lot will include the easement, and the owner of the lot still has title to the land covered by the easement. If the original owner of the entire tract has a plat made, setting off the easements or private roads, they would not necessarily have to be included in the deeds. Anyone buying a lot buys it subject to the easement, but the owner of the lot has fee title to the land underlying the easement. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/29 "2010-07-05T17:49:30Z")
> [@Diamonds02](#): > > I always assumed it’s something that rich people can buy themselves into…then last weekend I noticed there’s a street in my town that is private, however the houses are middle-class. > > I’m just wondering how can a street be made private. Can there be more than one reason? Who contacts who, to make a street private? I think it’s been implied in this thread, but not stated explicitly. The OP has the process backwards, at least in the vast majority of cases. It’s not that streets are created as public streets and somehow become private. When streets are first built, they are often built by a private developer, so the streets start off private. They may or may not become public as further events unfold over time. ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772/30 "2010-07-05T21:39:41Z")
> [@suranyi](#): > > I think it’s been implied in this thread, but not stated explicitly. The OP has the process backwards, at least in the vast majority of cases. It’s not that streets are created as public streets and somehow become private. When streets are first built, they are often built by a private developer, so the streets start off private. They may or may not become public as further events unfold over time. Well, not quite. A person, corporation, partnership, etc. owns a tract of land. Perhaps a farmer owns a tract of land and decides to sell it to a developer. This entity or developer wants to subdivide the property (into blocks and lots). He has a land surveyor make a plat of the land according to how the developer wants it to look. On that plat, streets are set forth, dedicated to the public. This is necessary for ingresss to and egress from the individual lots and also for approval by the appropriate governmental bodies (city, county, etc.) This is called a “subdivision.” Once the plat is approved, and the county seal affixed, the city or county, as the case may be, has accepted the dedication of the streets and alleys. It then becomes the responsibility of the city or county (if not located in a city or town) to maintain them. If, for some reason, a street is not actually used and the city never maintained it, the city may vacate it, either on its own initiative or by the adjoining owners. There are times when private streets or roads are in existence, either by designation on a plat, deed, or by use, and the owner or adjoining owners wish to dedicate it to the city. All the land in the USA were once located by a metes and bounds description. There were no subdivided lands. Mostly farmland or large tracts owned by paper companies, hunting clubs, etc. The earliest descriptions were very rough. Sometimes “going 12 paces from the white oak to the picket fence and then right 10 chains to the old creek…” A survey of a tract by m&b is the oldest known manner of describing land. When it is surveyed, it consists of runnng out tracts by courses and distances and planting monuments at the corners and angles. This is difficult and liable to error. For this reason, surveyors inaugurated the rectangular system, which is in force west of Pa. and in western Canada. The original 13 states were not surveyed under the rectangular system. On May 18, 1796, Congress passed an act providing for the survey of the territory NW of the Ohio River and above the mouth of the Ky River. This provided for surveying the lands into townships and sections by the use of “range” lines, “meridian” lines and “township” lines, which I am not going to go into in this thread. Eventually, someone owning a tract may wish to subdivide it, thus creating blocks, lots, and public streets, which is how civilization, as we know it, came into being. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-qualifications-for-private-streets/544772.md?page=1)