Do we need to declare this when selling?

AndyPandy1990

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141119#Comment_82141119

100% - just one of the many considerations when you find yourself next door to such a horrible person. It's horrible enough overhearing the occasional racist or misogynist slur, and I'm white. I absolutely wouldn't feel okay putting a person of colour in that position.

It's a really tricky one - the previous owners knew what he was like, he's lived here long before they moved in themselves. I don't begrudge them for not telling us about his behaviour. As far as we know, it wasn't their main driver to move - they put up with it for 10 years - and it won't be ours either. 8 times out of 10 everything is fine, 1 time out of 10 it's an annoyance, and the very rare remaining 1 he can be extremely loud, with some interesting smells emanating very strongly into our house).

user1977

Bear in mind that the questions include "Is the seller aware of anything which might lead to a dispute about the property or a property nearby?", so (despite popular mythology) you're not necessarily safe to declare nothing just because you've been too laidback/intimidated to make a complaint.

GDB2222

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141185#Comment_82141185

There are all sorts of political opinions around. Plus, there are anti-vaxxers and other nutcases of all persuasions. There must be a limit to what you need to declare in response to a TA6 question about the property?

user1977

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141282#Comment_82141282

I was referring to the more objective nuisances like noise.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141290#Comment_82141290

With reference to GDB2222's post, would a neighbour playing Ed Sheeran's tunes count? 😐️

My overall feeling is this is one to worry about when the time comes. There's not much that can be done to change things now, and by the time it might be an issue the circumstances could be different.

jimi_man

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141119#Comment_82141119

You shouldn't be saying anything. It's absolutely none of your (the seller's business). Everyone has different standards and thresholds and what might be 'racist' to one person is not necessarily racist to another.

I'll reiterate, if you (the OP) haven't had a dispute with the person then there is no obligation - legal or otherwise - for you to disclose anything about the neighbour. Indeed I'd probably go further and say that to do so would be rather bad form and you'd be casting aspersions and clouding the judgement of the buyers.

For all you know the potential buyers might be of a similar mindset and have similar opinions and enjoy smoking weed. It's not for you to start passing your opinions on to them.

The person may well have a disorder, maybe MH issues for which cannabis might be an outlet for them. They may have Tourettes - anything really.

Unless you have actual facts then it's not really your place to spread gossip.

poseidon1

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141512#Comment_82141512

Although not set in stone, a racial minority is unlikely to be of a similar 'mindset' to this obnoxious specimen the OP has described.

The OP is the only one in a position to judge whether they have a moral ( rather than a legal) obligation to be sensitive to the position a racial minority might be placing themselves and their family in, if this individual is still a neighbour when OP comes to sell and a racial minority expresses an interest in buying.

Your unfounded speculation that this individual may have some disability that is the cause of his behaviour is in my view irrelevant.

In terms of fact, it is a question of fact this individual has been arrested for his low level cannabis farming , and also it seems was illegally bypassing the electric meter to steal electricity for his enterprise. Certainly enough evidence of an undesirable individual which I would certainly want to avoid as an proximate neighbour.

Obviously we have different levels of what could be considered tolerable behaviour I suppose.

I have a particularly low threshold of tolerance of such individuals, and would certainly appreciate a heads up if about to commit to paying hundreds of thousands pounds for the 'privilege ' of living nearby to them.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141512#Comment_82141512

I'll reiterate, if you (the OP) haven't had a dispute with the person then there is no obligation - legal or otherwise - for you to disclose anything about the neighbour.

Take a closer look at user1977's post. The questions include "which might lead to a dispute", there doesn't have to be an extant or past dispute.

jimi_man

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141544#Comment_82141544

I didn’t speculate that this individual may have a disability, I said it may be the cause for the behaviour. Sadly, my professional life has led me into contact with many of these individuals and some of them DO have MH issues that cause the above. Additionally use of cannabis will often exacerbate any issues. I’m not suggesting that this person has but one must be alert to the possibility and judging before knowing all the facts is wrong.

In terms of fact, from the OP ‘it appears he’s been growing some weed’, the police attended the premises and electric engineers also attended. Whilst we can all surmise what has happened (and again I’ve been to many of these), and the OP is probably right, however it’s not a ‘question of fact’ by any means.

The point I’m trying to make is by jumping to immediate conclusions when one isn’t in full possession of all the facts, can often lead to disaster.

jimi_man

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82141607#Comment_82141607

The OPs original question was ''do we need to declare that the house is a former grow as and when we come to sell the house?'

This is not a 'dispute' between neighbours and neither is it an issue that they need to be concerned with since it's apparently been dealt with by the police. It doesn't matter how you dress it up, growing a few cannabis plants in your house does not fulfil the criteria of something that 'might lead to a dispute'!

When all is said and done, the crux of the matter is this: does the OP need to declare when selling his house, that the next door neighbour has been arrested for a low level offence that he has committed in his house, which has not impacted anyone else? My answer to that is unequivocally 'no'. It's the business of the person who has been arrested and the police and no-one else. If he's been out spying on the neighbours, stealing from them or similar, or if the OP had complained to the police about the growing of plants then that's a different matter. But he hasn't and neither has the OP made a complaint, and whilst it's not necessarily a victimless crime, it hasn't immediately impacted anyone else around him.

Ultimately it's down to the OP and maybe their solicitor, but I'd be very surprised if a solicitor recommended disclosing it.