Are EA's allowed to give out vendor solicitor details to third parties?

montymouse

An elderly relative has had some neighbour problems: she lives in a terrace with a right of way out the back, but the next door neighbour has blocked the right of way by putting up fences and raised decking, (there are gates, but the raised decking may be difficult to negotiate esp in winter, and the step-up-step-down makes it difficult to wheel the lawnmower to the garden).

The neighbour is in fact a property developer and put the place on the market some months ago. An objection to the decking and fences was made verbally, but nothing was done about it.

The property is now "sold stc" and obviously the vendor will be filling in a TA6. We question whether the neighbour will admit that there are problems: and so the owners of the houses on each side would like to make the vendor's solicitor, and ultimately the buyer, aware that there are unresolved issues. Trouble is, as third parties, how do we get hold of the solicitor details?

A relative who is a solicitor says try the EA. Anyone else any experience of this type of problem?

Debt_Free_Chick

An EA will often confirm the vendor's solicitor to a buyer, once an offer has been accepted, but I doubt they would in any other circumstances.

Far better for the relative to actually write and object to the neighbour, or get a solicitor to do it. If in writing, it can not be disputed. The verbal objection can be disputed or the neighbour may have considered it to be a "minor grumble" rather than a serious objection.

montymouse

Thanks, Debt_Free_Chick.

So my relative should write to the vendor? What if the vendor still does not declare the issue on the TA6? I guess that would then be perjury.

Yorkie1

It would not be perjury. That's lying on oath in a court.

G_M

montymouse wrote: »

Thanks, Debt_Free_Chick.

So my relative should write to the vendor? What if the vendor still does not declare the issue on the TA6? I guess that would then be perjury.

No.

Purjury is telling lies in court.

Clearly this matter is unlikely to be resolved with the current owner other than by going to court. Step one in this process is to make a formal, written complaint, and require the neighbour to remove the fence/decking /whatever.

Whether the neighbour declares this matter to his buyer is a matter between them.

If the property is sold, the dispute then becomes between your relative and the new owner, who may simply comply with a similar written request, or, as with the current owner, may refuse and need to be taken to court.

The new owner, of course, may decide to take action against the current owner for failing to declare the dispute, and could claim any costs/losses which he suffers as a result of the dispute.

But again, that is a matter between current and new owner.

david29dpo

Interesting.
About 18 months ago my parents neighbour put there house on the market knowing about the ongoing dispute (Boundary problem)

I knew there was no way they were going to tell the buyer about this.

So this is what i did.
I rang the agent and told them the story. At first they were not very interested as it was non of there business. (fair enough)

I then went on to say that you (the agent) are spending money on marketing the house (no sale no fee) and i will tell all viewers about the problem. This made them think (no fat selling fee?)

The board disappeared shortly afterwards and nothing since.

montymouse

Thanks, Yorkie, G_M and David.

So really my relative needs to raise the issue with the current owner in writing, then whether the current owner reveals the issue or not to the buyer is between her and the buyer. The issue of the decking can then simply be taken up with the new owner.

Is taking the current/new owner to court likely to be really costly?

roger196

Is the right of way on your relative's deeds. These can be obtained from the land registry for £4, might as well get deeds for next door at the same time. Make sure you use the official LR site as others charge you extra for doing what you can do yourself.
I would instruct solicitor to write to neighbour saying he has been instructed to issue the appropriate writ if the obstructions are not removed within seven days.
Failure to disclose the dispute on the TA6 would be fraud. Have a look at S3 of the Fraud Act 2006 (Fraud by failing to disclose information).
These situations can get very expensive and messy. Check whether relative has legal cover with her house insurance. Check for written evidence of ROW or uninterupted use for 20 years.

montymouse

Thanks, Roger. Yes, relative has all sets of deeds for the entire row of terraces - the property has been in her family a long time. We have also obtained up-to-date copies from the Land Reg.

Tricky thing is, the relative, being elderly, is frightened of upsetting the neighbours. The awkward thing is that the neighbour's boyfriend has been aggressive with other neighbours (physical intimidation, verbal abuse). So my relative feels that if she does something she will be in the firing line, which she almost certainly will be. Being in her eighties, she simply cannot afford for this to happen, and we, friends and family, are seriously worried about her being in a position where she may be threatened.

We have heard on the grapevine that the neighbour cannot afford to keep up her mortgage repayments (she bought the house at auction, a repossession), and then spent a lot of money having work done on doing it up, (a lot of which was unecessary, imo). So if she thinks that sale is being thwarted, she may well get irate, and her way of dealing with this is to point the boyfriend in the direction of whoever she sees as an obstacle.

It's probably going to take a family and friends meeting to decide on the best course of action.

Thanks for the info about fraud - I will do more research.