Property Information Form- 'Complaints and disputes'

Guest101

havingaball74 wrote: »

She has had a builder round and he couldn't find the source of the problem. The initial phone call was to try and find the source of the problem. The LL said that the tenants definitely did not smoke and that it was a breach of their contract to do so. He said he would have a word. Whether he did or not is unknown. The tenants moved out and the problem has gone (for now). To rectify the problem would mean taking up all all floorboards, using insulating foam, ripping up laminate etc. Another friend had a similar issue and, even after doing all this, the problem only disappeared when the tenants moved out. I appreciate that you can't stop people smoking, but surely a gentle reminder from LL is ok if the contract is for non-smokers? Anyway, I digress. My friend has handed the forms in now. Is this something that should have been declared? It seems to fall under the question of 'Could cause a dispute in the future' depending on the tenants on both sides. Would it make things look bad to add the information once the forms have been handed in?

It wasn't a dispute so no need to mention it.


The contract is irrelevant from this point of view. Gentle reminder or not, the tenants can ignore it.


Most don't, but if they do then that's that.


The tenants having moved out means the problem is not 'likely to happen'

havingaball74

Thank you for all your help. My friend is having sleepness nights about whether this is deemed a complaint/dispute. It started off as an enquiry about a joined property issue and now she is in a panic about whether she can be sued or not!

Guest101

havingaball74 wrote: »

Thank you for all your help. My friend is having sleepness nights about whether this is deemed a complaint/dispute. It started off as an enquiry about a joined property issue and now she is in a panic about whether she can be sued or not!

The issue was specifically with tenants who have moved out, the issue with them is unlikely to happen again.

havingaball74

What if the new tenants smoke? Do you have to declare issues with the neighbours or property? If it is the neighbours then the issue has been resolved. If it is with the property then there is always the chance it could happen again due to the house 'defect' that hasn't been rectified. The new owner could ask the LL about it and he could say 'Oh yes, X mentioned that issue before'. Won't that land her in it?

Guest101

havingaball74 wrote: »

What if the new tenants smoke? Do you have to declare issues with the neighbours or property? If it is the neighbours then the issue has been resolved. If it is with the property then there is always the chance it could happen again due to the house 'defect' that hasn't been rectified. The new owner could ask the LL about it and he could say 'Oh yes, X mentioned that issue before'. Won't that land her in it?

What if the new tenants do 'x', that cannot be predicted. I smoke, I rent, I do not smoke in my house. It's not a linear conclusion, to many if's and but's.


Anyway it wasn't a dispute to begin with.

havingaball74

Thanks. So you would keep quiet?

davidmcn

havingaball74 wrote: »

Thanks. So you would keep quiet?

I would tell your friend to find something else to worry about.

What's the worst that's going to happen? Her purchaser tries to convince a judge that a house where (if you are particularly sensitive to such things, perhaps) you can smell the neighbours smoking (if they're smoking), even though a builder can't find a reason why that would be the case, is worth significantly less than an identical house where none of that applies?

havingaball74

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Hopefully she can stop stressing about the form when I explain your advice. Fingers crossed...