Discovered hidden council deed after buying house – any legal options?

silvercar

Perhaps if you ask for 50k and will settle for 25k then you get your 25k relatively easily instead of 10k from small claims.  I don't think it need be much more complex than that. In terms of game theory. 0<x<5% of value.

One way of valuing would be to look at the prices of garages for sale or to rent (assume a 4-5% yield) in the area. I don't see how you can value at 50k/ 25k etc without knowing the property value. 

user1977

silvercar said:

Perhaps if you ask for 50k and will settle for 25k then you get your 25k relatively easily instead of 10k from small claims.  I don't think it need be much more complex than that. In terms of game theory. 0<x<5% of value.

One way of valuing would be to look at the prices of garages for sale or to rent (assume a 4-5% yield) in the area. I don't see how you can value at 50k/ 25k etc without knowing the property value. 

Having your own garage is a different proposition to fighting for an on-street space in the vague vicinity of your home. 

gm0

silvercar said:

Perhaps if you ask for 50k and will settle for 25k then you get your 25k relatively easily instead of 10k from small claims.  I don't think it need be much more complex than that. In terms of game theory. 0<x<5% of value.

One way of valuing would be to look at the prices of garages for sale or to rent (assume a 4-5% yield) in the area. I don't see how you can value at 50k/ 25k etc without knowing the property value. 

I was approaching it more from a get paid to go away because I have you bang to rights....perspective....The OP is cross.  And it looks (to be verified) like there may be a case based on the deed signer and specific obligation to inform which was not done.  With a allegedly spurious "don't know" layered on top.

What is obtainable - the long way round - requires going the long way round.   What can be obtained by pushing will be - whatever it is in context.......Any guesses are examples.  Hence 0<x<5% but that's my finger waved in the air.   I think of it as a sub 100k issue.  And an above 10k issue.  Other perspectives are no doubt available.

Actual official valuation of a potential "parking" entitlement (non-dedicated) and its cost to substitute it - would be quite different in mayfair than outer london or some random town outside the SE.   Plenty of places out there with more permits in circulation than spaces.  Where a permit guarantees little more than the normal street parking free for all.   People rent them for 1000 pa so 20x on the metric you suggest.  So 20k.  Ballpark.

Which is how to get to this sort of setup without just stopping all property development or conversion.

brianposter

Is it not up to the council to enforce the deed ?

Section62

brianposter said:

Is it not up to the council to enforce the deed ?

The council is effectively enforcing the deed by not allowing the OP to have a parking permit.

The council might be able to take some action against the vendor for not informing the OP about the existence and effect of the deed, but it is questionable whether it would be in the public interest since no wider harm (to the council or local population) has been caused by this failure.

silvercar

Section62 said:

brianposter said:

Is it not up to the council to enforce the deed ?

The council is effectively enforcing the deed by not allowing the OP to have a parking permit.

The council might be able to take some action against the vendor for not informing the OP about the existence and effect of the deed, but it is questionable whether it would be in the public interest since no wider harm (to the council or local population) has been caused by this failure.

The council won’t do anything. They will leave it to OP to tackle the seller or their solicitor. The council’s position will be the buyer should have known, the council won’t be bothered about who was responsible for informing the buyer.

WIAWSNB

OP, do you have Legal Protection included in your house insurance?
And is this 'parking restriction' peculiar to only your property as a direct result of its division into two properties, or does it apply to the unmodified houses on that road too? 

Section62

WIAWSNB said:

OP, do you have Legal Protection included in your house insurance?
And is this 'parking restriction' peculiar to only your property as a direct result of its division into two properties, or does it apply to the unmodified houses on that road too? 

The OP said:

I’ve just found out that a deed was signed between the seller and the council a few years before the sale. This deed states that no occupier or owner of the property can apply for a residents’ parking permit because the house is part of a low car housing scheme. This was a condition imposed by the council when planning permission was granted to the developers to split an existing house into two houses - one of which we purchased.

Restrictions like this are becoming common now in places where there is 'parking stress'.  A similar restriction might apply to some or all other properties in the street, but that won't make much difference to the OP's situation, other than possibly as a counter argument to any legal action they might take in which the vendor says the OP should have known parking was restricted.  But the vendor still had an obligation to inform the OP, so I don't think that argument would get very far.

These restrictions are almost always associated with a planning consent - e.g. for newbuilds, subdivisions, conversions, extensions and change of use to HMOs.  The developer can't or won't provide adequate off-street parking, so the council imposes a planning condition which excludes the property from being eligible for CPZ permits (or restricts to fewer permits than unrestricted properties are eligible for).  In some cases the council wants car-free development, so the restriction prevents the property owners circumventing the car-free rule by obtaining parking permits.

Bigphil1474

OP, I may have missed it, but why has it taken 2 years to realise this?