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

[dawntigga]

If you don't buy the land someone else will and you lose all rights to decide what happens with it. Always buy the land.

Wouldn'tEvenBeAnIssueTiggaxx

[TravellingToad]

I'd buy it

[caramelwaffle]

Buy it.

I remember you writing about this a short while ago and I thought you were treated badly.

If it were me, I would make buying it a priority.

[Onesleeptillwembley]

Buy it.

[evilkitten]

Does the large house also have an easement over this land?

[janey68]

Buy it. It's not your problem that the LL had misled her tenants. And anyway, tenants move on so as time goes by it will cease to be a problem.... New tenants will understand that they are renting a properly without parking

[uptheanty]

FFS BUY IT.

And QUICKLY.

From what you've said if the owners of the big house but it they will not behave honourably is past behaviour is anything to go buy.

[WhereDoAllTheCalculatorsGo]

I would buy it too. Perhaps you could lease the parking spaces to the tenants in the future instead of the chancer landlord renting out land he doesn't own?

[BaaHumbug]

Buy it. If you don't want aggro with the current tenants then send a solicitor's letter to the landlord, copied to the current tenants, stating that they will be allow to continue to use the parking so long as they don't cause distress or disruption to you while doing so, but that new tenants will not be allowed to use it.

That way you will have all the control and if the landlord wants to let his flats with parking in the future he will have to keep you sweet.

[Halfrek]

Buy it and make a lovely garden with a gated driveway for your cars.

[LessMissAbs]

Buy it quickly and quietly - secure your own property's access at all costs. If you don't, your house could end up worthless and unsalable.

Tenants move on, secure the land when you get a chance with high metal fencing if necessary and report any harassment to the police.

Are they commercial tenants? Do they require to have a license from the local authority for any activity they are carrying out?

You could end up with a very valuable property investment!

[Blu]

I would buy it.

It isn't your job to look out for the facilities of a neighbouring property or to compensate for their lack of parking, or whatever!

[Blu]

And I agree - if the LL next door buys it and you end up living in what is effectively an island in the middle of someone else's parking, the value of your property could go down.

[MrsCampbellBlack]

Buy it, the tenants will change at some point.

Did you post about this at the time because I seem to recall a very similar thread and one of the reasons the tenants were so awful was because they'd been misinformed by their LL so thought they were entitled to the parking space.

[BakeOff]

I'd buy it, if or no other reason than to prevent the LL buyig it and causing access problems for you.

But I'm also wondering where the tenants will park. You've said there's no parking in the road so they'll have to park in the next street. It's not their fault their LL has illegally rented them a parking space and it could be that they can't move at the moment - I'd be furious in their situation.

A large garden and extra parking is great but if you've got horrid neighbours who insist on parking across your driveway then I'm not sure if it'd be worth it.

I'd buy it and then talk to the LL about renting the spaces to him to rent to his tenants. You don't want to have to be collecting rent from all those tenants every month.

[eurochick]

Buy it, mainly to prevent LL from buying it and potentially making your access difficult.

[cece]

BUY IT NOW

[RandomMess]

Buy it, may well encourage the tenants to move on!!! Would be a nightmare if they made it difficult to access your land.

[BigWellyLittleWelly]

Buy it. Without question.

[littlewhitebag]

BUY it. The LL is making money out of land he doesn't even own and tried to rent out your land. I don't think he would have any qualms about buying it and making things massively inconvenient for you. You need to safeguard you and your family.

[Mrsdavidcaruso]

evil kitten no they have no right of way over the land at all according to both my solicitor and the freeholder of the house next door but I will get that in writing if I buy. The only thing I am worried about is that they may need access in the event of a fire, but their fire escapes lead to the side of the large house with no direct access at all to the land (there is a fence between the house and land) again my solicitor has said it would all be confirmed if I buy.

I would have no intention of leasing the parking spaces to the tenants I would want it for my own car and my husbands and to extend the garden in the front so I can use the bit of garden at the back of my property to put in a garden room (planning permitting)

I do feel sorry for the tenants but a couple really gave me a hard time over the parking before which is why I had to get bollards.

The LL is a dick

[Atomiksnowflake]

Buy it now.
I remember your other thread,and was really horrified of all the abuse you had.

[lilyaldrin]

I'd buy it immediately and fence it off. Have your solicitor send a letter to the tenants telling them you own the land, their LL has been using it without authorisation and it is his problem not yours.

[Onetwothreeoops]

I would buy it just to prevent the landlord from buying it even without all the other benefits you've mentioned. He does come across from what you've said as someone who would make life difficult for you. He obviously has different moral values to most people if he is willing to rent land he doesn't own to his tenants as parking spaces.

[Miranda79]

Buy it as quickly as you can.
Maybe as a compromise, offer to lease some or all of the parking spaces back to the landlord for 6 months. That gives all the tenants reasonable notic that they will either be parking further away or moving! I'd inform the tenants and the landlord in writing, in case the LL doesn't.