Only required to notify you if they is an ongoing dispute with the neighbours. If you can prove that they had already been in dispute you could have grounds to take it further but it's likely to be expensive to do so.

I've always gone and sat outside any property I'm thinking of buying various times of day and night to listen out for noise etc

No.
No.

It should have been discovered by your own research about what the area was like. You may have found clues by looking at eg the planning history of next door.

ETA - in fact, just Googling the address of a children's home I know of produces a load of results with inspection reports etc - even the official Royal Mail address includes "childrens home".

Unless there has been a formal dispute about noise then the vendor had no obligation to declare anything.

It was up to you to visit the property at different times of day/night and knock on the door and visit the neighbours. Did you do this? (I’m thinking not...).

Personally I have never bought a house without sussing out the neighbours.

Other than improving the insulation and asking them nicely to keep the noise down, there is not a lot you can do.

Assuming it’s a shared wall, I’d look to invest in better insulation.

That sort of investment is risky.

If next door is support accommodation, this is likely to be a larger house, but installing extra walling loses floor space and it may be ineffectual due to noise transmitted through other parts of the structure. Only a specialist could be sure of the measures required; it's beyond the scope of general builders.

Besides, noise will probably emanate from open windows and outdoor sources in the summer months.

Probably the best initial approach, and the cheapest, would be to make the support workers aware of noise issues every time significant events happen. You should also keep a diary of these and maybe make recordings too. The home will have permission to operate, but like everyone else, they have no right to cause other residents regular annoyance. They won't want investigations from Environmental Health.

As to who's responsible for your purchase of a property in this situation, it's you.

Whatever you do, don't get in a formal dispute with next door....otherwise you will be forced to disclose it when you sell!

True, but if that's what not to do, then what's the appropriate response, bearing in mind the OP has just purchased?

The 'wait and see' response has merit if the OP thinks they might move, rather than endure the situation, but none of us knows exactly how bad it is. The residents next door will vary over time too.

The OP won't be going anywhere for a year or two without raising suspicions, so a measured response initially is sensible. Advising support workers of excessive noise isn't, in itself, a dispute.

Also bear in mind that the TA6 doesn't just ask about disputes; it also mentions known situations which would be likely to cause disputes.

To be clear, whether formal or not, all disputes should be disclosed. It's just not very easy to prove informal disputes.

Assuming the childrens home is fully licenced etc, there is nothing the OP can do other than keeping on friendly terms with his new neighbours.

Living next to teenagers you are going to get occasional shouting matches, a bit of drum & bass and door slamming regardless of whether a childrens home or not!

Its easy to say that in hindsight. If you had known about it being a care home after spending money on searches and solicitors fees, would you have gone ahead?

Is there absolutely no signage outside it at all? Nothing?


Did you ask the vendors 'what are the neighbours like?' or any other questions about them? Even if you didn't knock on doors, you may at least have some sort of comeback if the sellers actually lied about who was there.

All I can ask is how much research did you do before buying - cause I can tell you all the planning applications when purchased, any businesses registered to addresses, any company directors, the CQC rating of a care home nearby..... I don't understand how it seems you didn't even google the postcode - cause that would have brought up all sorts.

But as other posters have said the previous owners only needed to disclose if there was a dispute, which if you have one you'll need to disclose going forward.

good luck

So what happened when you knocked on the neighbours' door before making your final decision? Seem unlikely there was noone in. And if so, surely you tried more than once?

What about he neighbours the other side? Did they not mention it?

I know this is not helpful now, but for the benefit of other buyers reading this, always check with the neighbours!

* if they slam the door in your face, you've learned a huge lesson
* if they mention the sellers have had constant roof problems, that's really useful
* if they invite you in and tell you all about the street community spirit, offer you cake and tea and quiz you about your jobs/family/etc - well you might consider that a plus or a minus, but either way it's useful!


You're not just buying a house - you're buying a life in a street/area.

Another purchaser failing to do basic due diligence and then looking to blame someone else.

OP.......I think the blame firmly stops with you,i cant believe you didn't have a nose around before you bought

To a point I do sympathise with the OP, Yes perhaps you should have knocked on a few doors before you bought or spoke to neighbours,but not everybody does do that.

...and no there doesn't even need to be any signage outside that could alert you either.

I'm a LL and have 2 properties within a complex where recently a home for independent living young adults with some issues have recently rented a property.....its been challenging for everyone to say the least!

They moved in around a year ago and since then it has been a what seems like an uphill struggle for all the nearby residents to live in harmony with these young adults...yes they are to some extent supervised during the day but come clocking off time the place can be so easily transformed and often the police are called to mediate.

From memory we are now on about the 5th set of tenants and touch wood there have been no problems for several weeks.

OP I would suggest you do try and find out what the set up with the home is,whether it is owned by a business or just on a long term rental.
Hard as it may seem try and speak with those in charge and take it further up the line if you have to.
Log your concerns and if appropriate try and speak to other neighbours to see if they are disturbed by the noise or whatever and collectively you may be able to get some assurances that the unsociable instances are stopped

Collectively myself and some other residents spoke with the charity who were living near us,and whilst its not resolved by any means there have been clear objectives and dare I say rules agreed that hopefully should allow everyone to be a little more understanding of eachother.

These types of accommodations are becoming more frequently found in the community.I actually lived next door to one for many years with no problems whatsoever...three young guys who were wonderful. It all boils down to the individual residents.

Indeed, though with a normal household you'd at least be confident that the teens will at some point mature and/or move out - whereas with a children's home it's a "household" which mostly comprises teens, and always will.

"To a point I do sympathise with the OP, Yes perhaps you should have knocked on a few doors before you bought or spoke to neighbours,but not everybody does do that."


If I'm spending £100k-£500k on a house.....I'd want to know the ins and out of a fart

of course you do...but not everyone is quite as forward....

I took very reasonable steps when purchasing both the properties that became affected by unsociable near neighbours...

Sometimes the problem arrives after you purchase in the form of them just signing a rental agreement as I discovered...and sometimes the problem can be very well managed in daylight hours so those viewing and purchasing the property next door may not be aware.

If youre quite so forensic with your "fart" then maybe even buying with anything nearby might be considered risky.....in as much as you'd probably be better off with your own company in a detached away from anyone

Personally I'm not that keen when theres a large van on the drive...but I guess everyones different and has there own set of wants and compromises.