Possible boundary dispute with neighbours

littlebird37

My mum wants to sell her house which is on a private lane and buy a sheltered housing flat. The house is quite run down and needs total renovation, so I can't see it going for more than about £300,000, she only has around £30,000 in savings, so not sure we can afford to go down the legal route with this problem if needs be. It has a garden in front and to the side of the garden, is a drive big enough to park four cars. In the 1980's she sold a strip of land adjoining her drive, to the previous neighbours, as they didn't have a drive, which was adjacent to their  house, big enough to park three cars, one in front of the other. The current neighbours have only ever had two cars, and frequently ask to park on her drive when they have people round, which she lets them do out of goodwill, but would rather they didn't as it has become more frequent. They seem nice enough to me, but I know that the wife is a bit of a prima donna, so not looking forward to a confrontation. A year ago they bought a car for their son to learn to drive. There is a boundary fence that they put up, but it only runs about two thirds of the way down the drive, so the bottom is open between the two. Six months ago they knocked down the side of their front garden wall facing my mum's drive, and didn't tell her they were going to do this. It isn't in a conservation area, so I assume planning permission wasn't needed. In my opinion, they should have knocked the wall down from the front, making the entrance in the lane, so I assume they did this for aesthetics, to make it appear from the front like a garden. They moved the boys car onto it, and my mum says it rarely moves. However the other day when I was visiting, the mother was giving the son a driving lesson, and basically it looks almost impossible to get out of the drive without partly crossing onto my mum's drive, the car is also reverse parked in, and I think to do this he would have to access across even more of her drive to get the car in. I have since watched them reverse parking their own cars in their adjacent drive, and they are also cutting diagonally across her drive. In the past there used to be two cars and a van parked in my mum's drive, before my Dad passed away, so they must have managed to reverse park without cutting across her drive then. They have lived there for twenty one years, so I am wondering if they could now claim they have rights to do this? I contacted the planning department and they suggested that: 'I completely fence it off as it is my mum's land and she can do what she likes, and then see how they like it'. Not sure about doing this, might cause a few fireworks, but I would have thought that legally it is something that has to be disclosed, or could cause problems further down the line when selling? 
Any advice much appreciated.

davidmcn

If you turn it into an actual dispute then it will need to be disclosed.

littlebird37

davidmcn said:

If you turn it into an actual dispute then it will need to be disclosed.

Is that even if it remains just between us, or only if I go to solicitors? 

[Deleted User]

David is obviously the expert here but doesnt the sales paperwork include something like 'Is there anything you are aware of that could lead to a dispute'?  

wilfred30

Why don't you just do what the person at the planning department suggested and just completely fence it off?  It's your mother's land so I don't see what her neighbours could do about it.

davidmcn

littlebird37 said:

davidmcn said:

If you turn it into an actual dispute then it will need to be disclosed.

Is that even if it remains just between us, or only if I go to solicitors? 

The relevant questions on the property information form are "have there been any disputes or complaints regarding this property or a property nearby" and "is the seller aware of anything which might lead to a dispute about the property or a property nearby". Obviously, neighbours can have disputes without involving solicitors.

In any event, this is your mum's property, not yours - what does she think about it?

littlebird37

Deleted_User said:

David is obviously the expert here but doesnt the sales paperwork include something like 'Is there anything you are aware of that could lead to a dispute'?  

I think it is something I am going to have to address, as like you say, there could be repercussions. I will probably tell them that I'm going to put up fencing to the end to make the boundaries clear in preparation for selling, so can they check if they are able to manoeuvre the son's car in and out with ease. I have a feeling that it is not going to be possible.  This then means that they have spent money knocking a wall down for nothing. They also erected a new pillar on the edge of the wall and my mum saw a stonemason doing this, so would have cost them a bit, so can't see that it's going to go down well. I just wish they had asked first, as the answer would have been no.  

Fosterdog

They've taken advantage of your mum and haven't even had the decency to speak to her before going ahead with work, it's their own fault that they have needlessly spent money. In an effort to keep things amicable it I would speak to them calmly and in a friendly manner just to inform them of the plan but make sure they are under no illusion that their being asked for permission. Then go ahead and get the boundary clearly marked and stop them from accessing your (mum's) drive for manoeuvring.

littlebird37

wilfred30 said:

Why don't you just do what the person at the planning department suggested and just completely fence it off?  It's your mother's land so I don't see what her neighbours could do about it.

The problem is they will need to move the car out first, as legally I don't think I can block a car in. I can't see them moving it out willingly, it is going to be drama. But until I speak to them I guess I can't be sure, just working my way up to it. 

warby68

Another way to look at it is, if you're like me, you wouldn't actually mind the immediate neighbours using your drive purely for manouevring purposes as long as they didn't actually come to rest there, a bit cheeky maybe without permission but liveable with all the same. To me there would not be a potential dispute to resolve or disclose, I'd just be letting it go. If the new owners then use your mum's drive for their own vehicles it will probably come to a natural end anyway. I'm no pushover by the way but if it makes life easier to pass a regular vehicle over my drive its within my neighbourly limits to allow it. 
Turning a blind eye seems less likely to cause a problem with selling than actually doing something.
Is them crossing a bit of the drive causing a problem other than being cheeky?

[Deleted User]

We are going to sell mums house shortly and the estate agents and solicitor suggests to make it easy as possible for a buyer to see boundary lines.  We will be looking to put a fence around the driveway in next few weeks but will try let you know an exact time to minimise disruption to your day.   I would imagine it would take a day or 2 of work for it to be done so hopefully it doesnt cause you too much inconvenience at the time 

Nicey nicey approach to start with.   Make it seem you are telling them to avoid any problems for them.   They might surprise you