Highways Agency - Safe roads, Reliable journeys, Informed travellers

Compensation

If we buy your home under a compulsory purchase order or your home loses value because of a new or improved road, you can apply for compensation. We explain here how to go about it.

'Notice to treat'

We will give you a notice asking you to tell us what your interest is in the property and to give the name and address of anyone else who has an interest. We will also send you a set of claim forms so that you can claim compensation.

Compensation

If you own your home, we will pay you the full market value of your home as if the scheme had never been proposed. You will normally be entitled to compensation payments in the form of a 'home loss payment' and a 'disturbance allowance'. These payments are designed to compensate you for the distress and inconvenience of losing your home and the reasonable costs of moving to another.

A 'home loss payment' is currently 10% of the market value of your interest in the property, as set by our valuer. We do not make payments of less than £1,500 and more than £15,000. Tenants will usually also qualify for these payments, but for them the payment is a straight £1,500. In certain circumstances, tenants may also be eligible for re-housing by the local housing authority. Your local Agency office will be glad to tell you what you are entitled to.

If you want to get professional advice to help with your claim for compensation, we will pay the reasonable fees of a professionally qualified person such as a surveyor or a solicitor.

You, or someone acting for you, must negotiate the compensation with our valuer based on the value of your home. If you are not happy about the amount we are offering, you can ask the Lands Tribunal to settle the matter. But you should take professional advice first as this can be expensive, and if the tribunal's decision goes against you, you may have to pay the costs of being represented by a surveyor and a barrister.

'Notice to enter'

We may need to have your property before we have completed the purchase of it. If so, we will give you a 'notice to enter'. We will normally discuss this with you beforehand and will give you as much warning as possible, taking into account your particular circumstances as well as our own needs. We will usually give you far more warning than the 14 days which we must give you by law.

Advance payments

We promise to pay the compensation quickly and in full when we have completed the purchase of your property. However, if we take possession of your property before we have completed the purchase, you can normally claim an advance payment of 90% of our valuer's estimate of the compensation (including disturbance compensation where this is known or can be estimated). If you have agreed the amount of compensation, you can normally claim 90% of that amount. If you have a mortgage to pay off, we may use the advance payment to do this, if your mortgage lender asks us to.

If you accept an advance payment, this will not affect your negotiations and final settlement with our valuer.

You will also be entitled to interest on the amount of the compensation from the date that we take possession of your property until the date we pay compensation in full. We will add the interest to the compensation on the date we pay you. (This is known as simple interest.)

After the road has opened

If we did not need your home for one of our schemes, but it turns out that it has lost value because of our new or improved roads, you can apply for compensation for the lost value. (This is called Part I compensation.) You cannot normally apply for this compensation until one year after the road has been open to traffic. However, you must apply within seven years of its being opened. If you want to sell your home within a year of the road opening, there are special arrangements. Ask your local Agency office for more details. Booklet 2 'Your Home and Nuisance from Public Development' (more information) gives more details.