Noisy neighbour in flat - can I sell?

DevonGirl

Could anyone advise me as to the rights of tennants and the legalities of selling my leasehold flat, please?

I have a neighbour in a flat not directly above/below/next to my flat, but close to it in our block, who makes a bit of noise. Various tennants and owners have complained to the management company, but he has yet to be evicted as the landlord says the tennant has signed a 6 month agreement which means he cannot get rid of him except through not renewing the agreement which is months away. (Oh, and despite the number of complaints, she says she wants evidence i.e. times and dates.) I appreciate the tennant has rights, but is the above correct?

Linking on to this, I want to sell my flat, mainly but not totally due to this nuisance. When I sign on with an EA and complete all the paperwork, do I have to legally say that we have a nuisance tennant (as I've put a complaint in writing)? If so, what's the best way of wording it...?

Thanks for your help

princeofpounds

You must declare any disputes if asked (which you will be in the standard forms from their solicitor most likely). What counts as a dispute is a grey area - a word with the person might not, but a letter to environmental health certainly would.

As for what the LL is saying, the tenant has a minimum 6 months security before he can be evicted for sure. But there are grounds to evict on the basis of causing nuisance under a section 8 procedure. This is at the discretion of a judge, so he will probably get a warning first and the whole process will take up to 6 months anyway if it works at all.

DevonGirl

Thank you PoP. Can you tell me where I can find out more about 'section 8' please? Is this under a certain parliament Act?

Edit - have Googled this - I now know what section 8 is!!

What's the general consenus out there folks for selling a flat with a note about a noisy tennant in the block? In all likelihood he will be out by ?end of February, and I'm unlikely to complete a sale before then. Are notes about neighbours fairly common, or am I extremely unlikely to get a buyer with this detail on it...

G_M

or am I extremely unlikely to get a buyer with this detail on it...

Yes. Well, you might find a buyer but they'll pull out before Exchanging Contracts as soon as you declare this. I would. Wouldn't you?

DevonGirl

Absolutely... which makes me all the more angry that I am being 'held hostage' by this idiot.... :mad:

ILW

What sort of noise issue is it?

DevonGirl

Slamming doors and occasional loud arguments. Also comes and goes at various times during the night and isn't very quiet doing so. Does this make a difference?

Catblue

I would go ahead with marketing the flat on the basis that LoudFella will have been booted out by the time you near completion of the sale.

In the meantime, keep up with the times and dates of the noise and make sure that you keep his landlord fully informed about the tenant's continuing failure to adhere to reasonable noise levels.

The only problem might be that the tenant is noisy while you are trying to conduct viewings.

princeofpounds

It can do. To be honest I don't think a judge would evict someone for having occasional arguments or returning to their house, even if they were not considerate in doing so. Fully appreciate that it is disruptive even so, as I have been through similar, but it's much easier to deal with 'unusual' noise than 'ordinary living' noise through official channels.

DevonGirl

Thanks Catblue. Guess it's not going to be easy to shift, but here goes!!!

maryotuam

DevonGirl wrote: »

Slamming doors and occasional loud arguments. Also comes and goes at various times during the night and isn't very quiet doing so. Does this make a difference?

Doesn't sound too bad. Are you over reacting a bit? If this tenant will probably be gone by February why not stay put and save yourself the hassle of trying to sell?