Empty Property Question

Welshwoofs

Hi all

My current place which I'm moving out of next month (:j:j) and renting out is an end terrace in a row of 4 old miners cottages. The house next door has been empty a long time - it looks as though someone was in the middle renovating, then simply downed tools and left (coffee mugs on window cills, bags of plaster inside etc). Now when I first bought my place the vendor told me that it was in the middle of renovation and owned by an old gent in the village who'd bought it for his son.

A few years down the line, no further work has been done. The neighbour on the other side of the empty house has told me the woman I bought my place off was lying and in fact, no work has been done on the house for around 10 years and it's been empty a total of 20 years. She confirmed that it is owned by an old gent in the village who bought up a number of other properties around (all laying empty) and then did nothing with them.

Now I know how long the next door house has been empty, and seeing with my own eyes the total lack of work on it, I'm getting a little worried as there are a few issues:

• Our inside adjoining wall is reading damp in places on a meter, despite having been damp-proofed when we moved in. I'm concerned it may be coming from the side of the empty house....there is nothing in it, it's back to bare brick, no electricity or heating, no kitchen/bathroom etc.
• The garden next door has been over-run with Japanese knotweed and it's encroaching into our garden. It's a constant battle keeping it at bay and the gardening firm I regularly use has said it's a losing battle unless the source next door is tackled.
• The house is looking shabby - myself and the woman on the other side clear the weeds from back and front but it does effect our houses. For instance a shared drain collapsed and being on the end, we were getting water bubbling up. I had to shoulder the cost myself because the other woman is on benefits and I could never get hold of the owner next door (and it was his land it collapsed under).

Someone told me that there's some scheme where councils can force absentee owners to renovate properties at initial cost to the council, which are then rented out to people on the council lists and the renovation costs recouped that way. Has anyone heard anything of that nature?

What really annoys me is that since I've lived here I've had around half a dozen young couples come down asking where the owner lived as they were desperate to rent somewhere...and he always turns round and says 'no'. I just don't understand it, but it's criminal imo to leave houses empty to rot when people need homes! :mad:

clutton_2

as part of the 2004 Housing Act local authorities were given additional powers to deal with empty houses - call your local council and ask to speak to the Empty Houses Initiative team

worst case scenario - the council can just compulsorily purchase them

have you checked on landregistry.gov.ik if it is registered ? (it may not be if he has owned it for decades)

theartfullodger

Ask all the neighbours, post man, Police, milk man, corner shop... someone will know (or LR as Clutton says)

Cheers!

Lodger

clutton_2

WW - if you contact the council you will need to stress the amount of damage being caused to your property by next door - this will hopefully mean a site visit and they can see the problem first hand

have you considered knocking on the old guys door and having a chat ?

john539

Have you checked Land Registry or written to your neighbour.

poppysarah

That knotweed is a hazard

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 provides a remedy if Japanese Knotweed is causing a nuisance to private property. A private nuisance is defined as an "unlawful interference with a person's use or enjoyment of land, or some right over, or in connection with it" (Read v Lyons & Co Ltd. 1945). A solicitor or the Citizens Advice Bureau will be able to offer advice on how to take private nuisance action against a landowner where negotiations on control or eradication have failed.

Welshwoofs

clutton wrote: »

have you considered knocking on the old guys door and having a chat ?

I've had a chat to him but he seems to be a wiley old begger. He's said he's keeping the property on for his son and said he 'may' do some work next summer. However the other neighbour when I told her, laughed and said that he says the same thing every year on his annual visit to make sure the house is still standing...but nothing ever happens. He owns 3 other properties nearby and it's the same story with all of them.

Norma_Desmond

Welshwoofs wrote: »

I've had a chat to him but he seems to be a wiley old begger. He's said he's keeping the property on for his son and said he 'may' do some work next summer. However the other neighbour when I told her, laughed and said that he says the same thing every year on his annual visit to make sure the house is still standing...but nothing ever happens. He owns 3 other properties nearby and it's the same story with all of them.

Then hopefully his decision to 'maybe' do some work will be taken out of his hands by the local authority!

Gorgeestwo

I'm afraid I can't help much, but a house a few doors down from where we have just moved from was in the same sort of condition by the sounds of it and eventually the council made the owner get it renovated and sell it on, as has been previously mentioned make sure you stress to the council how much of an impact it is having on your house and possibly lowering the value of your property and that of your neighbours.

From what I know of what happened by us it did take some time to get sorted and get the council to do something, but the owner of the adjoining property ended up phoning the council every week to see what was happening until they got it sorted, I think they probably used to dread her ringing lol

Goodluck

clutton_2

""I've had a chat to him but he seems to be a wiley old begger""

i knew you would have done something this sensible ...

if he realises that the Council can take over the property, and/or, they can do the repairs themselves and then charge him for them, it may focus his attention a bit more......

john539

I would think it would have to be pretty extreme or serious problem for council to takeover someone's property & take a long time with legal issues.

Surely an empty property on its own doesn't justify anything ?