Selling house after problem with neighbours

MeGuinness

Hi guys,
I get to understand that if you entered in a  dispute with your neighbors for noise problems for example and involved the local council  to sort it once is time to sell your house you have to disclose it to the potential buyers. What about if the neighbors with whom you had the dispute as sold and moved away and a new person owns the house for the last 5 years? Will it need to be disclosed anyway?  Is there a time limit .
Thanks

niceguyed

The SPIF refers to the current neighbours rather than any previous ones, when you think about it, it's not particularly relevant to disclose a dispute for former neighbours, assuming all is well with the current ones.

GDB2222

niceguyed said:

The SPIF refers to the current neighbours rather than any previous ones, when you think about it, it's not particularly relevant to disclose a dispute for former neighbours, assuming all is well with the current ones.

The form does not say that. It would be sensible to read it and then comment.
https://tlsprdsitecore.azureedge.net/-/media/files/topics/property/ta6-specimen-may-2020.pdf?rev=b0c6212edcd1483c8f70a606875608ee&hash=63D7575464B74EDA1AF8E8979DCB0A1F

You should also read the explanatory note 
https://tlsprdsitecore.azureedge.net/-/media/files/topics/property/ta6-explanatory-notes-may-2020.pdf?rev=d33e91375613418da86de4eb20ad8515&hash=E42E903CFF48A7CCCB0F9B1671E894B2

This says 

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


 

GDB2222

I would just add two things.

If you explain that the dispute was with neighbours that moved away years ago, most buyers will be happy to proceed.

Some people are hypersensitive to noise, and if your buyer is one of them it is only fair to put them on notice that the sound insulation may not be that great. 

jimbog

GDB2222 said:

niceguyed said:

The SPIF refers to the current neighbours rather than any previous ones, when you think about it, it's not particularly relevant to disclose a dispute for former neighbours, assuming all is well with the current ones.

This says 

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


 

My reading of that would be disputes that have arisen in the past with the present neighbours. Otherwise how far back do you go? A dispute with the family who moved out 10+ years ago?

GDB2222

That’s a very odd reading. The guidance is quite clear. You don’t need to go back before your ownership of the property, but you do need to report all disputes during your ownership. 

You can take a view on this and not report it, and there’s a good chance that you will get away with it.  Likewise, you might survive driving the wrong way down the motorway.

I cannot see any good reason for wanting to withhold the information, as most buyers won’t be phased by a dispute over noise with a neighbour who has left long ago. 

jimbog

GDB2222 said:

That’s a very odd reading. The guidance is quite clear. You don’t need to go back before your ownership of the property, but you do need to report all disputes during your ownership. 

I was referring only to the vendor's time in the property, sorry if that wasn't clear

davidmcn

GDB2222 said:

I cannot see any good reason for wanting to withhold the information, as most buyers won’t be phased by a dispute over noise with a neighbour who has left long ago. 

I can't see any reason for declaring it and spooking the minority who may be fazed by it. The point is to declare stuff buyers would actually want to know about (and might sue you about) - why would they care about antisocial neighbours who are long gone? The only relevant "non-current" disputes would be things which may be bubbling under the surface e.g. an unresolved boundary dispute.

niceguyed

GDB2222 said:

niceguyed said:

The SPIF refers to the current neighbours rather than any previous ones, when you think about it, it's not particularly relevant to disclose a dispute for former neighbours, assuming all is well with the current ones.

The form does not say that. It would be sensible to read it and then comment.
https://tlsprdsitecore.azureedge.net/-/media/files/topics/property/ta6-specimen-may-2020.pdf?rev=b0c6212edcd1483c8f70a606875608ee&hash=63D7575464B74EDA1AF8E8979DCB0A1F

You should also read the explanatory note 
https://tlsprdsitecore.azureedge.net/-/media/files/topics/property/ta6-explanatory-notes-may-2020.pdf?rev=d33e91375613418da86de4eb20ad8515&hash=E42E903CFF48A7CCCB0F9B1671E894B2

This says 

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


 

I'd interpreted the form and guidance in the same way as Jimbog. As you say in your signature, no reliance should be placed in the above, none you hear! 
Past and current disputes with existing neighbours, absolutely. I'm left wondering how a dispute with a neighbour who moved out and was replaced with new neighbours at the point of sale could be used against you in a claim, if that's what the form needs to know about? 

GDB2222

As I said, there's a good chance of getting away with it. However, the question in the TA6 is quite clear:
Have there been any disputes or complaints regarding this property or a property nearby? If Yes, please give details:  

That's not only asking whether there are ongoing disputes. It's clearly asking about past disputes.  Surely, if that's not appropriate, any complaints should be addressed to the Law Society, not me?



"Past and current disputes with existing neighbours, absolutely. I'm left wondering how a dispute with a neighbour who moved out and was replaced with new neighbours at the point of sale could be used against you in a claim, if that's what the form needs to know about? "

That's a hypothetical question, but I already answered it above. Some people are hypersensitive to noise, and if your buyer is one of them it is only fair to put them on notice that the sound insulation may not be that great. So, your buyer moves in, and finds out the walls are paper-thin. He then finds out about your previous dispute, which was not disclosed ....   All quite unlikely, and the OP can take that chance.  Indeed, the OP will do what he likes, and it's interesting to see how many people here are urging him to lie on the basis that it probably won't matter.

niceguyed

It's just one person suggesting to omit. No one is addressing you directly with complaints about the form. But I'm not too big to admit  having read the ta6 guidance notes again I'm going to agree with you and rescind my previous advice. Having completed a SPIF recently myself I'd just interpreted that as current neighbours as that is what is most likely to give rise to a claim, although I've never been in dispute. If I had I would check with my solicitor. It's interesting that two of us initially interpreted it that way, although if a buyer is noise sensitive there is responsibility to make their own checks on the construction of the property.
The simple answer to all this OP is that this is what you pay your solicitor for and never fully rely on strangers in a forum.
But just to be clear if that's what the form requires I would always sit on the side of full disclosure.