Some advice please - selling with difficult neighbour

Anouchka

I am about to sell my flat because I cannot longer cope with the noise and other regular intimidation from the neighbour in the flat above me This has been an issue for a year.

The flats are shared ownership with a housing association. The HA are aware of the issues but have chosen not intervene. Their only answer has been to suggest I buy another of their shared ownership properties. At their suggestion I involved the Antisocial Behaviour Officer from the local council with no success. In truth I also tried a bit of noisy retaliation myself but soon stopped this as it made her worse.

Recently, I suspect in retaliation for me daring to complain, my neighbour has called the police six or seven times in as many weeks. They visit me as she claims her children are unable to sleep due to noise from my flat. There is no noise from my flat. I have been spending as little time there as possible and on two occasions I have been able to prove I was not even in residence. On their last visit the police said she claimed the evening before she had heard me close a window and that morning she had heard me close my door and start my car (when I went to work) - this was literally all I was supposed to have done.

I can no longer cope with all this and have moved out to live with partner. However the HA, the Council and the police all have this nonsense on record. My question is, how much of this do I have to tell my Estate Agent, lawyer or the folk who may wish to take on my property? I have no wish to deceive but need to sell this flat. Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you.

PasturesNew

Anouchka wrote: »

My question is, how much of this do I have to tell my Estate Agent, lawyer or the folk who may wish to take on my property? I have no wish to deceive but need to sell this flat.

It is part of the legal process and forms you have to fill in. Your solicitor sends you forms and you are asked, in writing, if you've neighbour issues.... and if you lie then whoever buys it will go back and check those forms when they get trouble with neighbours .... and they can then sue you etc etc

It's on record, no hiding from it.

wwtrend

You haven't gone into detail about what you claim to be the noise from the upstairs flat but clearly it has caused bad feeling. From the complaints made by your neighbour it seems as though she is being facetious about the noise from you flat; closing a window, closing your door, starting your car.
It seems she thinks the 'noise' from her flat is normal for a family with children. I saw a similar post from someone who got beaten up for complaining but for sure they thought the problem was the lack of soundproofing although the Housing Association wouldn't accept it.

I have serious doubt that some of these Housing Association developments have sufficient sound proofing put in. Either what was supposed to have been installed wasn't or the recommended standard isn't enough. Once the build is finished they just seem to refer to the original spec which will shown what should have been installed. They seem very reluctant to go down the line of finding out if it actually was because building inspection do not inspect every aspect at every stage of the build. The problem is if there were shortcuts by the builders then everyone seems reluctant to uncover them as it will cost them. If there hasn't been shortcuts then I think there needs to be serious considerations given to revising the minimum standards of soundproofing required in flats. Your neighbours may well have been making excess noise I don't know but this complaint has a familiar ring to it. Is it the neighbours or the soundproofing. Some people will say that people who live in flats should expect a certain level of noise. I'm not sure if I agree with that, you should be able to expect a level of quiet. You do have to declare problems with neighbours and it may affect your ability to sell. However it is a sellers market at the moment with not enough properties available on the market. If you have difficulty selling you might consider a survey on the soundproofing. That can be fixed at a cost or additional soundproofing put in, antisocial neighbours are a bit harder to deal with and hassle that most people wouldn't necessarily want to take on. At least you can look forward to moving away from the unpleasantness that has developed and spending time with your partner.

I wonder how many other people have 'neighbour' problems when living below a young family. I think some flats just aren't up to spec on this.

pimento

Are you able to rent out your flat?

Anouchka

Thank you for your replies.

Pasturesnew- I was afraid of that.

WWtrend. You are so right. I have lived there for nearly 15 years without much trouble. The only problem in the past, when I first moved in, was very loud music. Ironically it was played by this same person. Initially she lived there as the co-owners girlfriend. After 18 months they split up and she left. For years everything was fine and neighbour relations were excellent. Unfortunately about three years ago he met someone else, moved in with her and sublet his flat (without the permission you are supposed to get first from the HA) to this woman and her husband. They now have 2 children. The noise, banging, shouting, hoovering v early in the morning etc, etc. goes on all day and I have noticed that the children rarely leave the flat. She seems to wait until her man returns then goes shopping or whatever on her own. She claims all the noise comes from the children. However the police told me there was a scoot around tricycle, a heavy wooden rocker and an adult sized trampoline up there when they first visited. When one of the police commented on this my B-) neighbour said she didn't see a problem because kids needed to play. However children do not slam doors, bang up and down stairs or deliberately rap loudly whenever anything untoward happens in my flat, for e.g. I dropped a pan in my kitchen at about 5.25 one evening and she banged and banged on her floor for quite a while.
I suspect poor sound insulation is playing a large part here but my neighbour is not being reasonable. She seems to think she will do as she pleases but does not expect to hear a sound from my flat. My offer of mediation was rejected out of hand as she is not doing anything wrong. The HA have been pathetic in all this and the police just turn up, say not a lot and go away again.

Pimento - yes I could rent out my flat. I have had permission from the HA to do this. Ironically they only allow co-owned flats to be let out for a minimum of six and a max of 12 months. They also want to know who I am letting to and how much I am charging.

When I first approached them about my neighbour they were sympathetic. They thought the flat had been sublet for only the past ten months to the co-owners sister as he went on an extended holiday to Australia. Complete BS, I see his car parked up for work everyday and, as his former girlfriend I don't think she is his sister. Initially they thanked me for letting them know, said this was an abuse of their terms etc and assured me they would be as sorting this out. About three weeks later I received a curt letterr saying they had investigated and this was a legal sublet. They also said they had been unable to contact the co-owner to discuss this. A further letter from myself generated the response that I would be allowed to buy into another shared ownership property with them, if I so desired.

I do not know how it is a legal sublet. It has gone on for over three years. They also require the submerging co-owner to be a registered landlord with the local council, which he is not, and claim to want the registration number for this before a let is agreed. It is also a condition of being allowed to sublet that they have contact details for the co-owner.

I could rent the flat out but am so scunnered by the carry on of the last year, and the total lack of support I have received, and a bit frightened of my neighbour, that I am selling up and, hopefully, getting myself a life! If anyone buys it when they know what's been going on, of course.

I think I am planing to portray this as more of a personal dislike between me and her and, as such, something that stopped when I moved away. I actually think there's a lot in that but that it won't take the neighbour long to take exception to someone else.

Thanks again for your replies.

shell1999

When I sold my flat I was never asked anything about the neighbours by the estate agent, the topic also never came up when I sold.

Annie1960

shell1999 wrote: »

When I sold my flat I was never asked anything about the neighbours by the estate agent, the topic also never came up when I sold.

Was this in England?

There is a standard form the solicitor sends when you are selling, and it does have this question on it.

whitewing

Perhaps the neighbour will be as good as gold if they think they are getting rid of you.

shell1999

Annie1960 wrote: »

Was this in England?

There is a standard form the solicitor sends when you are selling, and it does have this question on it.

It was in England and I honestly do not recall there being any question related to this and I had awful neighbours over the years

Anouchka

whitewing wrote: »

Perhaps the neighbour will be as good as gold if they think they are getting rid of you.

Yes, this may well be the case.

Anouchka

shell1999 wrote: »

When I sold my flat I was never asked anything about the neighbours by the estate agent, the topic also never came up when I sold.

I am in Scotland.

I will have to find a lawyer to conduct the sale in the next day or so, will post up what happens.