Disputes with your neighbour can cause major stress, anxiety and even fear. A range of problems could be categorised as a dispute. Here are some examples:
- Arguments over boundaries
- Noise complaints
- Anti-social or threatening behaviour
- Fly-tipping
- Preventing access to shared driveways or shared property
It is never nice to be in a dispute with your neighbour and can take an awfully long time and a willingness to compromise if matters are to be resolved. It is often difficult to resolve due to the position of both parties.
There are a number of things you can do to progress matters if you are having a neighbour dispute. Mediation is a sensible way to seek resolution, however, that tends to depend on both parties being amenable to compromise. That is often not the case.
If the problem is persistent noise complaints or discarding rubbish, you may want to think about contacting your local environmental and health department, or if there is anti-social or threatening behaviour, you might consider contacting the police. Legal action at the Court should be considered as an absolute last resort.
Can I sell my house whilst a dispute is ongoing?
You may decide enough is enough and look to sell your house. Unfortunately, it’s not quite that simple.
When you sell your property you must disclose material information. This gives the buyer essential information about the property. You do this by filling in a property information form. This form contains a number questions with one of them asking about disputes and complaints.
When you complete this form, you must disclose any ongoing dispute you are having with your neighbour. You must highlight what has happened and what has been or is being done to resolve the issues. Additionally, you will have to provide details about past disputes, how they were resolved and whether they are likely to lead to disputes in the future. Any complaints you have made to the council or to the police must be disclosed here.
The purpose of disclosing this information is to allow the buyer to make a more informed decision as to whether to proceed with the purchase. If you do not disclose your disputes, the buyer could take legal action against you for misrepresentation.
One question on the property information form asks about boundaries and, again, it is important to clearly state the position regarding boundaries, who is responsible for maintaining them and whether there have been any issues with neighbouring owners regarding the boundaries.
It is unlikely you would have to disclose a dispute that has been resolved amicably and there is no likelihood of the dispute reoccurring.
What if your neighbours are renting the property?
Your approach in trying to resolve the dispute should be the same, irrespective of whether the neighbour is the owner or the tenant. You might also consider complaining to the neighbour’s landlord about their conduct.
However, it is difficult to hold landlords to account for the conduct of their tenants. Only if the landlord is encouraging the behaviour is it likely you would successfully hold them accountable for it.
Does a landlord need to declare a neighbour dispute when renting a property?
Landlords do not need to declare neighbour disputes to their prospective tenants. It can be argued that if the former tenant was in dispute with a neighbour, the simple fact that they have moved out may bring an end to the dispute.
Always try to resolve neighbour disputes
It can be extremely frustrating living next to a difficult neighbour. Taking action might simply exacerbate an already difficult situation. It is important to take steps to try make amends with your neighbour.
However, if you sell your house when the dispute is ongoing, you must disclose the dispute. Failing to do this could lead to action against you if the buyers feel you have misrepresented the situation to them. This could lead to a significant financial penalty, compounding an already unhappy situation.
