Charging BT rent for poles on private land.
 

Following on from a comment in another thread, is it true BT are liable for rent on poles(the telegraph variety) which are sited on privately owned land?

I'll watch this with interest. I have got one in my garden :mad:

Hiya Lesley.:) I have one at the foot of my back garden on land which I own. I am not BT's biggest fan I don't think many people are, so anything we can get back off them will redress the balance a little methinks.:D

I believe you are eligible for rent from BT, I think the farmer next to me gets rent for the ones on his land.

Les

I get rent for the leccy poles in my garden so I don't see why you shouldn't get rent from BT for telegraph poles.

My mum gets paid for the electric pole in the field (not much), but not the BT pole in the garden.

quite possibly, depending on rights and/or wayleave arrangements etc made in the past. if the pole supports a cable which only serves the house associated with the land the pole is situation on, then it's there for your own benefit so no point trying

depends on lots of things. you might be.... but probs not.

Probably why my mum gets nothing for it :)

think it is something ridiculous like 50p per annum

Thats about right.

I recently received about £50 for an electric pole which was erected in a field of mine from Scottish and Southern. I think that was for the next 20 odd years.

Have you a right to refuse telegraph poles etc on private land?

At the end of the day I believe they have the right to erect a pole on your land, with or without your consent. However if they are going to erect it without consent then they need to follow a legal procedure which makes it costly.

It is also up to you to negotiate how much they pay you in rent, although if the pole serves just you, your ability to negotiate is weakened! If you insist on too much money they will just go the legal route to force the situation.

My parents have one and its been there for years, and when they replaced it a few years ago he read the legal notice on it. Then complained about it! Result is he now gets rent. Its not much but more than 50p!

Or you "sell" the land to them.

We have an electricity pole in the middle of the garden, and I think they own the land, previous owner sold it to them ??

What could the going rate be for a square foot of your garden ??

Del

Would it be the same for a lamp post in my front garden?

there are various bits of legislation on this - telecommunications act(s) and numerous amendments, so it's a bit of a drawn out procedure just reading up on it!

More hassle than it's worth then?

Bt's pole being there is through a process called "Wayleave"

check you land deeds to see if any agreement was made when the house was built to allow BT to use your land


BT have a Wayleave dept who can deal with enquiries (0800 581 525)

(i work for BT and this was taken straight from their systems :) )

more than likely, but all the same it's worth knowing where you stand on this sort of thing. as above, wayleaves are the issue - check the registered title of the property for more information - wayleaves will be listed under "rights granted"

Do the electricity board mow that bit of ground or maintain it in any way? If you do it yourself maybe you can charge them for that.. ;)

All depends £1.00 to £10.00 per year.

You will not retire on the rent !!!!!!!!!!!

National Farmers' Union - Extra payments for core cables on private land shows what the NFU have agreed for farmers!

Many thanks for the information guys. Much appreciated:thumb: