Housing Association trying to exclude my garden

Beingrippedoff_2

Hi All

Looking for some advice as I am 2 years into this battle and becoming exhausted and running out of ideas

I have lived in my home for 37 years and I put in the right to buy to my housing association 2 years ago. They sent an estate agent out to value my home and he went back to the housing association and told them there is a "prime piece of land" talking about my garden as it is quite large. 8 Months later the HA sent a plan through for RTB, that had removed all of my garden and said that this was the plan for my right to buy under section 125 of the housing act.

They have offered me to buy the land back off of them for an additional price of £15,000 with a clause that it can't be sold for 20-30 years, if its sold within those years I have to give them 50% of the sale (uplift)

OR

£90,000 if I wanted to buy it outright.


I'd like to add, the HA took over from the council in 2000 and they have claimed they have lost my original tenancy agreement

I have the below

• I have the land registry boundary lines that include my garden
• I have maintained the garden for the last 37 years and it has been fenced the entire time
• Photos of the garden over the years.
  
  I have asked them continously for evidence that proves the garden is not mine, they've never provided any and refuse to budge on this stance. All they have said is that they hold no evidence that the garden formed part of my original tenancy or was otherwise included in it.
  
  I have contacted a number of legal firms to see whether they can help no win no fee and have had no luck - no one will provide legal aid either.
  
  I am desperate for any guidance or help that anyone can provide on where to take this next. I'm running out of time as they have given me a first notice.
  
  Thank you

SarahB16

Would you be willing to buy the garden / that piece of land for £1 and accept the council's clause?

Beingrippedoff_2

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82148752#Comment_82148752

Yes in desperation I counter offered them and they refused

jaybeetoo

You are going to need to pay for a solicitor for buying the property anyway so you may as well get them to sort out the garden dispute at the same time. Nobody will do no win no fee for such a small claim and you won’t get legal aid as you have discovered. You could start with a free 30 minute consultation with a conveyancing solicitor. Make sure you are dealing with a solicitor and not the articled clerk or a conveyancer.

Mee

Sorry to hear about your situation.

I'm no expert, but doesn't Housing Act 1988  apply here

"Letting of a dwelling-house together with other land

(1)

If, under a tenancy, a dwelling-house is let together with other land, then, for the purposes of this Part of this Act,—

(a)

if and so long as the main purpose of the letting is the provision of a home for the tenant or, where there are joint tenants, at least one of them, the other land shall be treated as part of the dwelling-house; and "

i.e. general leasehold principles, if a garden is part of the let property and used for the enjoyment of the home, it is typically included in the tenancy and thus in the Right to Buy sale.

This article refers to "exclusive possession" principle

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/experts/article-2644018/My-landlord-want-build-property-garden-rented-house-I-stop-doing-it.html

Checked if other properties or tenants have had the same experience?

Visit the local archive/public library to see if there are articles covering the building of the estate and council records re what was transerred to the HA

CAB normally has a FLAG scheme - free legal.advice - have you checked with them?

Some universities let their law students loose on some legal areas so it is worth contacting them.

There are also housing activists, charities (Shelter) and journalists who may be interested in your case.

Woodstok2000

Has your tenancy agreement never been updated? Surely it was amended when the HA took over? You don't need the original one, any one thats been implemented since then would do too...

sheramber

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6684552/housing-association-trying-to-exclude-my-garden

Do you have a copy of your tenancy agreement?

Silvertabby

Can the Council (or anyone else) access this land from the side/rear? If yes, is the access wide enough for builders vehicles, etc? If not, and if the only access would be over your property.......

lincroft1710

If this land is easily accessible for the construction of a separate dwelling, then if it is decided the HA should sell the house together with the land, providing the rules of RTB do not forbid this, the HA may well value the property as having "hope value", i.e. hope that planning permission would be granted to develop the land.

Jude57

Just to point out that the garden, and indeed the house, are not now and never have been yours. They have always belonged to the Landlord and you have rented the house and garden from them. Your having maintained the garden for the entire period of your tenancy doesn't give you any additional legal rights to the land, certainly not to claim 'adverse possession' if that's what you're thinking of. It's almost certain that your original tenancy agreement and the subsequent ones preclude adverse possession - otherwise anyone who has rented any property for the required number of years could claim ownership of the property and of course that's not possible.

You don't have to answer here but I wonder why, after 37 years, you've decided to buy the house you're renting. As it stands, as long as you continue (as I've no doubt is the case) to pay your rent on time and keep the property, including the garden, in a reasonable state, reporting repairs promptly and otherwise acting as the responsible tenant you are, it's your home for life. All costly repairs and upgrades are the responsibility of the HA and if you need or want to downsize to a more manageable property at some point, the HA may have a suitable option for you or can connect you with other local social housing providers. I live in a HA flat which has recently had extensive upgrades done which I could never have afforded and unless I win the lottery, I'll have to be carried out in a box! However, if you have thought it all through and decided it's right for you, it's not my place to argue that, I'm just pointing out that, for me, the benefits of being an HA tenant outweigh the drawbacks.

Jude57

A further point is that Councils and HA's have a fiduciary duty to achieve the best possible price for assets they are selling and whether the garden land can be accessed via the side or rear or whether access can only be made across the land they are selling you is immaterial. It's my view that, if you decline to buy the garden at the price offered, and if access to it is only achievable across the property you are buying, the conveyancing documents will contain clauses to permit that. It's not a bargaining chip for you because if you refuse to agree to such a clause, the HA can legitimately then refuse to sell to you without it. And then they could still sell the garden land anyway.