Neighbours property in severe state of disrepair

upsydaisy85

Looking for any useful guidance please as I don’t quite know what to do and am in a bit of a desperate state now!
We live in a row of terraces and our neighbour has let their property fall into a terrible state of disrepair. The windows are broken, some are hanging off their frames, the back door is non-existent and blankets are hanging up as curtains.
They use the front drive as a personal tip which currently holds an old bed, mattress, drawers, bike amongst other rubbish. There is a large bush that divides the front of our two drives and this has become a bin for their unwanted rubbish. They simply throw empty pill packets, plastic bottles, paper, anything really out of the upstairs window into the hedge so this now (as you can imagine) looks like terrible.
The garden has become so overgrown you can barely see the ground anymore. It is just layer upon layer of weeds and thorny ivy. The trees have also become so large now that they are pushing down our fence and we have had to pay to have cement posts attached to our wooden posts to help keep the fence upright. Not to mention we have seen rats in the garden.
Occasionally we get graced with loud music and shouting during the early hours of the morning (anytime before and after 3am).
We have always offered to have her hedge cut when we have had ours done to try and keep it looking acceptable. We have also cut the trees overhanging our property to try and minimise the damage they are doing.
We are now trying to sell our house and are finding it impossible. We have had a number of viewings but we keep getting the same feedback – they don’t like the look of the neighbour’s property.
It looks like the property is shared ownership with the freehold being owned by a private housing association. I have raised the issue with them, although I don’t quite know what they will be able to do.
I have spoken to the council and there seems to be very little they can/want to do. They will send out a pest controller (at our expense) to deal with any potential rats in our garden. If they feel that next door may be the cause of the issue, they will put a card through the neighbours door advising they should think about getting pest control. They will send a letter on our behalf about the noise. But that’s about it.
The noise is probably the least of our worries. It’s more the state of the house, garden and the fact they use the drive and hedge as a dumping ground. I fully appreciate that they are free to do what they want with their garden and drive. But when it means that we are unable to sell our house, I can’t help but feel that there should be something that can be done about it.
Does anyone have any constructive advice (not looking for criticism)? I really don’t know who else to go to or what else to try. We are going to get someone to remove the rubbish from her drive (at our expense of course) so hopefully that will tidy up the front a little. And no, she doesn’t want any help from us to clear out the garden.
Also, I’m assuming that this will need to be declared if we do eventually manage to get a sale as a "dispute with a neighbour"? If we don't pursue any complaints with the freeholder/housing association, would we still need to declare it as a dispute?

Cheeky_Monkey

You have my complete sympathy!

The only thing I can think of is to sell it at auction and hope that someone buys it without viewing it first - not uncommon for auction sales. However, this would probably mean selling for a lot less than it would be worth if you weren't unfortunate enough to be living next door to this scumbag :mad:

Fuzzyness

speak to your local planning enforcement officer and see whether they will serve a section 215 notice on them to clear up their site/property.

[Deleted User]

The Council Environmental Health team. I know you have said they wont help but it sounds like the property is a danger and needs some attention.

My understanding is that if a complaint is made they have to investigate. If there is a Freeholder they have an obligation to keep the property maintained but perhaps they dont know the state of it.

Get in touch , make a nuisance of yourself, no-one should put up with that tbh.

Can you get the other neighbours together and speak to your MP , Council, etc

kinger101

The guidance notes for the TA6 would indicate you have no option but to disclose this to a vendor.

Section 2: Disputes and complaints

This section aims to provide information about any existing disputes, or complaints or anything that could lead to a dispute in the future.

Question 2.1

The seller should provide information about any existing disputes. This could include the cause of the dispute (for example, complaints relating to noise) and any action taken to resolve matters.

The seller should also provide information about disputes that have arisen in the past.

Question 2.2

The seller should provide information about anything that could lead to a dispute in the future.

You have my sympathies. I'd say getting them out would be the best option, but if they own part of the freehold, that would seem unlikely. Someone near me recently managed to sell their home via a part-exchange on a new build. They lived opposite someone not nearly bad as you describe, but a hoarder. Is that something you could explore?

upsydaisy85

I have considered that and it may be something that we have to look at more seriously. As far as I can tell the neighbour owns the leasehold title and the private housing association owns the freehold.

upsydaisy85

We have not made a formal complaint as yet as we did not want to have to disclose a dispute with a neighbour as part of a sale but as it seems we would have to disclose any reason for a potential dispute anyway, then it might be worth going for a formal complaint.

xylophone

http://www.oadby-wigston.gov.uk/pages/untidy_land_notices_section_215_of_the_town_and_country_planning_act

pmlindyloo

It is possible if the neighbours are leaseholders that they may have some clause in their contract with the freeholder which states something about maintaining the property so worth pursuing this avenue.

I may be stating the obvious but have you tried contacting other neighbours and doing some sort of community 'help and support' for your neighbours (of course they may be totally unapproachable so sorry if you've tried this option!)

Are there children living in the property? No back door and broken windows would be a safety issue here so possible social services involvement?

If you can't approach them as neighbours could you write formally saying that you will have to make a formal complaint to the council if they won't remedy the issues/accept help.

Have you been to CAB to see if they can sign post you to a mediation service for a 'neighbour dispute' or google about this in your area.

And finally, if all else fails as well as auction have a look at

https://www.nationalhomebuyers.co.uk/

Doubtless there would be a financial loss so using them or similar may not be possible if you need the money for your next home.

These kind of problems are never easy and even if the council/freeholder gets involved it can be a very long drawn out process so, if possible, it may be worth 'taking the hit' financially.

ABrass

upsydaisy85 wrote: »

Looking for any useful guidance please as I don’t quite know what to do and am in a bit of a desperate state now!
We live in a row of terraces and our neighbour has let their property fall into a terrible state of disrepair. The windows are broken, some are hanging off their frames, the back door is non-existent and blankets are hanging up as curtains.

It looks like the property is shared ownership with the freehold being owned by a private housing association. I have raised the issue with them, although I don’t quite know what they will be able to do.

Sounds like the house isn't fit for human habitation. Isn't there someone at the council that are responsible for ensuring that rental accommodation is safe?

No dispute with neighbour at all, just trying to make sure that someone isn't being taken advantage of. :A