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

[Housemove25]

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?

Hahaha poor you stuck next to.. people living their lives?

If you share fencing or a building (e.g. semi-detatched) with a social housing provider then yes I think you should have been advised. This is because it could affect repairs and maintenance. I expect this is why mortgage providers and insurance companies ask.

Next time, speak to neighbours and get a feel of the area, we did this on our last house purchase and withdrew from one particular property, several said the local park was increasingly being used for anti social behaviours but i would not expect a Solicitor to find this out, they are there for the legal aspects of the purchase.

However, look at it this way, you could move to a nice posh area, your neighbour sells to a BTL landlord who moves in a badly behaved and noisy family

There are not guarantees.

Plus if this family actually are idiots, as opposed to unsubstantiated gossip, the HA may well move them on if the complaints continue.

The survey I had done told me it was in an mixed area of private and social housing but I don't think the solicitor mentioned it.

To be honest you can move into an area with lovely neighbours that can change overnight when one decides to sell up etc. The worst neighbours I ever had owned their house, they were dreadful

Your husband sounds very stupid and aggressive.

It isn't your solicitor's job to help you decide if you want to move to the area or not.

The vendor is obliged to declare any disputes with neighbours as part of the conveyancing process. It doesn't sound like there is any evidence that your vendor did have an issue though.

Social housing is everywhere, including a lot of period properties where you would have no idea from their external appearance. Almost all new build estates have a proportion of social housing.

No, don't be so ridiculous. By the sound of it your husband may be a problem neighbour.

Please let your husband visit the solicitor and then let us know how much they laughed at him.

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

How are you expecting a solicitor to check?

You say you don't want a discussion about social housing. But you're making assumptions about those people and you're expecting a solicitor to anticipate and reflect those assumptions on your behalf. How far are you expecting the solicitor to anticipate your prejudices? Should he alert you to the fact that the neighbours three doors down have a foreign sounding name just in case you're a bit racist?

What other kind of neighbours do you think your solicitor should have warned you about?

Did you look on the crime map before buying ?

Although this doesn't narrow down the crime to individual houses, it can help identify problem areas.

I live in an area which has a lot of private housing and some islands/streets within it of social housing.

One particular cul de sac alone is responsible for about 30% of the crime reports in the local area and seems to generate them on a monthly basis. I suspect this is due to one or two dysfunctional people/families living in this area.

Our last house was on a road which was 50/50 social housing/owner occupier.

Zero issues.

Wouldn't even think to check this if I ever moved again.

No, it is your job to check out the area.

This was our only issue in 13 years.

There was a 4'6" fence which blew over.

When the HA replaced it, it was a 2m high fence as this was the newer standard. Both tenant next door and I were gutted as it made both gardens feel smaller and we had occasionally had a chat over the old fence. Even though it was "her" fence, she had no choice in the replacement.

I think I'd be more concerned about living with him than near social housing.

Not being funny but you can usually tell a fucking mile away the social housing in new developments. Identical construction, different brick/render, solar panels and so on. Clustered together again.

They were integrating much more twenty years ago when I lived in a new town but homebuyers didn't like it.

You can do your own checks on the website streetcheck.co.uk there is a housing tab which tells you the proportion of home owners, private rentals and social housing.

Mumsnet may tell you that you are being a snob for thinking this is important, but many out there have the same priorities as you. It’s also why many people don’t like the new build estates.

We live in a new build private small estate, which has a mix of privately owned and social housing. I’m sure the majority of residents are happy to get on with one another, whether they rent or have bought, but it is the case that the social housing tenants are less likely to maintain their houses and gardens. That isn’t a question of them being ‘dregs of society’ or any other emotive terms; it’s a statement of fact that all the owner occupied properties are well maintained and some of the housing association ones aren’t.

It probably isn’t a priority for them to weed their gardens and cut the grass, but it is a shame that they appear to care less about the property they live in.

Pedophiles in the area - ok
social housing tenants - NOT ok

And yet another social housing bashing thread.

Mine did when I bought my current property, even told me who the housing association is that manages the social housing.

It should not be an obligation though.

How odd. On my social housing estate, we're all very keen on keeping our gardens well maintained. I can't mow my lawn because I'm disabled, so my lovely neighbour does our front lawn when he does his, weekly. If anyone sees rubbish blowing round, it's picked up by whoever spots it first. We fix stray recycling bins, there's a young boy who washes cars for £2 and it's all very wholesome.

As a teacher, it's mostly the council house kids who come in clean, smelling lovely of laundry detergent, neat hair, etc. The children of wealthier parents are quite often scruffier with creased clothes and unbrushed hair, and the same jumper all week. Of course, that's a generalisation and isn't always the case, but the council house parents do seem more concerned that their children are presented well.

You can have difficult neighbours whether they are in bought, private rented or social housing.

The fact that these neighbours are in social housing is completely irrelevant

The only way your solicitor would be in the wrong if there was a dispute that you should have been told about but again that would be nothing to do with social housing

What would you like them to do? Fly a flag, ring a bell shouting unclean. Most new housing estates have to build a percentage as social housing I believe and it isn't a solicitors job it's not like a mining search

Your husband is an idiot who thinks he knows it all and actually knows nothing