To buy this land and risk upsetting the tenants next door

[Mrsdavidcaruso]

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

that was quick, but great news

Fantastic

I have to say that is weirdly quick in my experience. In a week?, confused to be honest.

Why wishful ?? The OP already had a solicitor who knew what was going on, the money to buy the land and the person she was buying from was her next door neighbour (near enough). No reason for any delays surely?

In a week?, confused to be honest

If two people want to do it - don't forget there isn't a house or anything, this is just land - then it can be done very quickly indeed.

Draw up an agreement, pay the money and send form TP1 to the Land Registry Office for a Transfer of Part and you're done.

I was thinking along the lines of checking title/searches etc.. most searches are approx 2-3 weeks but can take up to 6 depending on the area. These wouldn't be done until an offer was made and accepted which if I had read it right was Monday. Im not doubting the op but 5 days? I would have really struggled to get conveyancing done in that timescale and I worked at an authority so could do searches myself.

I was under the impression this had all been done previously by the OPs solicitor during her initial problems with LL/tenants. It's what led her to the neighbour as her solicitor found out they owned the land and not LL. So all that information existed already.

Fair enough if they were recent, I coudnt see how this could be pulled off otherwise. Unless of course you pay extra for personal searches which wouldnt really have made sense in this type of transaction.

Hi - yes all the searches were done by my solicitor before I was offered the land - it has been done quickly but then I have not waited to look at planning permission for the garden or the extension to the house as we decided neither was that important just owning the land was.

I too was very surprised at how fast everyone moved TBH I think my Solicitor was so pissed off with the LL that he pushed things through.

Anyway have a meeting on Monday so if something is amiss I will know

But seaches were already done when the issues with neighbour parking on OP property, all that needed to be done this time was the transfer of deeds and funds.

Hurrah!

congrats!!!! geroff moi land!!!!

So pleased for you OP.

buy xx

Buy it!
But the tenants are quite reasonable in being aggrieved if they rented a flat they were told had parking only to have you tell them they can't park there, so maybe offer to rent them parking spaces on an individual basis until their tenancy is up?

I know this is nosey but I'd really like to see a floorplan of the whole thing as my mental geometric skills just aren't up to imagining it & I'd like to see it all drawn out

Sorry Mrsdavidcaruso I know it's rude

BTW you can insure against the searches if there isn't time

so glad you've bought it

Yay! Good news. Really hope they don't give you grief - they should save that for their landlord

Katymac - OK I can do that but I am a person of small brain so I am going to have to find out how I attach it to MN watch this space

The tenants should not be cross with you, they should be cross with their landlord. Tell them to ask for a refund on their parking rent, as it wasn't his land to rent in the first place.

^^yes, and this could be relayed with PigletJohn's anonymous 'direct all enquiries to XY solicitors" message.

It's today's meeting to discuss what to do, and when?

so I am going to have to find out how I attach it to MN watch this space

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maybe offer to rent them parking spaces on an individual basis until their tenancy is up?

Nice idea to be co-operative, but it delays being able to alter the garden for who knows how long?

Agree the tenants are disadvantaged, but no more so than if the previous owner of the land had enforced a "no parking" request on them. The issue is with their landlord, who misrepresented what they were getting, and put bluntly, lied to them, and had the cheek to charge a fee for rental of land he had no right to.

Given the way the OP was treated by a couple of tenants, when she had the temerity to request use of her own parking spot in front of her ownhouse, it seems better to make very clear that ownership of the land has changed, the landlord was not within his rights to ever offer parking for tenants when he knew his purchase did not include the land, and any discussion can be had with the landlord.

(I don't think it worth directing anyone to the OP's solicitor, as some charge a fee for each e-mail and letter they send or receive - why should OP pay for any contact with the landlord's tenants?)

OOHHH I was so tempted to tell one of the tenants just now. is 1/4 to eight I have been as sick as a dog this morning and my 3yo DS is kicking off big time .

Its bin day and they come at 7.30 in the morning we have to wheel our bin to the front of the the area.

OH usually wheels it there at 6 when he leaves for work and I wheel it back at about 9am.

Today it seems that the bin men have not put it back where they normally do but left it bang in the middle of the drive out and its blocking
the tenants car, instead of just moving it out of the way she has BANGED on my door telling me to shift it NOW.

She actually expects me to leave my crying DS in the house ALONE whilst I go out and shift the fucking bin OK it will only take about 3 minutes but it can only take 3 mins for a child to have an accident and I aint doing it and told her so.

I am so looking forward to telling her that she wont be parking her car there for much longer.

BTW I could not take him with me it's cold, he is crying and he is only in his jammies (in case anyone thought I was being UR about shifting the bin )