Neighbour dispute in an inherited property

Corelli

Hi all,

this is the scenario: A friend lives with an elderly parent in a flat. The upstairs neighbour had a lot of building work done, which somehow involved a plumbing leak that damaged some of my friend's parent's ceiling and wall.

The upstairs neighbour has persistantly refused to take responsibility for this and the parent is now looking at legal procedures. This parent is very elderly and is not planning on selling in their lifetime. But my friend will inherit a flat that has had a legal dispute with a neighbour. Would my friend have to declare this if/when they sell?

Thanks

BitterAndTwisted

Why go legal in the first instance? It should be the subject of an insurance claim first.

Still, once the current owner expires it will no longer be a dispute which will need to be declared as the person who inherited the property wouldn't necessarily have been party to it or have had any knowledge of it.

When my mother's estate had gone through probate and her property sold the executors knew nothing of any previous disputes.

Corelli

Thanks. I suspect it would be too late for an insurance claim as the work has already been done. The upstairs neighbour had originally offered to pay for the damage so builders and decorators have been in, totally redone the living room but have given separate bills for the remedial part of the work and the rest of what was done. Now the neighbour is denying any previous offer or responsibility. Yes, in retrospect doing an insurance claim would have made sense.

Thanks for the information about your mother's estate.

G_M

Is the leak fixed, or is the damage ongoing?

What has the freeholder/management company said about the damage?

Has an insurance claim been submitted?

Bitter is right, though if the Executers sell the flat rather than transferring it into the Beneficiary's name, then the dispute remains beyween the 'owner' (deceased) and the neighbour.

Whether the Executers have knowledge is another question........

Plus, of course, if the dispute has been resolved, it's a non-issue.

G_M

Corelli wrote: »

.... The upstairs neighbour had originally offered to pay for the damage so builders and decorators have been in, .....Now the neighbour is denying any previous offer or responsibility.

Why do people so often fail to get confirmation of agreements in writing....?

Moneyclaim online.

It will be one person's word against another. Were there witnesses? Was the freeholder involved? Did the builder know about the agreement?

Any other evidence to support the claim in court?

Corelli

Looks like I don't know enough about the situation to clarify. Thanks for the advice everyone.