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Original poster

To buy this land and risk upsetting the tenants next door

999 replies

Mrsdavidcaruso · 04/01/2014 12:31

Long story short. My house is at the back of a large house which was converted into flats last year. I own the freehold to my property and have had problems with the tenants of the flats parking on what is actually my land. It got bad when the LL of the large house 'rented' a part of my property to one of his tenants as an extra parking space and it took a long time and solicitors letters to get it all sorted.

I also had to spend money on getting bollards and a fence to ensure no-one parked on my property.

My property is at the end of a T shape and I part is used as a passage to my house ( I have legal access over it) and a parking area for 5 cars rented by the LL to his tenants

However because of all the problems my solicitor has done some digging to ensure my legal right of way and that nothing comes back to bite me on the bum with the owners of the large house.

It then got interesting - it seems that the LL bought the large house at auction on a 99 year lease. My Solicitor saw the legal pack and there was no mention of the land on the paperwork.

He has now found out through the freeholder that the land does not actually belong to the large house but to the house next door.

The freeholder of the house next door has confirmed yes its his land but as he does not live in the house was unaware that the LL of the large house was using it as far as he was aware only I had access to it.

He has now contacted my Solicitors and offered to sell me the land, If I don’t want to buy he is going to offer the LL the chance to lease it from him but if he does that I am worried about my own access across it.

I am very tempted I can enlarge my garden and my husband (who rents a garage ) can also park his car on the property we can afford it and it may increase the value of my house and provide a safer environment for my DS and bump when he/she arrives.

But that is not going to sit well with the tenants of the large house and I can forsee huge problems with them as a couple were very abusive to me during the problem with the parking before.

I have a couple of weeks to decide. I know it would not fair to the tenants but its something they will have to take up with their LL as either he has been badly advised/mistaken or is chancing his arm renting out parking spaces when he knows its not his land (I suspect the latter).

According to my Solicitor there would be no legal or planning issues if I wanted to change the area to a larger garden (although I will check with the council myself)

So would I be UR to buy it

OP posts:
minniebar · 06/01/2014 16:50

Arf at 'Jarndyce & Co' Grin

Good for you OP.

thenightsky · 06/01/2014 16:59

Good for you OP!

EeyoreIsh · 06/01/2014 17:03

Excellent news!

SoupDragon · 06/01/2014 17:05

Fabulous :)

I know I am going to need planning consent to put in a hard parking space

I wonder how many objections there will be to any planning application...?!

Sallyingforth · 06/01/2014 17:07

Great!
I'm sure you will be aware that you should not make any planning application until the sale is absolutely finalised, because the council will consult all the affected neighbours including the landlord.

limitedperiodonly · 06/01/2014 18:33

Sounds great

coco44 · 06/01/2014 19:05

' It will not be offered to either the freeholder of the large house or the LL '
Maybe not and maybe so.But if they have offered to sell it to the LL/freeholder ,they certainly would not tell you till you have sunk more money into searches etc and lesslikely to back out.

limitedperiodonly · 06/01/2014 19:34

Maybe so coco44 But seeing as OP wants to buy it she has no option but to proceed and hope for the best.

minibmw2010 · 06/01/2014 19:49

Maybe coco44 there are just some nice people in the world and they don't want the OP to have to go through this anymore. After all she is paying them so it's not like they're doing her a favour for nothing.

yetanotherstatistic · 06/01/2014 20:08

Think Cocoa in small communities people tend not to shaft one another in business transactions as everyone will get to hear about it and it wont be forgotten. People think more about the long term than making a quick buck.

Pigletjohn has a very sensible gameplan.

nickymanchester · 06/01/2014 20:35

As so many other people have already said, I totally remember your original thread and I'm so happy for you.

CustardOmlet · 06/01/2014 21:06

Well done OP, even if you do need PP, tow trucks etc. which could take a while, you have got the ball rolling and no one can take the land back from you! You could always rent the parking spaces to the current tenants, and as they move out don't offer the spaces to new tenants and slowly reclaim your land without causing any upset?

thepobblewhohasnotoes · 06/01/2014 21:19

If you want to be fair, you could continue to rent the land to them for a fixed period, giving them time to find somewhere else to park, or alternative accommodation - say 6 months or so? That way you get the land but are seen to be reasonable. The money could go towards your new garden.

bumbumsmummy · 06/01/2014 21:21

Buy it and fence it off the LL is a chancer who has been taking the piss

shoom · 06/01/2014 21:29

Given what happened in the last thread when a tenant was using the OP's own space and refusing to stop, I don't think the tenants will pay. They'll park there, not pay and the OP will have the expense and hassle of sorting that out. And may need to look into insurance and HMRC requirements for the income.

PigletJohn · 06/01/2014 22:05

Plough it up.

RenterNomad · 06/01/2014 22:09

Oooh, that makes me think of that bit in Independence Day where someone shouts, "Plough the road!"

Gwan, nuke the invading aliens! Grin

WorkingItOutAsIGo · 07/01/2014 09:55

I love PigletJohn and he is always right about everything on every thread I ever see. His strategy does sound like fun, and just desserts for the LL and the horrid tenants who were so abusive.

I just worry that you are going to be living with these tenants for a while and they could make life very unpleasant and so might prevent you enjoying your garden - which is why I thought a less nuclear option of perhaps leasing the spaces back for a limited period till the current tenants left might cause less hatred to come your way.

SoupDragon · 07/01/2014 10:03

Plough up the parking space of the tenant who was rude and aggressive and allow the others time to make other arrangements :o

Not really.

AngelaDaviesHair · 07/01/2014 11:09

If the tenants are unpleasant, they're unpleasant. Leasing back the spaces for a whole might just postpone the unpleasantness rather than remove it. A clean break seems better to me.

AngelaDaviesHair · 07/01/2014 11:09

Whole? While!

KittyLane1 · 07/01/2014 14:27

As Mr Bull always says, Dig Up The Road!!!

StrainingWaistband · 07/01/2014 17:20

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Augustwedding · 10/01/2014 21:29

Any progress op?

Original poster
Mrsdavidcaruso · 12/01/2014 08:58

Yes Augustwedding this land is my land.

Have now bought the land all signed and sealed. There are a few things to be sorted out but in the meantime other things have gone on, due to the recent weather OH had terrible problems getting to his job on the mainland so has now accepted a sideways move at work, so he can work more from home, which means he is going to be around if the LL or his tenants kick off which is good for me as I was dreading the confrontations.

As everything was only finalised Friday PM. The LL wont know until he gets a letter and I have got to see my solicitor on Monday to iron out the details and plan next move.

needless to say I am excited

OP posts: