What constitutes a dispute?
Discussion
I bought a house in 2008 to help a family member out and am now selling after being left with a neglected house and garden that has cost me a lot to put into a sellable condition.
Access to the rear garden is via a path that runs along the back of 3 houses on the adjoining main road and is accessed up the side of one of the houses. There is no segregation so it is through their gate and up the side of the house.
I asked if they would mind accessing the garden via the path in order to clear the garden of which there was lots of waste + conifers which were felled.
They were amiable, so all the work commenced but the tree guys made a right mess.
After the first day there was conifer remains on the road, path etc.
I swept it all myself when I saw it.
The trees were done and also the garden clearance.
The guys doing the garden swept all her path when they had done and to me it all looked fine.
The lady at the house gave me a hard time and moaned quite robustly about her path etc even though when I looked at it I couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Some months later I had a new roof done and she refused access to the scaffolders.
I will need to check the deeds to see if it is a right of access (there was a gate from my house in 1992 when family member moved in)
My question is, on a solicitors form does a few harsh words and disagreement constitute a dispute or would official letters have to be exchanged for that to be the case?
Access to the rear garden is via a path that runs along the back of 3 houses on the adjoining main road and is accessed up the side of one of the houses. There is no segregation so it is through their gate and up the side of the house.
I asked if they would mind accessing the garden via the path in order to clear the garden of which there was lots of waste + conifers which were felled.
They were amiable, so all the work commenced but the tree guys made a right mess.
After the first day there was conifer remains on the road, path etc.
I swept it all myself when I saw it.
The trees were done and also the garden clearance.
The guys doing the garden swept all her path when they had done and to me it all looked fine.
The lady at the house gave me a hard time and moaned quite robustly about her path etc even though when I looked at it I couldn't see anything wrong with it.
Some months later I had a new roof done and she refused access to the scaffolders.
I will need to check the deeds to see if it is a right of access (there was a gate from my house in 1992 when family member moved in)
My question is, on a solicitors form does a few harsh words and disagreement constitute a dispute or would official letters have to be exchanged for that to be the case?
I think what's intended is that the purchaser doesn't 'inherit' a dispute. If you get all the work done and the rights of access are clear then I wouldn't think there's a problem. Plus there's nothing in writing.
It's harder when you're not living there to build a relationship and nip problems in the bud. A bit of grovelling and a nice bunch of flowers deployed in a timely manner might have helped with access for scaffolding.
It's harder when you're not living there to build a relationship and nip problems in the bud. A bit of grovelling and a nice bunch of flowers deployed in a timely manner might have helped with access for scaffolding.
What you have is a disagreement, not a dispute. No need to declare IMO.
Even if you don’t have a right of way, you WILL have a right of access for maintenance under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992.
However, to keep things amicable I’d go round the neighbour with a bottle of wine and apologise for any issues, and ask her exactly what she would like you to do further to make it right. She probably can’t pick up on anything outstanding, so will have to concede that there’s nothing more you can do at this stage. She probably just wanted a grump about some minor inconvenience that has now passed. But, small egos sometimes need massaging.
Even if you don’t have a right of way, you WILL have a right of access for maintenance under the Access to Neighbouring Land Act 1992.
However, to keep things amicable I’d go round the neighbour with a bottle of wine and apologise for any issues, and ask her exactly what she would like you to do further to make it right. She probably can’t pick up on anything outstanding, so will have to concede that there’s nothing more you can do at this stage. She probably just wanted a grump about some minor inconvenience that has now passed. But, small egos sometimes need massaging.
Rich1973 said:
Access to the rear garden is via a path that runs along the back of 3 houses on the adjoining main road and is accessed up the side of one of the houses. There is no segregation so it is through their gate and up the side of the house.
If it's like one of these that I'm familiar with, it's quite possible the path *was* segregated and some cheeky git has decided to incorporate the path into their property by adding a gate & removing the partition; all rear access was meant to be via the shared path but the house on the end took it where it ran down the side.Land Registry plans showed the reality, which should have been obvious anyway because you'd never have a shared path accessed by one person's gate without segregation.
Preventing access to the shared path isn't theirs to control.
If your property has a legal right of access and they have stopped you from using that, then I would suggest that is a dispute.
If the neighbour has allowed you access previously just to help you out and now they are not, then I wouldn't describe that as a dispute.
As to what constitutes a legal right, that is more complicated - the legal paperwork from when you bought the house should hopefully confirm, if not, the conveyancer for your sale should be able to advise you.
If the neighbour has allowed you access previously just to help you out and now they are not, then I wouldn't describe that as a dispute.
As to what constitutes a legal right, that is more complicated - the legal paperwork from when you bought the house should hopefully confirm, if not, the conveyancer for your sale should be able to advise you.
Edited by Cow Corner on Saturday 24th May 10:47
Thanks everybody for your replies. I did take her a bottle of wine after the tree felling, and the garden clearance guys did a good job with the path.
She became objectionable after that, which was a shame as I tried to maintain a good relationship with her.
I need to find the original paperwork to establish right of access, which I will do before I complete the current paperwork.
Thanks again.
She became objectionable after that, which was a shame as I tried to maintain a good relationship with her.
I need to find the original paperwork to establish right of access, which I will do before I complete the current paperwork.
Thanks again.
Rich1973 said:
The lady at the house gave me a hard time and moaned quite robustly about her path etc even though when I looked at it I couldn't see anything wrong with
Disagreeable singe ladies are everywhere. Our village is stuffed with them. I don't know if they are that way because they are single, or whether they are single because they are that way. But I wish there was something you could buy from Ebay that would get rid of them. Like enormous fly paper to which they become stuck.My strategy tends to be to try to get on with them, but not to take their s
t. When they start (as they almost always do) to try and impose their unreasonable opinions upon me I set them straight. No, I don't consider them disputes. I consider them trivial a
hole management conversations.Rich1973 said:
My question is, on a solicitors form does a few harsh words and disagreement constitute a dispute or would official letters have to be exchanged for that to be the case?
If you're asking about the form you fill in when selling a house - I'd be using whatever is provable as the benchmark.IMHO, a conversation where the 2 parties have different recollections isn't a dispute. Put it in writing and it is.....
IANAL.
It's a good question, which can only be answered by a Judge in a Court of Law.
The current TA6 (5th edition) is far more detailed than previous versions wrt access and disputes.
The much delayed 6th edition was meant to come into force in January this year, but I think is still under 'consultation', mainly because it is even more detailed at 32 pages long.
My advice is don't ever have anything to do with your immediate bounding neighbours.
Better still, don't have any immediate bounding neighbours.
It's a good question, which can only be answered by a Judge in a Court of Law.
The current TA6 (5th edition) is far more detailed than previous versions wrt access and disputes.
The much delayed 6th edition was meant to come into force in January this year, but I think is still under 'consultation', mainly because it is even more detailed at 32 pages long.
My advice is don't ever have anything to do with your immediate bounding neighbours.
Better still, don't have any immediate bounding neighbours.
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