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Original poster

Should our Solicitors have identified social housing as part of moving checks

93 replies

Housemove25 · 08/05/2025 10:41

We’ve recently moved but our excitement has been dampened by one of our new neighbours ‘warning’ us of a family in a nearby house who are causing an ongoing nuisance for other residents.

If we had known we’d be in such close proximity to social housing then we wouldn’t have moved to this house.

I’m not interested in a debate about social housing but DH believes our Solicitors should have identified this and informed us accordingly - so he thinks we have cause to complain.

Has anyone had a similar situation or knowledge of if our Solicitors dropped the ball here?

OP posts:
LadyDanburysHat · 08/05/2025 10:42

No, that is up to you to check. Why on earth would a solicitor flag that.

yeesh · 08/05/2025 10:43

All new build estates have some amount of social housing, it’s been like that for many years. Also why are you worrying about something that hasn’t even affected you?

NeverHadHaveHas · 08/05/2025 10:44

No, they wouldn’t check that. It wouldn’t be revealed by the standard property searches.

Octavia64 · 08/05/2025 10:44

No. Solicitors do not check for social housing nor are they expected to.

if you care about such things you need to check yourselves.

KoiTetra · 08/05/2025 10:45

Housemove25 · 08/05/2025 10:41

We’ve recently moved but our excitement has been dampened by one of our new neighbours ‘warning’ us of a family in a nearby house who are causing an ongoing nuisance for other residents.

If we had known we’d be in such close proximity to social housing then we wouldn’t have moved to this house.

I’m not interested in a debate about social housing but DH believes our Solicitors should have identified this and informed us accordingly - so he thinks we have cause to complain.

Has anyone had a similar situation or knowledge of if our Solicitors dropped the ball here?

In short no, that is not something solicitors do as part of a standard conveyancing process.

BleachedJumper · 08/05/2025 10:46

No, not the solicitors remit.

The only possible issue could be if your sellers had formal grievances with the neighbour and chose not to disclose at the point of sale.

Most homeowners now though will actively avoid engaging in reporting because they don’t want to jeopardise a future sale.

ZippyPeer · 08/05/2025 10:46

'Dh believes '

Does he often 'believe' stuff that turns out to be obviously wrong?

Poppyyoutwat · 08/05/2025 10:48

You should have checked yourself really, it’s quite easy to find out.

And I do feel for you. We bought a house 20 years ago, a couple of years old on a new build estate and didn’t realise it was opposite the social housing section. I always get slammed for saying it, and yes, not all people in social housing are awful, but these were.

We even had a visit from the police asking if plain clothed officers could come and spend a night in our upstairs bedroom as it overlooked them, I don’t know what the case was obviously, but they were absolute trouble.

MeetMyCat · 08/05/2025 10:48

When we last moved, the mortgage application asked if there was social housing within 500 metres (or something like that, can't remember exact distance). So its not a new question

BlondiePortz · 08/05/2025 10:49

That is not their job why would it be?

Original poster
Housemove25 · 08/05/2025 10:49

How would we check? Knock on everyone’s doors?

DH is furious and I had to stop him from marching down the Solicitors myself when he found out!

OP posts:
gamerchick · 08/05/2025 10:51

It's not up to your solicitors. It's up to you OP. It's often suggested on here to knock on new neighbours for local info and drive round there at night before buying a house. You should have checked the area first

BigFatLiar · 08/05/2025 10:51

Only if you asked them to check. Bad neighbours are not limited to social housing though.

BarneyRonson · 08/05/2025 10:52

I’m sorry this has happened to you, having bad neighbours is dire and paying a lot of money to live near them must be immensely galling.

Sunshineandblueskysalltheway · 08/05/2025 10:53

'I’m not interested in a debate about social housing'

Don't start one then. Idiot.

EllasNonny · 08/05/2025 10:53

He can march all he wants. All new build estates here hand a percentage over to social housing.

mummymeister · 08/05/2025 10:54

If this was an important consideration in your house purchase, then its your responsibility to tell your solicitor that you want him/her/them to specifically ask this question on the sellers information questionnaire. Its not their responsibility to second guess what is key with your purchase. we had some specialist questions that we wanted asked, we knew that the answers to them could make or break the deal so our solicitor added these on to the usual questions and asked for direct and specific information in relation to them. I am afraid this is down to you not issuing your solicitor with clear instructions.

Ffsreally24 · 08/05/2025 10:54

Having been in this situation myself I’m flipping it on its head for you. If the neighbours do start causing problems for you then you have recourse through their Housing Association/Council. We reached out and they asked us to keep a log of the issues, which we did. They then gave their tenants a final warning that they would be evicted if they carried on and they stopped.

Unfortunately, fast forward 20 years and I have another difficult neighbour but they own their home, so it’s a lot more difficult to resolve.

Final advice is to ignore your other neighbours until you have an actual issue. It could just be snobbery on their part.

EmeraldRoulette · 08/05/2025 10:54

Why is he furious? It's not on the list of anything anyone needs to know. If you wanted to know you should've asked yourself.

In my current home on a new development, I live opposite social housing.

In my previous home, I lived opposite social housing.

Guess what? We are all normal people and wave hi to each other on the way in and out.

you mention a family causing a nuisance. Guess what? Some families cause a nuisance. The type of housing they are in has nothing to do with it.

Nottodaty · 08/05/2025 10:55

We live in a mixed estate - I wouldn’t know who lives in social housing and who doesn’t, it’s also none of my business! I’ve lived here 20 years and occasionally yes there has been a police car or a possible issue but again whose house etc wouldn’t have a clue!

My Dad has had issues but it wasn’t from social housing!

ConflictofInterest · 08/05/2025 10:55

You can find out which houses in your areas are social housing/private rented/owned with and without a mortgage using the filters on the census data on the ONS website by the way.

heroinechic · 08/05/2025 10:56

We’re in the process of buying/selling and the property information form asks if any notices or correspondence have been received or sent (e.g from or to a neighbour, council or government department) or any negotiations or discussions taken place which affect the property or a property nearby.

If the sellers were aware of a neighbour dispute which falls within the above, they should have declared it. However, you’ll have trouble proving they knew about it, and I’m not even sure you’ll have much recourse if you could. Social housing nearby is not typically seen as a blight on a property.

witheringrowan · 08/05/2025 10:56

Housemove25 · 08/05/2025 10:49

How would we check? Knock on everyone’s doors?

DH is furious and I had to stop him from marching down the Solicitors myself when he found out!

How would the solicitors check? There is no central register that shows the tenure of individual properties, and it can change all the time as HAs buy and sell properties, or create arrangements for long term leases with private landlords.

Unless there was a formal dispute between these neighbours and the previous owners of the property that should have been declared during the buying process, this is not a legal matter. It's on you to check out the property and surrounds at different times to see if you are happy with the vibe and atmosphere.

ConflictofInterest · 08/05/2025 10:57

To add it's not house specific but it tells you the percentage for that street of each type which you view on a map in colour coding

TheOriginalEmu · 08/05/2025 10:57

lol
just
lol