not declaring problem neighbours

RabbitMad

I think I disagree with alot of the posters here. The OP bought a property in good faith that included a front and back garden. If it turns out that the front garden has various planning restrictions that prevent it being used as a garden then they have a claim against somebody (possibly their solicitor) for not making them aware of it.

I don't think the OP is necessarily running away as they are not hearing what they want to hear. I think it is more likely that they are not hearing any sound advice on how to proceed.

1. Check with solicitor the status of the land
2. If there are planning restrictions speak to another solicitor regarding next steps. What do you want - a front garden or moneytary compensation for the decreased value of your house?
3. If there are not planning restrictions inform the "NFH" that the land is yours, there are no planning restrictions and their complain should be with bovis for selling it to the old owner. And put a fence around the land.

thistledome

bazra wrote: »

Anyone who plants Leylandi on such a narrow strip of land wants shooting. :money:

Why do people have to post such nastiness? Completely uncalled for on a forum of this nature where people are asking for help and advice.

Those of you who are calling the OP the Neighbour from Hell are obviously the kind of people who think it's acceptable to screech vicious abuse at someone across a street.

OP, please go back to your Solicitor and get some proper advice, you won't get anything but Jeremy Kyle culture on here.

JQ.

RabbitMad wrote: »

I think I disagree with alot of the posters here. The OP bought a property in good faith that included a front and back garden. If it turns out that the front garden has various planning restrictions that prevent it being used as a garden then they have a claim against somebody (possibly their solicitor) for not making them aware of it.

I don't think the OP is necessarily running away as they are not hearing what they want to hear. I think it is more likely that they are not hearing any sound advice on how to proceed.

1. Check with solicitor the status of the land
2. If there are planning restrictions speak to another solicitor regarding next steps. What do you want - a front garden or moneytary compensation for the decreased value of your house?
3. If there are not planning restrictions inform the "NFH" that the land is yours, there are no planning restrictions and their complain should be with bovis for selling it to the old owner. And put a fence around the land.

I guess it helps to read the thread in it's entirity.

What the OP stated in the Gardenlaw thread liked to this discussion :

"We recently bought a house which has a garden at the back and a small area of land at the front. The land at the front was originally communal land comprising of grass and some bushes. The previous owners of our house bought this land for £1 from Bovis and it is now part of the property we bought. To make the land more of a garden for us and not just look like a patch of grass in front of our house we have put up some Leylandii to create a short hedge we intend to keep about 1mtr in height. The intention is to add value to our house and create a garden for our kids to be able to play on safely. Our house is on a small cul de sac with 5 other detatched properties. Since we moved in the children from the other houses have played on the grass happily and we have told all parents we are happy for them to do so."

Personally, that suggests to me that the OP knew exactly what they were buying and were hoping nobody would complain when they removed the use of the land from their neighbours to increase the value of the house.

Garden land is extremely valuable, Bovis are a highly experienced residential developer, if the land was able to be used for garden land I have absolutley no doubt they would sell it for more than £1.

If the OP didn't get any of this information until after they purchased the property then I would agree the solicitor has been negligent, but the way it reads to me is that they saw this as an oppotunity and therefore knew about it when they purchased it.

RabbitMad

JQ. wrote: »

I guess it helps to read the thread in it's entirity.

What the OP stated in the Gardenlaw thread liked to this discussion :

"We recently bought a house which has a garden at the back and a small area of land at the front. The land at the front was originally communal land comprising of grass and some bushes. The previous owners of our house bought this land for £1 from Bovis and it is now part of the property we bought. To make the land more of a garden for us and not just look like a patch of grass in front of our house we have put up some Leylandii to create a short hedge we intend to keep about 1mtr in height. The intention is to add value to our house and create a garden for our kids to be able to play on safely. Our house is on a small cul de sac with 5 other detatched properties. Since we moved in the children from the other houses have played on the grass happily and we have told all parents we are happy for them to do so."

Personally, that suggests to me that the OP knew exactly what they were buying and were hoping nobody would complain when they removed the use of the land from their neighbours to increase the value of the house.

Garden land is extremely valuable, Bovis are a highly experienced residential developer, if the land was able to be used for garden land I have absolutley no doubt they would sell it for more than £1.

If the OP didn't get any of this information until after they purchased the property then I would agree the solicitor has been negligent, but the way it reads to me is that they saw this as an oppotunity and therefore knew about it when they purchased it.

I skimmed the garden law threads but I'm not as certain that the OP knew what they were doing. I (perhaps charitably) thought that the add value comment was just make the garden look more appealing than just a strip of grass.

However unless the OP informs us of their intention its hard to offer much more advice.

ffacoffipawb

devotee wrote: »

Nope, just read the same thread and it looks like the same OP.

The user name here and on gardenlaw both begin with "sheila" - so if not the same poster, certainly a big coincidence!

---lee---

If I were the OP, I would backtrack at this point and allow open public access to the land without further argument with the neighbours. I would explain that because I owned the land, I had assumed I could do as I wished but now that the position has been clarified (assuming that you accept that the land is designated as public open space), it's time for a helping of humbe pie.

Possibly the only advantage of owning this land is that one day you may be granted permission to use it without restrictions and enclose it for use as a garden. Unfortunately , having agravated all the neighbours, my guess would be that they would object most vigerously to any change of use.

IMO the land is worth having for a £1 as one day it may prove to be of great value, but that day may be some way off or never.

KateLiana27

Out of interest. When you come to sell the house, are you planning to disclose the full extent of your neighbour disputes? I'd think carefully about that before starting any legal action against the vendors.

pulliptears

Sorry to bump an old thread, but I was just reading something over on another forum which sounded familiar and lo and behold, our original OP seems to have found some sympathy....

http://www.nfh.org.uk/forums/showthread.php?35376-Abusive-and-nasty-neighbours!#.UAbDoDFWrDM

I'm still on page one, but they haven't told the people over there yet that is was communal land.....

Thought the original contributors to this thread may like to read the next instalment.

Nope, no mention anywhere that this all began by our OP fencing off former communal land. sad to see for the OP that the whole situation escalated and the neighbours removed all her fencing and leylandi.