Neighbouring house for sale. Do I contact the estate agent or not regarding parking?

[DolleMae]

So, ongoing saga and inconvenience caused by tenants in a local house.

House is set in a shared courtyard development, with parking for one car. Covenants in the deeds include that there must be free and full access at all time to the courtyard.
Except, currently, the tenants have three cars and park in the middle of the courtyard.
Contact with tenants ( their employer as it is rented as a staff house), house owner and the company that organised the rental ( same estate agent as selling) have all ignored the covenant and the difficulties this causes to other residents ( including preventing access by emergency service vehicles when a child was in need of an ambulance).

House is now for sale.

I am thinking of sending the deeds of my house and the other house to the estate agent, asking that these are shared with prospective purchasers. My thinking is that this would help local residents and also save a buyer buying something that turns out to be different to what they thought.

Do you think, I should?

Maybe just email/ ring them to start with to make sure they are aware there is only one parking space.

Thanks for commenting.

The estate agent also handle the tenancy so know the issues with the parking as I tried to get them to address it. They wouldn't get involved saying that the owner disagreed and the house has parking for two cars ( across the middle of the courtyard).

The listing just says ‘parking’.

I don't see that sending the deeds would do any harm. The listing should say 'Parking for one car'. If the house is empty you could stick a note on the door for prospective viewers!

Oh I wish it were empty…😆, currently 4 adults & 4 cars in a three bed house with parking for one car!

Surely the solicitor would highlight this?

Can you put a very obvious sign up explaining this so prospective buyers are aware.

Look at the listing - it will presumably be online? See what it says about parking. You can contact them if it's wrong.

I would because this is a possible opportunity to get the issue sorted & id kick myself if I didn't try my best.

id also want any new buyer to know BEFORE they put in an offer.

youd be surprised how little many people in agencies actually share information. Particularly so between rentals & sales.

@Arran2024

fid you miss/x post??

The listing just says ‘parking’.

Get someone to phone the agent as a prospective buyer and ask how many parking spaces as you really need at least two

Then go from there

If the estate agent knows parking is an issue and isn't willing to do anything, then they're not going to share the deeds with buyers. Their job is to work for the seller.

This will come up in conveyance though so any buyer should be fully aware before they complete

Oh heck! Hopefully you'll get fewer cars next time whatever happens.

For those saying it will come up in conveyancing. You would think so wouldn't you! 🤞

I'm just worried that the current owner doesn't seem to know this, from when she bought?
She sent a plan which outlined parts of the courtyard in red. She says this evidences the parking . It obviously isn't as if it were the case another ‘red’ bit of land is directly across someone elses entrance and would block entry to their house. No way is that her parking too!

Blocked courtyard again today. My delivery had to be cancelledvas no one answered the call to move their cars.

You've posted about this before? Or if not you, someone with an identical issue about courtyards and parking. Perhaps search on here - Advanced search.

Might be worth telling the agent that whoever buys it might be very unhappy with them when they realise what they were told was misleading and deceptive and that given the estate agent knows the issue they need to declare it. I'd be making it very clear to new owners that the agent and owner were fully aware of this issue. If they're a decent person they won't block it and they might be pissed off with the agent and previous owner. I don't know if they have a duty to disclose but they might.

I'm guessing since it's private land you can't report them to the police? Where I live fire brigade will make house calls to tell people its not legal to block emergency services access, I don't know if this would be an option. Legally could you put up a sign first to say that any cars parked outside that 1 space (get a space drawn up if not one) will be towed and then get them towed if they keep doing it? I see these signs on private courtyards, I don't know what the legalities are though.

I read that one too, in legal I think. I expect it's the same poster though, exact same issues and history and another share house.

Thank you for your considered response. Yes, I would hate to be the buyer and unaware.

Yes, private shared land so no other support. I suppose it is expected that we all ‘live together’ which actually for years we have, followed the rules, a bit of give and take when anyone has a visitor. I would hate to think that everyone was upset with me for inconveniencing them.
The owner of this house and the tenants don't care what anyone thinks.

It just isn't possible to have that many cars parked. When my own children passed their test, they couldn't have their own car, because there isn't space. Simple.

@socialdilemmawhattodo @EliflurtleAndTheInfiniteMadness

Yes, it probably was. It has been an issue for ages, which is why I wondered if this is a chance to resolve it. A neighbouring house has been sold with ‘one parking space’ on the listing. But not this one.

My dad had a similar issue where his shared driveway, only for access to back gardens, was listed on the particulars for his neighbour's house as off street parking. He arranged for his solicitor to send a letter to the estate agent so that the listing and particulars had to be corrected and I think the letter had to be added to the particulars/property file.

Don’t rely on the conveyancer getting it right. The previous owners of my house bought it thinking the garage came with it (and used it as if it was theirs), but it was still registered to the people before them when I bought it. I spotted the issue and we got it resolved but their solicitor (who had done the original purchase) was clueless.

Oooh that's a good idea !

Do it OP. Use a funny voice :)

I get very heated about parking and i'd be on this like a shot. An opportunity to sort it out.

So you probably should have added this to your original thread. Not tried to create a new thread. That would refresh everyone's memory of the advice/feedback given then and saves people reposting. Advice which is not likely to be out of date now.

But this is a different issue as the house has just been put up for sale. I've asked for an (voted) opinion from the general public, on CHAT about whether I should contact the estate agent (or would be seen as a loon who is overstepping the mark!).

The previous thread, months and months ago, was posted in legal, to ask for specific advice about the covenant on the deeds and if/how they be enforced in the long term,

Too very different purposes, too very different sources of advice required and from a very different audience.

Do it. I’d be fuming I bought with the impression I could have 2 parking spaces. Rentals and and sales are normally totally different sections/people.

Is there a company that looks after the private road? Ask them to paint a box junction in the shared driveway and put up a camera with a notice saying 'no parking in boxed area, fine £100.