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Hope to get some much needed advice with my current situation, I posted few months back regarding this issue.
Words can't describe how much stress and anxiety this is causing me as I feel i am being cheated,
I am in contact with the local MP as i'm failing to get real a



The council recently replied to my Local MP with utter complete lies, Either someone within the legal team has been misinformed, I don't know if it's some sort of corruption( yes it does exist ) or unfair bias.
I will post everything in detail below.
I have applied to buy my RTB to buy maisonette, I am the upstairs tenant. This issue is with the side gate/side pathway. As mentioned in a previous post, Surveyor came round to visit property to draw up plans, we received plans which showed Side gate/pathway is part of my property.
It is the only access to my garden whereas downstairs has its own back garden door.
when presented to me ( lease plans ) when i had my solicitors appointment, i signed all relevant paperwork and confirmed all is ok to proceed with view to completion.
I notified my downstairs neighbour of fencing i wish to erect and notified him i will be changing keys to side gate as it's part of my property.
Neighbour complained as he thinks the side should be shared or i think it's what he had been told when moving in.
Meanwhile solicitor constant chasing to council legal team with a view to completion as everything was ready.
6 weeks later we receive email from council as there are changing lease plans as this side accessway is shared, and they are in process of producing new plans.
Below is the council response to my local MP
I am sorry for the difficulties experienced by your constituent during his Right to Buy process. It was identified by Mr *** and his Solicitors that the plans did not appear to correctly show the layout of the garden and side accessway. The matter was referred to the Surveyor who had undertaken the initial valuation visit for him to review. Unfortunately, it did require him to re-attend the property as discussions had been raised by Mr *** and his neighbour as to the rights of access over the side walkway, and some clarification was needed.
After the visit and discussion with Mr *** and his neighbour, it was agreed that the side pathway would be shown as a shared path. This then required new plans to be drawn to reflect this.
I have now sent these new plans to Mr **, Mr *** Solicitor, in readiness of setting the matter for completion
This is my response to local MP in regard to above^
"I attach the letter which I sent to you on the 5th July with enclosures.
Please confirm that you have received the letter and please let me have a completion date and a completion statement as soon as possible."
28.07.2021 @ 16.14 pm My solicitor Writes to ****** Again as no reply. PROOF ATTACHED.
"I note that I have not had a response from you to the e-mail that I sent to you on 23 July and which is attached.
My clients are getting concerned and would like to know when you will arrange a completion date for the above matter"
04.08.2021 @ 16.39pm ***** Responds to my Solicitor with the following PROOF ATTACHED.
"
Hi ***j,
Sorry I couldn’t get back to you earlier.
There have been several issues relating to the side access. We are having to issue new plans as the original ones are incorrect as this side access is shared with the downstairs flat. New plans have been requested and these will be forwarded to you asap, unfortunately Janet who issues the plans has been on annual leave for a couple of weeks and only works part-time."
PLEASE NOTE : this is the only correspondence we have received from council legal team. ^
06.08.2021 I wrote to Tina Replying To the above Email ^ with proof attached.
Good Morning Tina,
"I had correspondence from***regarding issuing new plans as the original plans are incorrect ( the side gate is now shared )
Of corse at the end of the day I respect the council's decision as you're the landlord and you can decide the Plans as you wish however
I feel like I deserve an explanation as to why the original plans were incorrect ?
Considering number 16 & 16a Marlborough road - have the same plans as the originals which were shown to me.
Not to mention also 9/10 similar maisonettes in **** have the same layout as per the original plans.
As mentioned above I feel like I deserve an explanation as I have been a respectful council tenant, paying my rent on time etc
I find it confusing on my behalf as soon as he complained the plans were suddenly incorrect.
Please note- My mortgage offer expires on the 30th September so if you could please try to aim complete purchase before that."
If Me and my solicitor identified an issue with the Original lease plans as mentioned by ****, I would not have signed the lease plans. I would have not replied to my solicitor with me confirming all is ok, please proceed with completion. I have attached all proof of this. Numerous Email by my solicitor chasing ***** with a view for completion.
The only correspondence we got from her was that the plans were being Changed as the original are now incorrect, we never asked for this.
The goal posts have been moved from the point of the downstairs neighbour complaining to the council in that he wants access to side gate.
I have Original Lease plans of my neighbour ******** that Show the originals given to me are correct as they correspond.
The Stress, frustration and friction this is causing me at home is unexplainable.
I am willing to take this all the way and fight in what's mine
If needed I will be taking legal action as I 100% know I am in the right
That was my response ^
So, Basically goal posts have been moved from the point downstairs tenant complained, no clear explanation, they went ahead issued new plans.
To top it off, they have completely lied when asked for an explanation as to why plans were changed by my MP.
I would rather if they told me the truth, as in we are issuing new plans to accommodate and keep happy our 'disabled' tenant.
Why would I be complaining if i had an issue with the original plans?
It has gotten to the point where i will fight this to the end and potentially go to court as it is not right.
Any advice would be appreciated, have an appointment next week with a civil litigation solicitor
I have attached original plans and New plans
Comments
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Both properties belong to the council? They can adjust the land registry to mark any changes.Buy or don't buy. That's make take on it anway.4
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Cutting a long story short.... have you got anything that proves the downstairs neighbour doesn't have a right to use that pathway to access their rear garden without going through their flat?
If I've got the location right, is there anything which explains why there is a privet-type hedge dividing part of the front garden off from the pathway accessed by a wooden gate on the front boundary?
In the absence of any legal documentation to the contrary, I would have said the privet-type hedge represents the boundary between the downstairs front garden and the pathway which belongs to you, and the boundary continues along the line of that hedge back to the boundary between your rear garden and the downstairs flat's rear garden. With you having an additional right to cross 'their' path to get to your front door.
That way both properties have a defined 'front' access from the road, and both have a means of access to their respective rear gardens whilst remaining outdoors.Julz94 said:It has gotten to the point where i will fight this to the end and potentially go to court as it is not right.Any advice would be appreciated, have an appointment next week with a civil litigation solicitor
It isn't yet clear you have any case to pursue, and unless you have anything more concrete than the council officer talking to the neighbour for longer than they spoke to you, there's not really much for a solicitor to work on. Rather than having some sinister motive, the point about them walking down the road to speak might be explained be the neighbour feeling in some way bullied or threatened by you and not wanting to talk where you might overhear what was being said. Equally, they could have been going to look at another property to compare the access arrangements.
Moreover, do you have the funds to actually take legal action? A solicitor might give you some cause to be hopeful, but the amount you may spend to 'fight this to the end' could leave you without the funds needed to buy the property.
Rather than civil litigation, your complaint (if any) is more likely to be one of maladministration. If the council refuse to change their mind (and I can't see any reason why they should) then your likely legal remedy would be seeking permission for a judicial review of the council's decision. That would be extremely costly though.
1 -
Without meaning to sound flippant, can I ask why this is causing so much distress? Are you saying that the side access being shared means you no longer have a private garden?0
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Why 4 different threads on the same subject?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6273160/rtb-leasehold-purchase-enquiry
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6279700/understanding-to-scale-lease-plans
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6281580/near-completion-of-rtb-maisonette-downstairs-neighbour-dispute-complaint-over-boundaries
It would be better if you continued everything in one thread otherwise people trying to help you won't know the whole story.4 -
No time or interest to read the whole post or the other threads but I'd suspect the ground floor property was always intended to have access from the side. If it was your garden you'd want it. You're not being excluded from it and it would have limited use.How much is it costing you in rent while you dispute this?As above, stick to one thread.1
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Given that the whole property is presumably currently owned by the Council they can determine and or change access arrangements as they wish. The fact that you currently share access is supported by the fact that you felt the need to inform the downstairs that you wished to change the lock on the gate. Presumably until now you can both access the gate so de-facto it is a shared access.
1 -
anselld said:Given that the whole property is presumably currently owned by the Council they can determine and or change access arrangements as they wish. The fact that you currently share access is supported by the fact that you felt the need to inform the downstairs that you wished to change the lock on the gate. Presumably until now you can both access the gate so de-facto it is a shared access.2
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AFF8879 said:Without meaning to sound flippant, can I ask why this is causing so much distress? Are you saying that the side access being shared means you no longer have a private garden?
Now imagine i'm coming home with 10 bags of shopping and he is doing his clearing out his garden and we keep running into eachother, arguments sake.
the fact that all maisonettes in my borough have the same setup as the original plans i have received, the fact that my neighbour adjacent to me has the same layout ( picture highlighted in yellow smudge) Landlord provided me of his lease plans.anselld said:Given that the whole property is presumably currently owned by the Council they can determine and or change access arrangements as they wish. The fact that you currently share access is supported by the fact that you felt the need to inform the downstairs that you wished to change the lock on the gate. Presumably until now you can both access the gate so de-facto it is a shared access.
I at least deserve an explanation as why the originals are incorrect? yes it was shared and still is to this date. I had no idea of the setup of the garden when moving in as mentioned in a previous thread i think, I never questioned it and when i did once the housing officer never got back to me.
so i took the neighbours word that the side pathway was shared although i had my doubts. i was not fussed on the garden till now we have come to a decision to purchase the place and do up the garden, i was not going to do up the garden till i had boundary's plans. I informed the neighbour because that's how i am as a person- everything i have done around the house/building that might effect him i have always notified him. Slithery said:Why 4 different threads on the same subject?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6273160/rtb-leasehold-purchase-enquiry
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6279700/understanding-to-scale-lease-plans
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6281580/near-completion-of-rtb-maisonette-downstairs-neighbour-dispute-complaint-over-boundaries
It would be better if you continued everything in one thread otherwise people trying to help you won't know the whole story.
apologies- your absolutely right, i thought old threads get lost. Section62 said:
Cutting a long story short.... have you got anything that proves the downstairs neighbour doesn't have a right to use that pathway to access their rear garden without going through their flat?
If I've got the location right, is there anything which explains why there is a privet-type hedge dividing part of the front garden off from the pathway accessed by a wooden gate on the front boundary?
In the absence of any legal documentation to the contrary, I would have said the privet-type hedge represents the boundary between the downstairs front garden and the pathway which belongs to you, and the boundary continues along the line of that hedge back to the boundary between your rear garden and the downstairs flat's rear garden. With you having an additional right to cross 'their' path to get to your front door.
That way both properties have a defined 'front' access from the road, and both have a means of access to their respective rear gardens whilst remaining outdoors.Julz94 said:It has gotten to the point where i will fight this to the end and potentially go to court as it is not right.Any advice would be appreciated, have an appointment next week with a civil litigation solicitor
It isn't yet clear you have any case to pursue, and unless you have anything more concrete than the council officer talking to the neighbour for longer than they spoke to you, there's not really much for a solicitor to work on. Rather than having some sinister motive, the point about them walking down the road to speak might be explained be the neighbour feeling in some way bullied or threatened by you and not wanting to talk where you might overhear what was being said. Equally, they could have been going to look at another property to compare the access arrangements.
Moreover, do you have the funds to actually take legal action? A solicitor might give you some cause to be hopeful, but the amount you may spend to 'fight this to the end' could leave you without the funds needed to buy the property.
Rather than civil litigation, your complaint (if any) is more likely to be one of maladministration. If the council refuse to change their mind (and I can't see any reason why they should) then your likely legal remedy would be seeking permission for a judicial review of the council's decision. That would be extremely costly though.
The council said to my MP that me and my solicitor noticed an issue in the plans as they do not correctly identify the garden layout and we agreed to have them changed to reflect this- and the surveyor having to come back out to visit the property again. All wrong, I signed lease plans in witness at my solicitors, emailed him twice with confirmation i am Satisfied with plans etc please proceed, and numerous chasing for a completion date - no response.
Why would we be chasing for a completion date and why would i sign and confirm twice i am satisfied to proceed ,
if i had an issue ?
Surveyor never attended property again, and if he did he should of left appointment with me to let me know what is happening. like when he left an appointment with me the first time.
we finally receive response that plans are changing and they are waiting on the person that produces plans to come into office to create them
So it went from
Receive Plans
Sign them
Send them off Ready for completion
Notify Neighbour of plans
Neighbour complains
Plans changing
And that doesn't sound fishy?
not to mention, the fact as soon as he complained and goal posts were moved.
What if i never said anything to my neighbour? Let sale go through and carry on with my plans without letting him know.
I know he pulled some strings for sure cause he mentioned to me once, his sister works in the council
Furthermore, The housing officer should remain neutral and not tell me' i think the side gate should be shared'
+ his Disability card
So yes i think it's a mixture of things that have swung his way.
I will upload some pictures of layout of building and garden, and yes if people think i'm being greedy and unreasonable i will take that on board.
And yes I have the funds- it has gotten to the point where my pride and ego tells me to fight for it. At least then i know i tried rather then letting it eat me up inside afterwards knowing I didn't try.
People might not believe it but it is really causing me stress and anxiety as i feel cheated- part of me tells me accept it and move on. Don't know anymore.
If i had gotten a decent explanation, and if they treated me with some sort of respect. Not ignore us- produce new plans and shove it into our face.
Yes i know i'm a council tenant exercising my right to buy , Doesn't mean we should be treated poorly.
0 -
Julz94 said:AFF8879 said:Without meaning to sound flippant, can I ask why this is causing so much distress? Are you saying that the side access being shared means you no longer have a private garden?
Now imagine i'm coming home with 10 bags of shopping and he is doing his clearing out his garden and we keep running into eachother, arguments sake.
the fact that all maisonettes in my borough have the same setup as the original plans i have received, the fact that my neighbour adjacent to me has the same layout ( picture highlighted in yellow smudge) Landlord provided me of his lease plans.anselld said:Given that the whole property is presumably currently owned by the Council they can determine and or change access arrangements as they wish. The fact that you currently share access is supported by the fact that you felt the need to inform the downstairs that you wished to change the lock on the gate. Presumably until now you can both access the gate so de-facto it is a shared access.
I at least deserve an explanation as why the originals are incorrect? yes it was shared and still is to this date. I had no idea of the setup of the garden when moving in as mentioned in a previous thread i think, I never questioned it and when i did once the housing officer never got back to me.
so i took the neighbours word that the side pathway was shared although i had my doubts. i was not fussed on the garden till now we have come to a decision to purchase the place and do up the garden, i was not going to do up the garden till i had boundary's plans. I informed the neighbour because that's how i am as a person- everything i have done around the house/building that might effect him i have always notified him. Slithery said:Why 4 different threads on the same subject?
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6273160/rtb-leasehold-purchase-enquiry
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6279700/understanding-to-scale-lease-plans
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6281580/near-completion-of-rtb-maisonette-downstairs-neighbour-dispute-complaint-over-boundaries
It would be better if you continued everything in one thread otherwise people trying to help you won't know the whole story.
apologies- your absolutely right, i thought old threads get lost. Section62 said:
Cutting a long story short.... have you got anything that proves the downstairs neighbour doesn't have a right to use that pathway to access their rear garden without going through their flat?
If I've got the location right, is there anything which explains why there is a privet-type hedge dividing part of the front garden off from the pathway accessed by a wooden gate on the front boundary?
In the absence of any legal documentation to the contrary, I would have said the privet-type hedge represents the boundary between the downstairs front garden and the pathway which belongs to you, and the boundary continues along the line of that hedge back to the boundary between your rear garden and the downstairs flat's rear garden. With you having an additional right to cross 'their' path to get to your front door.
That way both properties have a defined 'front' access from the road, and both have a means of access to their respective rear gardens whilst remaining outdoors.Julz94 said:It has gotten to the point where i will fight this to the end and potentially go to court as it is not right.Any advice would be appreciated, have an appointment next week with a civil litigation solicitor
It isn't yet clear you have any case to pursue, and unless you have anything more concrete than the council officer talking to the neighbour for longer than they spoke to you, there's not really much for a solicitor to work on. Rather than having some sinister motive, the point about them walking down the road to speak might be explained be the neighbour feeling in some way bullied or threatened by you and not wanting to talk where you might overhear what was being said. Equally, they could have been going to look at another property to compare the access arrangements.
Moreover, do you have the funds to actually take legal action? A solicitor might give you some cause to be hopeful, but the amount you may spend to 'fight this to the end' could leave you without the funds needed to buy the property.
Rather than civil litigation, your complaint (if any) is more likely to be one of maladministration. If the council refuse to change their mind (and I can't see any reason why they should) then your likely legal remedy would be seeking permission for a judicial review of the council's decision. That would be extremely costly though.
The council said to my MP that me and my solicitor noticed an issue in the plans as they do not correctly identify the garden layout and we agreed to have them changed to reflect this- and the surveyor having to come back out to visit the property again. All wrong, I signed lease plans in witness at my solicitors, emailed him twice with confirmation i am Satisfied with plans etc please proceed, and numerous chasing for a completion date - no response.
Why would we be chasing for a completion date and why would i sign and confirm twice i am satisfied to proceed ,
if i had an issue ?
Surveyor never attended property again, and if he did he should of left appointment with me to let me know what is happening. like when he left an appointment with me the first time.
we finally receive response that plans are changing and they are waiting on the person that produces plans to come into office to create them
So it went from
Receive Plans
Sign them
Send them off Ready for completion
Notify Neighbour of plans
Neighbour complains
Plans changing
And that doesn't sound fishy?
not to mention, the fact as soon as he complained and goal posts were moved.
What if i never said anything to my neighbour? Let sale go through and carry on with my plans without letting him know.
I know he pulled some strings for sure cause he mentioned to me once, his sister works in the council
Furthermore, The housing officer should remain neutral and not tell me' i think the side gate should be shared'
+ his Disability card
So yes i think it's a mixture of things that have swung his way.
I will upload some pictures of layout of building and garden, and yes if people think i'm being greedy and unreasonable i will take that on board.
And yes I have the funds- it has gotten to the point where my pride and ego tells me to fight for it. At least then i know i tried rather then letting it eat me up inside afterwards knowing I didn't try.
People might not believe it but it is really causing me stress and anxiety as i feel cheated- part of me tells me accept it and move on. Don't know anymore.
If i had gotten a decent explanation, and if they treated me with some sort of respect. Not ignore us- produce new plans and shove it into our face.
Yes i know i'm a council tenant exercising my right to buy , Doesn't mean we should be treated poorly.The truth is that if you’d get your trap shut and not gone shooting your mouth of to your neighbour that you were going to erect a new fence and change the locks so that your neighbour wouldn’t have a key then none of this would have happened. You jumped the gun and !!!!!! your neighbour off.5 -
I've read all of your posts several times and I still have no idea what you are complaining about?No-one has done anything wrong. The council have offered you a property with certain terms attached, if you don't agree to them then find somewhere else to buy instead...Julz94 said:Words can't describe how much stress and anxiety this is causing me as I feel i am being cheated,Also one of the best life lessons I ever had was to not stress about anything which you have no control over - it's just a pointless waste of time and effort for no reason.Waffling on about 'corruption' with no evidence just makes you sound like you have no idea how things work.4
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