Selling a House With Problem Neighbours

Originally written by Jeff Durham, updated by the editorial team on 20th May 2026

Selling a House With Problem Neighbours

Difficult neighbours can make daily life stressful. They can also affect your ability to sell your home and the price you might achieve. If you are thinking about putting your property on the market, you will need to consider what to tell potential buyers about any neighbour issues.

This is not simply a matter of personal preference. There are legal obligations that apply when selling a property in England and Wales, and getting this wrong can lead to serious consequences.

What the Law Says About Disclosure

When you sell a property, your solicitor or conveyancer will ask you to complete a standard form called the TA6 Property Information Form. This includes direct questions about disputes with neighbours and whether you have made any complaints to authorities about nearby properties.

You are legally required to answer these questions honestly. If you have had a formal dispute, made complaints to your local council about noise or antisocial behaviour, or been involved in any legal action relating to neighbours, you must disclose this. The focus is on disputes that could materially affect the property's value or a buyer's decision to proceed with the purchase.

The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 may also apply to property sales, creating additional obligations around misleading omissions.

Failing to provide accurate information can result in the buyer taking legal action against you after completion. If they can show you misrepresented the situation or deliberately withheld relevant facts, they may be able to claim compensation. Legal precedents show outcomes vary depending on the severity of the nondisclosure and its actual impact on the buyer.

The key principle is to provide honest and full disclosure regarding any issues with neighbours.

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What Counts as a Dispute

Not every disagreement with a neighbour needs to be disclosed. A one off conversation about parking or a polite word about noise would not usually count as a dispute.

However, the following situations will typically need to be declared:

Formal complaints made to the council about noise, antisocial behaviour, or planning issues
Involvement of the police in any neighbour related matter
Correspondence through solicitors about boundary disputes, rights of way, or nuisance
Mediation or other formal attempts to resolve a disagreement
Any ongoing legal proceedings

If you are unsure whether something counts as a dispute, it is worth checking with your solicitor. They can advise on what needs to be included in your responses.

Your situation may be slightly different. ask a question below ↓ and our editorial team will reply with our advice.

How This Might Affect Your Sale

Buyers and their solicitors will read your TA6 answers carefully. A disclosed dispute may prompt further questions or could make some buyers hesitant. In some cases, it might affect the offer price. Severe ongoing disputes could also affect mortgage valuations, as lenders may take a cautious view of properties with unresolved neighbour issues.

That said, honesty protects you. A buyer who knows about a previous issue and proceeds anyway has accepted that risk. If you hide a problem and it emerges later, you have far less protection.

A resolved boundary disagreement from several years ago will concern buyers less than an ongoing noise complaint with no resolution in sight. Buyers will often weigh the nature and status of the issue before deciding how to proceed.

If your neighbour problems are severe and ongoing, you may find that selling becomes more difficult. Some sellers explore options such as selling to a property buying company, which can offer speed and certainty, though usually at a lower price than the open market. Others wait until a situation improves before listing their home.

Practical Steps Before Selling

Gather any paperwork relating to neighbour disputes before instructing a solicitor. This includes letters, council correspondence, and records of any formal complaints. Having this information ready will help your solicitor advise you properly.

If a dispute is minor and resolvable, consider whether it can be settled before you put the property on the market. Mediation is not a legal requirement but can be a practical way to resolve issues amicably. Services are available through local councils and independent providers.

Where possible, try to maintain civil relationships with neighbours before selling. This can reduce the risk of problems arising during viewings or the sale process itself.

For guidance on your rights and options when dealing with difficult neighbours, you can check resources on GOV.UK or contact your local Citizens Advice.

The Next Step

Now that you have read through the advice above, you might want to put it into practice. Our Neighbour Rights Checker lets you check your legal rights in any neighbour dispute. Takes 1 minute. Try it now →

83 questions

Ask Problem Neighbours a Question

Dawn 27/07/2020 at 2:30 pm

We have lived in our house which we purchased 5 years ago, the vendor when asked about neighbours described the next door neighbour as an old lady and her cat? We found out when we moved in this ‘old lady’ was supposedly mentally ill, knocking on our door every day. Standing on a chair looking over the fence each time we went into the garden. On speaking to the neighbours we were told previous owners had sold and moved out because of her behaviour, that she had upset most of the neighbours over the years. She has a sister but no other family and no friends, nobody visits her, because she is unbearable We have involved the police because of her damaging our fence, throwing things over the fence, eg a dead bird and a dead mouse, that her cat had killed. Shouting, screaming, swearing, throwing abusive notes over the fence, the list is endless! The police say they believe she has dementia? because she has told them that she does not remember doing these things? Is this possible as she still drives, and according to neighbours been like this for 25 years or more? It’s like she is pleading not guilty due to insanity! We would like to move to get away, what chance have we of selling our property?

Judd 17/07/2020 at 5:59 pm

I’m bc wanting to sell my property but I fear the state of my neighbours council house & garden will affect the value. For over 10 years I have had disputes with the council regarding my neighbour and the rubbish but nothing gets done. I’m afraid of paying an estate agent a fee to then not be able to sell. Can I legally do anything?

Baby face 22/06/2020 at 9:30 am

Our neighbour has been dumping household rubbish in their garden since last year. They have been asked if they are going to get it removed they said ‘we’re going to get a skip’ but they haven’t and just keep adding to it. Anything could be living under it all. What to do ??

bogtrotter 28/10/2019 at 8:30 pm

My neighbour has bipolar disorder and has made two false complaints against us to the council and via a solicitor. We have tried to access mental health support for him which he has declined. I have emailed the council and his solicitor highlighting aspects of his irrational behaviour in the hope that they could initiate some support for him. The council suggested we speak to the police, which we did, although they say no crime has been committed. The council say the issue has been addressed.We have not made any 'complaints' but have tried to 'do the right thing.' We have now moved out of our house and are trying to sell it. What needs to be declared on the SPIF?

rick 11/09/2019 at 7:08 pm

We live downstairs in a barn conversion. Up till recently we've not had noise issues from above. The upper flat changed hands and the new owner removed the existing flooring and replaced it with a different one. Since then sound problems have been a daily issue although we haven't dared confront the new owner. If we try to sell, are we obliged to report these ongoing issues to prospective purchasers?

Boundary problem 20/05/2019 at 11:11 am

We have quite a large garden so have a few neighbouring properties (7 in total) along one of the boundary fences my neighbour has installed his own fence but has made his garden smaller leaving a void in between his fence and my own, leaving behind a kind of no mans land. That area has become quite overgrown with brambles and shrubs which I am finding a nightmare to hold back, the brambles especially are constantly needing cutting back and it’s difficult for us to access them properly, this is resulting in the brambles growing under the soil and popping up all over our borders around said area, they also find their way through the fence as it’s only a picket style fence. My neighbours property is council owned, ours is privately owned. What are the options legally for us, can we force the council to maintain the void, they have said we can purchase that bit of land however we cannot just take it and maintain it ourselves but it’s such a mess, as well as being overgrown it’s very uneven ground with bricks and old broken paving stones and also drops down approx 3 feet or so away from our land so I’d rather not take responsibility for it anyway. It’s also difficult for the tenants that occupy the property to maintain and it wasn’t the present tenants that installed the fence, it was done by the previous tenant who didn’t consult or inform anyone.

Sandeee6 10/10/2018 at 8:16 pm

There were problems with the people before us living here with the neighbor next door,but it wasn't disclosed and we only found out in the day we moved in.
Since we have been here she has told us to take up the slabs as she doesn't like the Welsh slate we have used, she gets on step ladders looking over, she's got the hose on us in the garden,she says I don't want to see you in the garden.
She's put boards leaning up our fence panels left over from the backs of her old kitchen units.
The police have been called to us,when they came round they said her problem is she doesn't like the color of your fence and your slabs.
I have no idea what to do...

I don't speak to her at all

Tabby 09/09/2018 at 9:38 am

I want to sell my house but have been told it's worth significantly less then others in this area as my immediate neighbour is filthy with a bad day infestation, old feeders, dog poo and rubbish piled high. It's a council property. Can I sueu the council for loss of money in loosing. Incant afford to loose money or i won't be able to buy the house I want ? Thanks

Cant Sell 22/08/2018 at 11:23 am

I've got some serious issues with my neighbours they've committed criminal damage loads of times to the property and serious harassment. It all started over a boundary dispute.

I want to sort the dispute legally before selling but the longer it goes on the more damage and harassment I have to report to the police and also disclose on the sellers legal form.

Is there anyway of selling without disclosing or without effecting the sale price?
My thoughts were:
1. Part exchange with a developer - they won't care as long as they get the sale but then I'd pay over the odds for a new build and I don't really want one in the 1st place.
2. Sell at auction - Do you know what needs disclosing if selling at auction?
3. Sell to one of these quick sales companies - but I think they'd not pay enough.
4. Sell to a family member with full disclosure - once the family owner has owned it for a month and not experienced any issues then they sell it and give us the money. Obviously it would need to be one we could trust and hope they would not die in the mean time meaning we'd have to pay inheritance tax on our own money.

Does anyone know what sort of hit you'd take when selling a house like this in terms as a percentage?

Any suggestions you have are welcomed?

S 19/06/2018 at 4:21 pm

What can l do about a meddling obnoxious neighbour who is a council tenant who ranted and shouted at the perspective buyers and is trying to sabotage sale of my home?
We have done nothing other than minding our business and keeping ourselves private.
Any suggesstions?
S

ProblemNeighbours Editor 07/09/2017 at 9:57 am

This depends on how the question is posed on the sellers information questionnaire. It's usually best to be completely honest.

chris 05/09/2017 at 8:52 am

Hi, we bought a mid-terraced house 3 years ago. We were told by the agents the previous owners were away a lot and moving closer to work. We've had a problem neighbour on one side who has caused multiple rows with her kids noise, music, banging, shouting. We've referred to the council and because our neighbour calmed down when thy were involved, they took it no further. we've also gone through mediation and soundproofed the party wall downstairs.
We just want away before we lose all sanity. In all reality how much info do we need to divulge,?given noise is somewhat subjective, we don't have children ourselves.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 09/08/2017 at 11:42 am

The question is usually posed in the seller's information at as part of the sale, it usually relates to your own experiences with neighbours and if the authorities have been involved at all. You can probably answer it honestly without jeaopardizing a sale.

SJM 07/08/2017 at 4:00 pm

We live on an end terrace and have a neighbour to one side, this property was sold 9 months a go. Apart from a little bit of music here and there we haven't been bothered by them, the music wasn't loud enough for us to complain to them. We assumed the music was an attempt by them to drown out our new born baby who could scream the house down at regular intervals. The only time we have complained to them was when they were once decorating late at night, we nocked on the door asking them to stop because of the noise / baby, they apologised and stopped immediately

We have just put our house up for sale and it sold on the same day. The owner of the house 2 doors down has come round and asked if we are moving out because of the shared neighbour as he has had numerous complaints from his tenants about them. We told him that it wasn't and we have been looking for a property to purchase for some time. He said that there have been a few incidents involving them and his tenants and the police were involved at one point. He went onto say that the property was bought by a charity called Mind who have placed people in the property with mental health issues.

Whilst I was shocked that the charity could do this without prior notification we have not had any issues ourselves. What should we disclose as part of the selling process? Will any of the other neighbour complaints come up when our buyer carries out searches on the property?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 27/06/2017 at 11:56 am

If you have made a complaint to a neighbour, their landlord or another authority such as the council, you will have to declare it.

Rox 24/06/2017 at 11:41 pm

I have complained to my neighbours landlord about their parties, they went quiet for a bit but have started up again and I want to complain again. I'm also planning on selling my house as I just can't handle them anymore. Do I need to disclose this to potential buyers?

Serene 18/06/2017 at 8:22 pm

Ive put my house up for sale, I'm not having much luck as i have two neighbours on my row that are filthy leaving everything they can in their front garden. This includes glass, bed frames etc. How can i sort this out?

Emlar 24/03/2017 at 5:42 pm

Our neighbours child is autistic and disturbs our family constantly with internal and external noise to the point the council have agreed to soundproofing. The child screams all day and is in the garden from 6:30 am until 9pm at night and then continues with screaming and banging throughout the night. Should the previous owner have declared this. They have stated on the paper work that they are unaware of anything that could cause a dispute. Also how long do you have to take action

Joe 23/07/2016 at 4:51 pm

My neighbour complained about noise and raised a bat over my head. The matter has been reported to police and he is likely to be charged though he claims it didn't happen and will most likely plead not guilty.
We want to sell our house in a few years. We live in Scotland. Do we need to disclose this when selling.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 15/06/2016 at 10:34 am

Yes you usually have to declare any neighbour disputes in your seller's information sheet. You usually have space to give extra details.

Becks 13/06/2016 at 1:32 pm

When my next door neighbour first moved in I had an issue with her music and parties that she was having I approached her first and she was fine about it then the following week it happened again so I reported her to the council and spoke to her landlord since then everything has been fine do I need to pass this inform on to a potential buyer.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 10/05/2016 at 2:01 pm

Yes you have a duty to answer questions truthfully. There has been a number of cases where sellers have been sued for compensation after failing to give sufficient information or have provided misleading information.

Flo Flo 08/05/2016 at 8:08 am

Hi.

I live in a block of flats. Just two flats.

Floor below me is rented via air bnb. Previously short term tenants.

I co own freehold with first floor. Ie floor below me.

First floor has at times rented to tenants who are noisy. This gone away now. Do I need to declare?

Also the local council once came to inspect and observed some down lighters in their ceiling under my floor that may have breached Fire barrier. This was never finally 100% checked out. As neighbour not massively helpful to be able to do so. By council said it may possibly be an issue. This was not a definitive statement from them even.

A few times the first floor flat owner. A property developer. And I have had disagreements over repairs and maintenance. Piping. My window replacements. Roof repairs. And also cleaning the stairs. We dealt with informally. But via emails. At times I had to get my solicitor involved who wrote to hers. To remind her of a few things. But always resolved in the end and without legal action as her solicitor seems to be able to get her to be amicable and reasonable.

Finally when I rquested my lease extended the neigjbour refused. I had to involve my solicitor. Again as above. All eventually ok and resolved. Didn't get to court. We both extended our leases and I also agreed to freehold transfer from her mother to her. So again fine in the end. Again her solicitor encouraged some reasonable behaviour from her.

So do I need to declare any or all of the above when I sell?

My view on the above is that I have no ongoing issues with my neighbour at all. Sometimes it takes longer to resolve things but we always do in the end. Good sense always finally prevails. I have no issues with her tenants either. All is fine from my perspective. Legally and I'm terms of repairs and maintenance he building is in a good state and the are no ongoing or outstanding issues.

Thanks.

Flat owner.

Speedywolf 22/04/2016 at 6:17 pm

I bought a house with a drive and a dropped curb. I asked the previous owners if there was any problems with parking e.g. The drive being blocked and the estate agents emailed me back "they have never had any issues". It turns out they had a scooter! So they didn't have problems.

The drive was blocked regularly when I first moved in, as people
didn't realise I had a car. Once it became know the neighbours stopped. I have asked for advice from pcso and council quite a few times but have never got them to come out. I have left 2 notes in 7 months (those people never blocked me again once they realised they had made it difficult) and had to speak to neighbours twice when I needed to get out and they were there. These 4 are the only times above 15 mins I have been blocked.

Do I need to declare the action I have taken? I was just going to say on the form that 99% of the time the drive is fine but very occasionally it is blocked?

I don't want to mislead anyone but I don't want to cause alarm where it isn't necessary

Though a new neighbour moved in last weekend (one of the two I spoke too) and I sense she may do it regularly though she hasn't as of yet

ProblemNeighbours Editor 21/04/2016 at 12:29 pm

This one off incident, especially as you didn't report it, would not necessarily have to be included - it does sound like a case of a young lad making the most of his grandparent being away. It would be fair to a potential buyer to mention it however.

2ndTenor 20/04/2016 at 3:07 pm

I will be moving out soon as I have purchased a new property and is currently being renovated. The property I currently live in is a semi detached house owned by my mother and I have lived there for the past 8 years by myself. The people who live in the house next door consist of a 19 year old male and his grandmother. Often at night the male plays loud music and occasionally has parties. He also smokes and drinks a lot and has a horrific cough. Because the property I reside is a former council property the walls are quite thin. This means I have to wear earplugs to get a decent nights sleep as I have to be up for work at around 6am. I have very little to do with them and go months at a time without speaking to them. I have always kept to myself since I've been there. I had never complained to the council or the police or even to the neighbours themselves. However, there was an incident in July last year that was rather unpleasant. The 19 year old had been left to his own devices whilst his grandmother went on holiday. Nearly 2 weeks had passed and every night during this period he was playing loud music, having parties and being generally disruptive until late. One particular evening the music was so loud that I couldn't hear my TV. I had reached boiling point. When I went to bed about 9:30-9:45pm the music was still playing. I was too intimidated to go round and complain directly so with two open palms I banged on the wall several times. This set him off. He came onto my house and banged on my window. I went outside. He was with two females in their early 20's. He was holding a metal crutch in one arm and was swearing and demanded to know why I was banging on the walls. I said I had to be up for work early and if he could please turn the music down. He said he didn't care about this and then tried to smash my window with my crutch. I got my arm in the way to block it. He then swung the crutch at my head and I blocked that too. This angered him so much he tried to hit me but was held back by the 2 females. The girls agreed to slightly turn the music down and I agreed. They walked away with no real damage done. I haven't spoken to them since and have no plans to speak to them. I didn't report the incident to the council or the police. My mum will be selling the property after I move out. Does anything need to be declared to prospective buyers?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 18/04/2016 at 10:55 am

If you sell the house it will be your repsonsibility to inform any potential buyer of your actions. If environmental health has not investigated it/found there to be no issue, then the buyer can make an informed decision based on this.

whariwharangi 16/04/2016 at 8:33 am

I am experiencing intermittent low frequency and infrasonic noise and or vibration in my home. I've gotten tools to conduct spectrum analysis on noise recordings. I can use the tools to triangulate have found 3 possible sources. One is machinery at a school, another is machinery at a house used as an MMAR licensed marijuana grow op, and the third is a residential property where I can find no further information without trespassing.

I have made complaints to bylaw enforcement. They have not been in my home when there is nuisance and have not otherwise made any attempt at competent investigation. They have been outside my house and state they could not hear or feel anything. They don't have any tools and are relying on ears to investigate noise below hearing range of most people. I am the only person experiencing the nuisance and so they feel there no justification to investigate further.

In the absence of competent bylaw enforcement ... I am stuck. The only reason I want to move is because of the nuisance.

Do I need to disclose the environmental noise nuisance?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 06/04/2016 at 11:02 am

If the parents are not succeeding in stopping this, there's not a great deal you can do except maybe to contact your local police about the insults and damage.

Kirst 84 03/04/2016 at 4:12 pm

We have shared access way to our drive for us and 4 other houses. As per the deeds us and 2 other houses own the land and it is for access only. The children from a house that have access but no ownership play on this land with a lot of their friends. Our cars have been damaged and we've had insults hurled at as by the children. We are trying to sell our house and potential buyers have been put off by the children. What can we do! Have spoken to their parents who say they'll ask them not to play there but they still do.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 04/03/2016 at 2:21 pm

It may be worth seeing a solicitor yourself with a view to either arguing this or claiming adverse possession which might be a realistic option for what you've told us.

JuJu 03/03/2016 at 12:11 am

Can our neighbour claim (back) some of our land as his?

1) Originally he owned all of the land.
2) He sold to builder in 1984.
3) Neighbour told us builder wrongly built our bungalow right up to boundary line on our north side.
3) Neighbour, for some unknown reason, then allocated HIS front hedge (that continues from our house up to the front road) to this property, causing a staggered boundary.
4) Builder sold to our predecessor in 1984.
5) We bought the bungalow in 2006.

So for 32 YEARS the boundary has been staggered with the long hedge 'in our favour' (as neighbours solicitor wrote it was 'in our favour'!) and we have an old letter from neighbour in early 2015 actually stating WE own the hedge (after we were wanting a reminder of who owned what tree in the back garden).

Neihbour got a surveyor to measure our plot but it wasn't a detailed plan, they only showed us a measurement of the back (?) and not the front but they say this all matches with the land when he sold it to builder. He sent us a copy of that conveyance piece of paper (the only copy in existence as land registry don't have one) and this one has the land map part actually photocopied on TOP of the conveyance sheet after all the wording? But the measurements on there don't even match up with reality because if what they say applies then the line goes through our lounge! It all seems a nonsense meant to intimidate us...

We had a recent 'issue' with neighbour (us questioning the missing walkway down our north side) and THEN he decided to go for ownership of the hedge (out of spite?) but surely since we bought it with the bungalow 9.5 years ago, have looked after it, have letter from HIM stating we own in AND a letter from the lady we bought it from reconfirming the staggered boundary then how/why is his solicitor sending us letters saying he is pursuing this issue after all this time out of his ownership?

P.S. The land registry for us, doesn't show our property, just the plot area, BUT with a STRAIGHT line and not staggered one. We know these plans can be a bit 'out' and also the Ordnance Survey plan shows a straight line BUT with a walkway down our north side? So I guess the OS is either based on the architects plan for the bungalow (is that possible?) OR they measured it by land or air and saw walkway but then neighbour took it away?!? (That's when we asked neighbour, he said boundary was on our north wall but WHY on earth didn't he get land registry changed at the time of giving over the hedge and WHY did he let a builder build up to HIS land?

We are trying to sell, hence us preparing for if prospective buyers asked why the boundary in reality didn't match with the land registry!

Any words of help from you would be so appreciated. Basically our main question is can neighbour claim land that hasn't been in his possession for 32 years...

Kind regards

ProblemNeighbours Editor 01/03/2016 at 10:44 am

If the dispute has been recorded with the council, you would have to record in any seller's information you provide when selling the house. Your insurer may decide to pursue this via the neighbour's or his builders' insurance.

Villagegirl 27/02/2016 at 12:58 pm

My neighbour has converted his building into flats .I oneed doing so had to provide parking they ripped down a stone wall and replaced it with a single course block wall .in doing so they have caused damage to our path which is broken up and also out concrete Base which we park our cars on .we have asked them to fix these issues but they are hostile and the council have said it is a civil matter .they did not ask our permission to take down the wall the wall cannot be found on either deeds.do they have to make this information available to prospective buyers as it looks as though we have no alternative but to go through either our insurance or legal as they we do not communicate because of past bad experiences with them

ProblemNeighbours Editor 16/02/2016 at 12:00 pm

It sounds as though you are not in the UK. If you were, these house viewers would be trespassing on your property. Could you erect a sign asking people to park on the road? Or even fence part of your drive off to make it clear.

Franni 13/02/2016 at 7:28 pm

Our neighbors are selling. Our driveways are connected even though the majority of the driveway belongs to us/ our property. Basically our neighbors/ the house for sale has very little driveway ( they took up too much land space building their house and garage) . Perspective buyers have been using our driveway to park when coming to view the house next door. I have told the Realtor and the prospective buyers where the property lines are over and over and I am at a point where this is stressing me out! My property is NOT for sale......I do not want strangers using my driveway and I do not want to be forced into a situation where I have to confront anyone AFTER they buy the house because the Realtor is not disclosing info re the driveway. I am feeling very imposed on and violated and do not know what to do?

sms5775 11/02/2016 at 5:39 pm

I have the same question as Docky, posted on 24 January. I've been suffering from hideously noisy neighbours for the past seven months. The Council and the Police have been called out by me and other neighbours. Fortunately the offending tenants are being evicted next week. Do I need to disclose the dispute to a future buyer - I've just put my property on the market? Thanks

Docky 24/01/2016 at 10:26 pm

We did complain to the council about the property next door being messy and noisy. In a separate incident we reported them to the police in relation to a car accident. These tenants have now left the property and the new tenants are absolutely fine. Does this need to be disclosed as there is no risk that it will effect their enjoyment of the property (because the difficult tenants have left).

ProblemNeighbours Editor 14/01/2016 at 9:58 am

You could try contacting your environmental health officer regarding the rat problem. Check out our article on Overgrown and Messy Gardens

Potter 12/01/2016 at 4:32 pm

I purchased a house with my now ex wife, and her friends moved in next to us. The house is semi detached, semi rural based on a reasonable plot of land. the house is very old, and I have spent thousands modernising my property with everything from a triple garage to block paving/landscaping.

After about 6-8 months living with my wifes friends, there was a huge fall out over a boundary, they basically said I was stealing from then, it all got a bit nasty, I was proved right, however, they took the hump and moved. However, they decided to rent out their house to all and sundry. The tenants have been just fine to be honest, however, the external house is a complete mess. The tenants wont do the garden (I don't blame them) its all over grown, we have a shared drive with an electric gate, the power comes from next door, and the tenants constantly run out of electricity, therefore the gate wont open, I cant gain access to my property as the gate is the only way in. Eventually, after complaining, the company that manages the property for the couple turn up and power is restored. To be fair the management company, they do there
best, as my neighbours do everything possible to make my life difficult.

Now, the garden is so overgrown, we have rats, I have complained to the management company, they say they cant do anything as the property owners don't see it as a problem. My drain pipes are all sealed, I regulary see rats up and down the front of their house and in the back garden, now I can hear them in my roof space which must have come from there side?

Any suggestions, the don't give a toss about the state of their property at all..

any suggestions please..
company

ProblemNeighbours Editor 14/09/2015 at 1:58 pm

If you have made complaints about this neighbour, you will have to divulge this as "seller's information" should you decide to sell the house.

Tommas 13/09/2015 at 7:54 pm

I have been assaulted by my neighbour on several occasions and he has damaged my classic car and loves to ram my fences with his lawnmower and damage them.

Police are not interested as he is a very good liar and his wife and tattooed son support his mad behaviours. I do not wish to move but what are the rammifications of selling knowing this mad man may attack others. His latest mad antics is doing nazi salutes to friends as we drive off to work !

Arthur 08/08/2015 at 11:27 am

We have had an argument about our neighbour's fence where she has replaced it with a new on but has not taken the fence down to the ground using gravel boards. As it is a pure wood fence, we understand that gravel boards are added at the last stage of erection and therefore there seems no reason why this has not been done. When asked about this matter, we have been accused of "raising our garden " which would mean we have added about 4 inches in height to a garden that is 180 feet long !! She has also accused us of "stealing2 some of her land which is not the case, as drawings (drawn up by the previous owners for an extension that was approved and built from 1982 approved by the local council prove. Would we need to declare this in the vent of us selling the property

ProblemNeighbours Editor 30/07/2015 at 12:52 pm

@looby. Yes a property questionnaire is part of the home buying process in Scotland.

Looby 28/07/2015 at 9:13 pm

Does the Seller's Property Information Questionnaire apply in Scotland

ProblemNeighbours Editor 17/07/2015 at 9:44 am

@Damo. Your solicitor will have provided a Seller's Property Information questionnaire to the vendor. The questions relate to disputes, complaints, planning applications etc. The answers to the questions should be honest as they form part of a legally binding contract. If you think you have a case to sue because of incorrect answers you should ask a solicitor for advice on what evidence would be necessary/admissible.

Damo 13/07/2015 at 8:02 am

Recently moved into a nice neighbour hood but the people we bought the house from failed to disclose information about a feud they had with some younger neighbours which resulted in the police being called. Whilst the arguments were more verbal than anything physical the people we bought from did have their car vandalised pretty badly after one argument in the road where they lived. However, I did mention to my wife that anyone could have vandalised the car and there was no hard proof as to whom had done it. We found out about this from one of our new neighbours last week whom did suggest to the people that we bought from at the time that they should let us know. Naturally, when buying and selling properties these days there are forms you need to fill out, provided by solicitors, which require you to disclose certain things like this. We feel that we were certainly rushed into exchanging and completing the purchase of the property earlier than planned,would have negotiated on the price and time scale had we known this info and, do feel our sellers acted in a dishonest manner. Where do we stand? Can we obtain police reports? What information are we allowed to obtain from the police or the council re complaints made?

Haywood0309 23/06/2015 at 2:22 pm

We started to have problems at end of last year as someone new moved into house next door that is owned by housing association and they have mental health problems and abuse drugs. We have been working with housing association, police, mental health team, council etc since day and 1 and it looks like the only way to remove this tenant is a possession order granted by courts. It looks to be resolved fairly soon, we are waiting for a court date.

We delayed selling our house because the problem started but we couldn't put our lives on hold so have now sold our house. When putting it on the market we were honest with estate agent and we were told that there is nothing to declare as it isn't classed as a dispute because we haven't done anything and that it steps are being taken to resolve the problem. The house is now sold, but we are wondering whether to listen to estate agent or to declare the problems and risk losing the house sale and our new house.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 15/06/2015 at 10:25 am

@rosie. You are expected to be honest in your answers but you can also give additional information like the date it was resolved and no further incidents etc

rosie 09/06/2015 at 4:40 pm

Please help.Our neighbour moved out of his 4 bedroomed house and made it into a holiday let- no planning permission is needed there is lawfully no change of use (!)We had problems with noise initially. The environmental teamput in monitors and nothing was picked up and we were told noise is purly subjective and that as far as they were concerned it was all O.K. 2 years later and the issues we first had are no more : ) and infact it can be better then having a permanent neighbour as there are certain restrictions. However, we both now need to downsize ourselves. We are fearful that we would have to disclose this "subjective"dispute.We feel it will be off putting to find the neighbouring property is a business, with out having to disclose a dispute that we have been told is not there. Our E.H Officer said there is no dispute to report.Even though there is paper work. We don't want to put off any buyers if we do not need too. DO we have to ????I haveread it is only a physical dispute [i.e boundaries]that must be disclosed as this could effect the new neighbour later on and is not at all subjective.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 31/03/2015 at 12:40 pm

@Emily. A house seller who knowingly gives false information can be liable for compensation. You will need to seek legal advice to see whether anything can be done in your case.

Emily 27/03/2015 at 5:08 pm

We bought a house in sept 14 and since moving in we've had to call the police several times about the house next door ! Social services are involved with there children and her partner is arssestes frequently we hear argueing and banging till 430 am police come they leave and they argue again and if he's arrested he'll come stand and bang the door down when he's allowed out till she lets him back in ! Looking back at the info we were given when buying the house the previous owners said there had been no disputes about near by properties and have since learnt that they would call the police as often as we had ! How can I move forward and take action against previous owners ? Or is it worth it

ProblemNeighbours Editor 18/03/2015 at 10:05 am

@JW21. Have you made a complaint to the council about this? Or actively engaged in a dispute with the neighbout about it? If not, then you needn't mention it all. If you have, then explain about the issue to the estate agent and any prospective buyers if you meet them.

JW21 15/03/2015 at 2:17 pm

I have hypersensitive hearing (being investigated by a consultant). I am selling my house and thought my neighbours were noisy, even though my partner has said she doesn't hear them and any noise they do make doesn't bother her as it is normal living noise. I want to be honest with prospective buyers but don't want to scupper any sales as I have abnormal hearing. Any advice on what and how to declare on the seller's form?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 13/03/2015 at 2:40 pm

@doodle. You are obliged to disclose information about neighbour disputes - but if it's not been reported to the council, how you describe it is up to you. You could simply state "neighbours complained about my dogs barking". This may deter buyers with dogs who bark but shouldn't worry other buyers.

Doodle 11/03/2015 at 5:06 pm

Hi
I live either side of two elderly neighbours who complain a lot about any thing and every thing.
Have had no disputes about property ect but have sent me a letter about my dogs barking when I'm out which has lead to a falling out.they are quiet neighbours but just like to complain.
Would I need to disclose this to my buyers.

chloride 18/02/2015 at 6:38 pm

How do I stand with regard to being on the end of false allegations made by my neighbour regarding anti social behavior /noise of children and every day activities etc. with my landlord ( a council). Problem has been going on for several years. I believe my neighbour to be a serial complainer and is trying to put pressure on council to have my family evicted. Can I obtain information from the council of any disputes with the family who resided at my house before me. I really feel that there would have been issues with my neighbour. It would be an advantage if I could find this out.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 23/01/2015 at 1:54 pm

@caz140. Yes you should declare this really, but it should not be an issue since it was resolved and has not reoccurred.

caz1420 21/01/2015 at 5:20 pm

In the summer of '11 we had issues with our neighbours (who own a large property with a large garden in a built up residential area) holding ticketed live music events in their garden. They held three in one summer which caused havoc with parking, noise and the like. Whilst they had an entertainments license they had clearly broken the rules/regulations of this at the largest of their events. We wrote to the local Council who basically agreed with us that the events were too big for the license obtained. The Council informed our neighbour that they would now have to jump through the hoop of greater regulations regarding parking, noise, food supply, security, health and safety and the like if they were to ever again hold another event. The neighbour then declared that they would never again hold another ticketed event (obviously not wanting to adhere to the new conditions). These stopped in 2011 and we have not been subject to any more (phew). We now come to sell our property since this was over three years ago do we have to declare this to any subsequent buyer?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 08/01/2015 at 12:31 pm

@HG. Any complaints you've made will be recorded and should be declared. You could be forgiven for forgetting to mention that the new neighbours are equally as noisy though.

HG 06/01/2015 at 10:36 pm

We have issues with music being played loud throughout the day and have previously involved Environmental Health and these issues have been resolved. However we have new neighbours who are also playing music again! The landlord of the property doesn't seem to care as with the letting agents and I just wanted know if I would have to declare this? Thanks for your help in advance.

ProblemNeighbours Editor 06/01/2015 at 11:51 am

@Scot. Yes you should if you know about it. Have they applied for planning permission? If so, this will be unearthed by their conveyancer anyhow.

Scot 02/01/2015 at 9:51 am

We are looking to sell our house, next doors house is a single storey house. But they are going to build a 3 story house in the next 12 month. Do we have to disclose this to the buyers if they don't ask?

ProblemNeighbours Editor 17/12/2014 at 11:14 am

@manse. If it's not your action then there would be no reason why you should have to disclose it really.

Manse 16/12/2014 at 12:00 pm

Any advice would be gratefully received..

I purchased my house earlier this year and during my research into the area I found out that there was legal action being taken against a green waste recycling centre by a group of residents...
To keep a long story short, I visited the recycling centre and was happy what they were doing, the seller at the 2nd viewing said he had no issue with them either.. It later emerged in the legal paperwork that the seller was also on this petition against the company, as I had no issue with the company I purchased the property anyway..

Since moving in, we have had no problems with the company at all, they even clean the windows of my property, sweep the streets and pay for car washes due to the wagons created mud etc on the road.

The previous owner is still pursuing a claim but I am a little concerned that if I decided to sell my property in the future I would have to disclose this action against the recycling company and potentially effect the value of my property...

Would this be correct?

murr 29/09/2014 at 5:58 am

sold a rental property seller tells buyer quiet building no noise because of the tenants ,Seller receives a year after a letter buyer is suing and claiming hidden defect. for noise....................... What happened new tenants moved in.!!!!!!! Property never listed as insulated is over 40 years old and had an inspection

ProblemNeighbours Editor 21/07/2014 at 10:21 am

@Queenie. It's only when you're selling that you should inform your prospective buyers about any issues. The musician would not have needed to inform anyone about his activities when he purchased the house. You CAN take action if his music playing is too loud. Clearly having a word with him has not worked so you need take action. Call your local environmental health office to go down official channels. The musician will be forced to take measures to quieten down and when/if you sell you can include this in your seller's information.

queenie 18/07/2014 at 12:21 am

I've today set the ball rolling to sell my top floor flat. A musician bought the middle flat 6 months ago, and the near constant rehearsing and after gig wind downs are taking their toll upon me. Transpires this disclosure issue could scupper things. I haven't lodged any official complaint against said neighbour; indeed we had a sit down and discussed some of my concerns / issues. Alas, he still adopts a nonchalant attitude which I'm unwilling to put up with, hence my reasoning to sell up.

Now then- here 's a moot point. I feel I've now been forced out of my flat; had my right to enjoyment of my flat reduced, surely I should be able to sue him for not disclosing to me (or to the rest of the tenants in the building) that he was a professional musician, who has now seriously undermined the value and possible reselling of our flats! Any legal eagles out there think this could stand up in court?

Thanks.

Nettleford Editor 06/06/2014 at 9:57 am

@Vic. If you don't get on that well they should be glad you're moving :) Why not pop over and suggest this to them? That they may get neighbours they really like moving in, so helping the selling process would be a great idea. Worth a try!

Vic 05/06/2014 at 4:06 pm

I've got my property on the market and am having issues with the downstairs neighbours. We've never gotten on that well and now I am selling they are trying everything to stop potential buyers. They make constant horrible comments and moan whenever there's a viewing. Is it true I can't do anything?

Mog mmab 29/03/2014 at 6:36 pm

We live in NC and are trying to sell our home. Very nice place at the end of a cu-de-cac. My neighbor who has no trespassing signs all over the place and has recently put up a fence for privacy is hindering my sell. She thinks she owns the road and makes people move when coming to look at my house. She's causing a lot of problems and we know that is why it's not selling. Can we do anything???

NeonSwift 01/01/2014 at 8:11 pm

Will part exchanging with a major home builder like Barratt or Persimmons mean having to disclose problems with neighbours?

anna 13/11/2013 at 3:20 pm

When I moved into my house to retire 5 years ago, the Housing Association tenants next door were fine. They swopped with my current neighbours - drug dealers who live in squalor with dogs, and the father died from overdose. The case went to court for eviction through the Housing Association, who were convinced of success. I was the main witness. The case was lost, and the barrister decreed they were to be left in the house in perpetuity. My life has been blighted. How can I sell my house. I find the complaints about trees and hedges laughably superficial.

Cla 04/01/2013 at 1:45 pm

I have lived with my husband and children in the same property for 16 years. I am not someone who pops in for coffee but leave my neighbours to live their lives and expect the same. The houses surrounding me have changed owners over the years, during the last 18 months we seem to be the target of a family who moved in, their children draw over my driveway play ball near my car despite a pmark being 100 metres away, post rubbish and leave through my letterbox, open my side gate and attempt to play in my back garden, their mother informs them that they can do what they like. I have spoken to them she is just offensive if you ever even attempt to speak to her. I wish I knew why people cannot mind their own life and leave others in peace!

jim 19/12/2012 at 6:43 pm

I lived in a converted warehouse building in Aldgate East for 3mths and I had to leave because of the my neighbours.They had parties every weekend. We called the police and informed the landlord but nothing was done. I hate noisey neighbours.when I viewed the flat with the agent. I thought it was the best loctaion for me. Big mistake. Next time I will view the property more times and speak to the neighbours and not trust letting agents.

JayKay 31/10/2012 at 9:02 am

I have suffered harassment from my neighbour's youngest son for around 3 years now and although I'm desperate to move, I think my house is now unsaleable because of him. I've had to call the police on 3 occasions as he was dumping rubbish in my back garden (planks, metal poles, milk crates, bottles), ringing my doorbell at all hours of the day and night, banging on my windows, trying to cut my telephone cable, stealing milk from the doorstep - the list is endless. (I've caught him doing all this repeatedly) He and his brother both in their twenties, have some sort of syndrome and go to a special learning difficulties/disabled centre most days, which gives me some respite, but I'm now afraid to go into the garden in case he sees me and starts up again. I'm an OAP living alone, while there are five people in his family, all very large and intimidating. (Their property is owned by a housing assoc.) I need to move as I can no longer cope with the garden, but cannot afford to sell at a loss - any suggestions please?

digerd 18/07/2012 at 8:41 pm

I am reminded of a time 14 years when I was staying temporarily with my daughter in a one bedroomed owner-occupied flat after my husband died and I had returned from abroad

A nasty, aggressive young criminal had unbelievably been housed next-door to her, and one morning I woke to the police shouting at him to open the door, eventually the police axed the door open and took him away for good
We were both so relieved as was frightening, but police did everything

Lusa 20/06/2012 at 7:08 pm

I own joint freehold with the owner of tthe downstairs flat, iof this large Vicotiran house converted in the late '60s. He has lied about his origins and speaks with a phoney North American accent trying to pass himself off as a Canadian- from Quebec and having served in the Canadian navy, East coast. None of this is true as he came to this country with his family from Iraq as a boy probably about 40 years ago and owes everything to this country as he became a British citizen but seeks to hide that fact. He is now 50 years old and dreams of living in America and has married an American woman - after an adulterous relationship which broke up his original marriage and has since been kicked out of that relationship before meeting and marrying the Polish American woman.He has spent about £1m and a half on property in this area and has moved out of the flat below without resolving the disputes I have with him after he appropriated joint freehold land at the front of the house for his own use to make a larger car park. He has also made excuses since he came here so as not to sign a new lease as the old one has only 60 years left and anyone needing a mortgage to buy either flat might have difficulty obtaining one. He has never looked after the terraces and his parking space and by now the house looks most unkempt as weeds are everywhere and rubbish accumulates from the road outside. 'He has used 3 different versions of a name he uses and all my attempts through a solicitor to get him to admit he has taken joint freehold land and also to sign a new lease have failed after he found out that I knew the truth about his background and the lies he still perpetuates about his nationality. My other neighbours can verify this as he told them he was a French Canadian before he knew that I knew the truth about his background and they also find the disgraceful unkempt state of what could be a lovely old house in a Conservation Area situated very prominently within sight of an important approach road into the town, unacceptable. He was told by the council last year to cut back trees at the front that were overhanging the pavement and were a danger to passers by so then he had some trees cut down without permission and I think he has been told to replace them but still hasn't done so. He employed a young man to do this and trim the other trees but who didn't have a proper van to take away the branches etc so they remained for months dying where they had fallen. When I first approached the council about this mess I was told they could do nothing but that was some months ago and the situation is now much worse. It is detracting from the value of our properties and the area in general and could make it difficult to sell this flat should I wish to do so. I am a pensioner and a widow and cannot afford to spend thousands of pounds taking him to court with a "reasonable request" to sign the lease and resolve all the other problems I and my negbhours have wi

phil 08/06/2012 at 12:46 am

Hi again, i forgot to tell you my property is on the market now and it has made me feel really bad explaining the situation of the area to potential buyers.And remember the forms i have to legally fill in. It makes me feel i am forced to lie or stay here.I just want to get out of this mess i have been screwed up in. I just hope this family is as bad or worse then these around me.But i did say the area was not perfect. but anyway he dropped out of the sale.

phil 08/06/2012 at 12:17 am

WARNING to buyers do not do what i did and believe the sellers issues regarding issues with neighbours.Most of what they say will be lies, beleive me, take it from my experience there will be very little you can do, and you put yourself in the firing line to cause problems for yourself later down the line .solicitors will drag it on and most likely you will just make yourself stressed out getting nowhere when you get problems. Sellers will have more rights ripping you off then you will trying to sort things out. This is exactly what happen to me.I have to say under no circumstances DONOT buy an empty property you are not sure about. It was left because of bad neighbours. Make sure you get your Solicitor to get written documentation. They may not agree , but insist anyway to why it is left empty. Donot take any notice of what the sellers say.This will be the biggest transaction in your life . Donot let these fraudsters ruin it. and good luck

phil 07/06/2012 at 8:56 pm

I wished everything was as straight forward as you discribed. I moved in to an empty property ,when i was told the person had to go in to care and this was a nice area to live in.from my enqiuries on buying this property.Only to find this all untrue and told me a lie to get out of here. We have suffered noise nuisense , criminal damage to my loft walls with bricks taken out , not even mentioned on my survey report, Late night dogs barking,which is just a waste of time reporting. barbwire a cross my boundaries , And even got broke in from the back the list goes on Including torched letter box.fire . The Solicitors wants me to ask these scum bag neighbours if the resent owners had any trouble here before i moved in, to get proof, what a joke..This is also a well known drug area in which i really should of been told up front. No legal rights for me here, as there are to many loop holes andi feel totally misled. Ho i also forgot to mention i paid the full asking price for this hellhole. Well done British justice another one for the book. No wonder Halifax Estate Agents have vanished when they showed me around the place saying it was a nice area . Cheating Estate Agents grabbing a sale commission.

Andrea 07/06/2012 at 2:48 pm

It's a tricky situation, doing what's needful to sell the property and trying to be fair to whoever might buy it. If it's not the neighbours themselves who are driving you away, then they're probably not too bad, so you don't need to say anything. However, if you;re moving because of the people next door then morally you should tell any prospective buyer about the problems. There are no easy answers beyond what's legally required, though.

MACS 28/05/2011 at 6:15 pm

We have problems with neighbours that rent the flat below us. Noisy grandchildren that do not live at this address, also other small things which I will not bore you with. The family congregate here, and continuious noise up to 12 hours a day, every day. The letting agents are not interested nor is the home owner. I have made 2 polite attempts to the family concerned, but this seems to make matters worse. Now they have left to another property, we thought god has answered our prays, but we disscovered another member of the family has continued the lease, and now we are subject to the problem again. It's like a form of harressment. This family member now has been arrested for something, and we have the court balliffs call around here now. We are trying to sell our home.It seems the law is on their side, not ours.

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