The service providers responsible for installing the utilities on a development site – most commonly gas, electricity, and increasingly telecommunications – could see their works disrupted, or even prevented entirely if a legal dispute arises.
What’s the problem?
Service providers are typically susceptible when a piece of land adjoining a development is required for laying pipes or cables, for example, but the land is affected by restrictive covenants, or outstanding rights and easements in favour of third parties (such as a right of way). If the beneficiaries of these rights were to take legal action against the installation works, the service provider could be exposed to financial losses.
Another common dispute is where the proposed route for the services passes through a strip of land, and the owner of the land is unknown. This could simply be a grass verge between the development site and the highway, but with no known owner there’s no legal easement to allow installation of the services, and no legal right of way to allow even access for the works. An indemnity policy is often the simplest way to resolve any uncertainties and avoid costly delays, especially where it is not possible, or it’s impractical, to approach the landowner to acquire any rights required.
Practical solutions
While any legal dispute would most often be between the developer and the relevant third-party claimant, we can protect the service provider by covering the usual legal defence costs and any damages and compensation that might be awarded against them, as well as:
- the cost of dismantling and relocating the services, along with reinstating the surface of the land to its former condition.
- any abortive or contractual costs or liabilities relating to the service installation.
In all cases, our cover relates to the services specifically provided to the developer’s site, and not the overall network.
We can usually offer cover for the service provider as part of the developer’s own policy, or as a standalone policy issued to the service provider directly. For more information, get in touch with one of our expert underwriters by calling 01603 761515 or email enquiries@isisconveyancing.co.uk.