Neighbour lied they owned the house

[Fluffywalrus]

I need to share this somewhere because my partner keeps saying there could be some other explanation.. but I'm just flabbergasted!

I bought and moved into my home more than THREE YEARS ago. Because of the structure of the properties there's one neighbour whose home is very entwined with mine and whose property shares a lot of structural things with mine.

I made a point to knock on their door a few days after moving in to introduce myself and I remember we had a long chat and I came away with the understanding that she had bought that property several years before. I can't remember the exact words used but I remember being pleasantly surprised because I'd assumed it would be rented rather than the owner living there, which made things much simpler.

Since then we've had countless long friendly chats about work, partners, pets, holidays etc. and probably see her and exchange pleasantries a few times a week in the street. We also got to know her partner who moved in later.

A few days ago we bumped into her partner out and about and he told us they had moved out and bought somewhere. I was surprised that she wouldn't have said goodbye or mention they were leaving. We'd had various chats about plans for the summer and this was never mentioned. But most shockingly, when I asked about their plans for the property he said they just rent it and the lease was coming to an end. She didn't actually own it at all !!

Over the years I've consulted with her on various things I've done to the property renovation-wise, which might impact her and asked various questions regarding the property (due to her living there longer) and most recently got permission for some work that is due to happen in a few weeks. I'm at a complete loss of what to do now. At no point did she say anything to suggest she wasn't the owner e.g. 'I don't know as I'm just renting. I'll have to check with my landlord / the owner.' etc.

My partner thinks I must have just assumed wrongly. But surely even if she hadn't lied and it was a misunderstanding at some point in all these discussions she would have pointed out she didn't own this place?!

AIBU to think they're been misleading?

I think you should just go ahead with the scaffolding and if the actual owner gets in touch say that you had your neighbour’s permission and she told you she was the owner!

If it’s going to affect their property they probably won’t object to it being fixed.

Perhaps don't bother commenting if you can't be bothered to read the full thread or at least OP's posts.

And actually... do you understand leasehold at all? As that's not how it works. You don't buy a house and let the lease expire... that would be ridiculous!

If it was rented and the owner lived miles away, it's quite likely that a local agent could be dealing with the property on behalf of the landlord. Could it be back up for rent - is it on Rightmove? In which case you can get in touch that way.

I'd explain the remedial work is urgent and to prevent further problems that could in turn affect their property @Fluffywalrus ie refuse at your peril!

This sounds very similar to this situation! Imagine if you had knocked the chimney down!?

The stuff we have already done is similar to the fence and trellis work you did. Possible to undo but I'd rather not have the hassle and the cost of undoing it when I thought I had checked with the owner!

I think these situations (and some of the extreme reactions on this thread!) suggest when people think of a long-term rental as their home they really do want to be the decision makers and not have to refer to some anonymous landlord who isn't anywhere near as emotionally invested. But sadly they ultimately aren't the owners and that's legally how it works.

Thank you to everyone who shared sympathy and practical advice on dealing with this situation quickly.

I don't really appreciate the loads of people who seemed to massively project onto this post with: What's it to you?! It's none of your business. She was forced to lie to you for 3 years even if it cost you money because you'd blank her on the street if you knew she was renting...

I've rented all my life until I saved up enough to buy this place. I knew it was a street where pretty much everyone rented as I knew the area and my place was rented out before I bought it.

When I first met the neighbour she actually said SHE was glad I had bought it to live in as she was sick of people renting it and making loads of noise all the time!

I don't have a lot of money and I've had to take out a £20k loan to pay for this unexpected work that's supposed to start next week (wasn't picked up on the L3 survey but that's a whole other story 😑). It's been unbelievably stressful and will have an impact on me for years financially. It's also getting worse and more expensive the longer it has to wait.

To find out the WEEK before the work - and only by chance! - that the owner likely knows none of this and may have his own plans now that the tenants have left that will directly interfere with this work completely floored me.

And now on top of that, there's the risk the owner will want me to pay to undo some of the other works that were done in our shared yard that she agreed to. Which I literally will not be able to afford to do.

I still don't agree that it's not a big deal and I don't think I'm the problem here.

You can get the Owner's details online from the Land Registry for £3.

The property next door may have been owned by a family member, My dsis rented a property cheaply from dm for years and would often call herself a property owner.

this is exactly it. I live in a highly expensive ‘estate’ where there are two small council blocks (8 flats in each). We’re not the stereotype of ‘council tenants’ as our rent is over £1k and we had to be confirmed to be working to move here - not that it matters. Well the people who own their homes treat us renters as if we are beneath them, as if we don’t matter - they tell their visitors to park in our allocated parking spaces and everything. Now - if we owned our homes, we would be treated like the rest of them.

This is so common, where people who own their homes think they’re so much better and in a different league to people who rent their homes. So I’m really not surprised why they lied - I’m surprised it even came up in conversation anyway. Like was OP trying to weed them out and asking if they’re renter scum or if they own their home so she can base an option on them whether she can ‘befriend’ them or not. People can work hard and be your average human being and not be able to buy their own home - it doesn’t make them any less

No... absolutely none of this applies. did you read any of my updates?

Move along, thanks. Bored of these replies now.

@Fluffywalrus over invested in this thread but I'm fascinated by it because I don't think I've ever come across one here (and I've been on this site TOO LONG) where so many posters have just failed to grasp the point of a thread.

Yes absolutely correct but I meant that OP would not be given those details by any letting agent she telephoned.

I feel for you, OP, as her lack of transparency will materially affect you. I expect she wasn’t trying to deliberately deceive you, but maybe she felt it would do no harm to vaguely imply (without perhaps saying outright) that she was the owner because she’s experienced some discrimination as a renter in the past. Then when you started asking for permissions that only a homeowner can legally sign off on, she went along with it to save face. It’s a shame because now that impacts your plans, and you also have spent money doing things that might need to be undone.

I hope you are able to get in touch with the landlord and set things right!

I wouldn't advertise I rented, either. Not because I'm ashamed of it, because it's literally no one else's business. Honestly the amount of prying into others peoples lives by neighbours is insane.

It would be fair enough if there was a genuine issue over the years where you needed the input of the home owner because it will impact both properties, I do get that, but then the amount of contact you've had about this, according to your posts, and needing her input on, is over the top and not normal, in my experience. You'd be doing my head in as a home owner or a tenant tbh.

I can absolutely see why she hasn't told you.

There is a ‘genuine issue’ that affects both our properties 🤷🏻‍♀️

Your response doesn’t even make any sense because if she’d told me she didn’t own it then she wouldn’t have had to deal with me regarding the structural issues / renovations.

Well, it did. Most people who own a lease-hold would say they are owner-occupiers. Also neighbour's new BF may not know the whole story.

Not if the lease had run out.

Who on earth would buy a leasehold property and let the lease run out? You'd struggle to get a mortgage on 1 if there were less than 80 years on it for a start. How old is this woman OP 😂

Is this party wall and planning permission stuff? No idea what you'd do if the owner doesn't agree. Can't believe someone would let you think that when it comes to legal stuff.

No idea who rents and who owns in my road because it's none of my business.

😂 you really are sticking to this story.

I think it’s much more likely someone misspoke and said lease instead of rental agreement.

You can buy a property that has a lease on it, definitely. But you wouldn't just let the lease run out, the property might be hard to resell. Leases often get renewed when the remaining length is down to 25 years I believe, but I have never owned a property with a lease so I am not totally sure, although my boss has a few in his portfolio.

I think the term "lease" is often used incorrectly when actually "tenancy agreement" is what is meant when someone rents a property.

Property doesn’t have a lease. Trust me!

DC was invited to a play date at his friends house. Gorgeous area, beautiful house etc.. I commented at how lovely the location was, the quirkiness of the house etc and complimenting her on it. She said thank you each time.

A few weeks later I found out she rented it and I thought it was a bit odd to not say oh we rent it. Makes no odds to me either way but it felt a bit off and not something I would do.

Fair enough.

it’s just a very friendly street and people chat. Sooner or later in those chats people often complain to you about their landlord etc. And lots of people just voluntarily offered the information that they were renting when I first met them, even though I hadn’t asked.

Why is that odd?! She still lives there, it’s still her home that she chose to live in and pays a lot of money to live in?!

That would only be odd, if she didn’t actually live there and was the nanny or something.