What is an Unadopted Road?

An unadopted road is a road that does not form part of the public highway. There is no obligation for the local council to maintain it under the Highways Act 1980, or pay for any repairs if the road is damaged. Instead, responsibility for any work and the costs for it falls to the homeowners of the properties that front the road, also known as the frontagers.

For most homeowners, finding out whether their road is adopted comes at the search stage of a property purchase, but for some, it only becomes apparent when a bill lands asking for a contribution towards the repair costs.

In this blog, we explore unadopted roads in a little more detail, explaining the differences between adopted and unadopted roads, how you can find out the status of your road, and who maintains unadopted roads should they need repair.

What is the difference between an adopted road, an unadopted road and a private road?

There are some key differences between adopted, unadopted and private roads. Perhaps the most important being, who is responsible for maintaining it. An adopted road is maintained by the local highway authority at public expense. An unadopted road is not, so the cost falls on the frontagers. A private road adds a further restriction, as the public has no automatic right to use it at all.

Unadopted and private are often used interchangeably, and they are often treated together in law. However, an unadopted road normally carries a public right of way, whereas a private road doesn’t. Financial contributions towards the upkeep of an unadopted road do not give a frontager any special rights. They cannot, for example, install a gate at the road entrance.

How to find out if your road is adopted

The local authority search that is completed when you purchase a property should reveal whether the road outside your home is adopted or unadopted. If this was not disclosed to you, or you are unable to locate any information relating to it, you can check via the national Find My Street service or make use of local council resources. In West Sussex, for example, you can use the West Sussex County Council Adopted Roads Map. Property buyers could also use the CON29 form to conduct a Local Land Charge Search for legally binding confirmation of the road's status.

Who maintains an unadopted road, and what happens when it needs resurfacing?

The responsibility for maintaining an unadopted road rests with the frontagers, the homeowners of the properties that front onto the road. All repairs, drainage issues, or resurfacing must be organised by them, with the costs split across the homeowners rather than taken from public funds.

This is normally an informal agreement with a resident association, and being funded to cover such costs should they arise. However, whilst this may be fine for minor repairs, if a significant job, such as full road resurfacing or a new drainage installation, the costs are likely to be high, and residents will need to agree on how they are split.

A small pothole, for example, will normally not be an issue, but if one homeowner refuses to contribute and cannot be persuaded, things can get complicated.

There is a legal backstop, though. Under the private street works code in the Highways Act 1980, if a private street is not maintained to a standard the local authority is satisfied with, the street works authority can carry out the works itself and recover the costs from the frontagers. The amount is apportioned between the properties fronting the road, and until it is paid, it becomes a charge on the property.

To save money, the frontagers can appoint a professional civil engineering and surfacing company in West Sussex, like Tidey & Webb. The excavation of the damaged areas, installation of a fresh sub-base and full resurfacing are completed to the required specification with suitable drainage to cope with standing water. With a durable surface built to last and suit the traffic it carries, homeowners of properties with an unadopted road will no longer have to pay for constant repatching, saving them money over time and potentially making the property more marketable in the future.

How to get an unadopted road adopted

If you live on an unadopted road and you and the other homeowners want the road to be adopted, you’ll have to ensure the road is brought up to council standards at your own expense. Once it meets the local authority requirements, the council can adopt it and take over maintenance.

This isn’t as simple as calling them up and telling them you’ve completed the work and want to hand the road over. You’ll need to follow some steps first.

• Confirm the current status of the road with your local council
• Form a residents association if one doesn’t already exist, and discuss the plans and potential costs involved.
• Contact the highway authority to discover their current requirements. This will include drainage, street lighting, kerbs and suitable surface materials.
• Reconvene the residents' association to confirm the council requirements and hear any objections, concerns or suggestions
• Obtain quotes from specialist road surfacing contractors. Three quotes are normally enough to give you an idea of the typical expenditure, but remember, not all jobs may fall under the remit of the same contractor. You might need three different quotes per job type.
• Confirm your contractors with your residents association and fund the work from your collective funds.
• Book an inspection with the council once all works are complete and offer the road for adoption.

Can a council refuse to adopt a road?

They could. They will expect the road’s condition to be good enough that they will not be spending money on repairs or upkeep immediately.  This is why, when you plan to move a road from unadopted to adopted, you must ensure that all reasonable requests to bring the road up to standard are met. It will make the transfer of responsibility much easier.

In fact, many are asking, “Why are councils no longer adopting roads?” The simple answer is that they haven’t stopped; they are just reassessing whether it's viable. The Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey for 2026 showed that there is currently a reported backlog of road repairs equating to approximately £19bn. At current spending rates, it would take an estimated 12 years to clear them. These figures are for adopted roads only, so adding more roads to the responsibility of the Highways Authority means a limited budget has to go much further.

In some cases, the council require a one-off payment that represents several years of maintenance. Unfortunately, this is not always a sufficient amount to cover ongoing repairs over the lifetime of the road.

If your unadopted road needs resurfacing or repairing to bring it up to standard for adoption, contact our team at Tidey & Webb. We are specialist surfacing contractors in Sussex, Surrey and Kent, and use more than 40 years of experience to transform worn, weathered and damaged surfaces into something durable and compliant. Contact us today to ask any questions or book a free site survey.