Buying a house next to a council rented property?

Jamman960

We're first time buyers and have found a house we really like, its been done up to a very high standard etc however something dosen't quite add up somewhere.

The current owner has told us that the neighbors on one side had just changed and that they were fine, the people before them had been there 30 odd years. Having brought the land registry details for both the one we want and the one next door I've found that the one we want was brought from the council back in 1992 while the one next door is still listed as being owned by the council although it sounds as though the new tennents/owners only moved in 1-2 months ago.

I'm concerned as the current occupiers of the house next door aren't maintaining the front or rear garden at all(they look fine on google maps), presuming they're council tennants getting a nice cheap rent they could well be the reason for the one we want being on the market.

1. Can we ask the council whether they still own the property?
2. If we ask the current owners whether they've had any issues with the neighbors do they have to be honest?
3. Would the council sell directly or would the tennants need to use their right to buy first and then sell to someone else?

We really like the house but it almost seems too good to be true

Sorry for such a long post :-)

James

Mrs_Arcanum

Thing to do is have a look during a fine weekend evening. You should hear or see the potential neighbours & be able to perhaps judge from this.

We live between HA tenants in an ex council house with no real issues and have a well built solid house for our money.

Locana

Ask. In any other house buying situation wouldn't you ask what your neighbours are like? Stop stereotyping.

princeofpounds

1. Can we ask the council whether they still own the property?
2. If we ask the current owners whether they've had any issues with the neighbors do they have to be honest?
3. Would the council sell directly or would the tennants need to use their right to buy first and then sell to someone else?

1. You can try. But they probably don't have to tell you, or they might just tell you to go and look at the land registry, which you have already done.

2. Not exactly. They would have to disclose any 'official' disputes that left a trace of evidence, such as a court case against the neighbours. They wouldn't need to disclose general annoyance. You also need to ask in writing, preferably your lawyer should do this on the SPIF as a matter of course.

3. I have no idea what you even mean by this question, but normally council properties are only sold to their tenants if occupied. After that the tenants might sell on, although sometimes they now have to offer the council first right of refusal.

Council tenants are not necessarily bad tenants. In fact, if they are good people it is much 'safer' to have them than private renters because they are much more likely to stick around rather than change every 6 months.

You will learn a lot smply by looking at how they keep their property, walking past on fri/sat evenings, maybe even talking to them to ask about the area.

jozbo

Jaysus !! Any neighbour can be a pain. If council tenants there's a chance you can get them evicted. Get rid of them! Scum

Norman_Castle

If council tenants there's a chance you can get them evicted. Get rid of them! Scum

Scum?. Because they're council tenants?.

Jamman960

Thanks for the replies - I hadn't intended for my post to be stereotypical, owning or privately renting dosen't guarentee good neighbours! I'm just a bit weary as the impression we had from the owners was that all the surrounding houses were owned and people rarely moved.

I'm just trying to figure out any potential reasons for the current owners to be moving out having only been there since late 2007, they've done it up to a very high standard which is something I probably wouldn't do if there was even a slim chance we weren't staying for long.

I'm happy with the reason they've given but just need to dig a little deeper as I've still got a niggly feeling that something isn't right.

I'll drive past a few more times over the weekend and see how it goes.

Neverland

I would go and meet the neighbours before I exchanged

Regardless of whether they were council house tenants or premier league footballers (is there a difference?)

Your neighbours can easily turn the perfect house into a living nightmare

BigAunty

There's a lag between a property being bought and it appearing on the land registry.

It's virtually impossible to evict social housing tenants - very difficult indeed. That said, the quality of neighbours has little to do with the type of tenure they have.

During the conveyancing process, there should be a questionnaire completed that forces the seller to report if they have any neighbour issues but I think this is more about significant issues, such as reporting them to the environmental health dept for noise or police or legal incidents rather than ensuring they are candid about general nuisances.

Is there another neighbour on the other side of the rented property you could speak to? It's not that you have to interrogate them specifically about the neighbours, you could just introduce yourself and ask them about the general neighbourhood and environment and see where this leads.

Did the sellers give you any story about why they are selling up? Not that it's to be believed necessarily.

The last 4 properties I have sold have been immaculate with most of them refurbished and redecorated during my ownership, some with the deliberate aim of getting them sold during a quiet market. Offering a property in walk in condition is a great sales strategy...

Trust your instincts - a failure to have pride in the property by a neighbour is a cause of concern because if they can't be bothered to do the minimum to maintain it, what else does this signify?. I've turned down numerous properties where I felt unease about the condition of the neighbouring property. I even had one seller breezily dismiss the fact that her neighbour had smashed out all her windows like it was nothing whatsoever....

DRP

Jamman960 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies - I hadn't intended for my post to be stereotypical, owning or privately renting dosen't guarentee good neighbours! I'm just a bit weary as the impression we had from the owners was that all the surrounding houses were owned and people rarely moved.

I'm just trying to figure out any potential reasons for the current owners to be moving out having only been there since late 2007, they've done it up to a very high standard which is something I probably wouldn't do if there was even a slim chance we weren't staying for long.

I'm happy with the reason they've given but just need to dig a little deeper as I've still got a niggly feeling that something isn't right.

I'll drive past a few more times over the weekend and see how it goes.

i think your post was fine - it is a fact of life that selling/buying a house adjacent to a rental property is not ideal, for many reasons.

As others have pointed out, do some research with the neighbours (not necessarily immediate neighbours, as they may have biases towards your vendor)

ilovecheese

We brought and lived next door to a council owned house, and the family next door were lovely!!

We got on really well and had a really good friendship.

Have a chat with the other neighbours. :j