Found out vendors complained to council about neighbours - anything I can do?

[flugelhorn81]

Hi all
We have a suspected illegal HMO next door and the occupants can cause a bit of noise and nuisance. I informally heard from the neighbours that our previous vendors called the council several times to complain about this. Should they have declared this when we bought? Can I find out if they made an official complaint? And if so, what should I do?
Thanks.

[flugelhorn81]

Thanks for this. I've submitted a notification to the council about the HMO - this is on the basis of health and safety, but also because rubbish is piling up which is starting to affect us. I have realised I will probably have to declare this when we come to sell, so I want to find out whether our vendors should also have done so. All I know is that they called the council several times about these neighbours.

[ComtesseDeSpair]

I suspect the council wouldn’t provide information about who had made complaints and what about on the grounds of data protection - but you can always enquire. They would, I believe, be obliged to provide information to solicitors if it turned into a legal request or you were wanting to take legal action.

If it’s an illegal HMO then it might be a more productive route to pursue this with the council, particularly if it’s illegal on the grounds of anything which might represent health and safety issues.

[flugelhorn81]

Thanks, I've emailed for advice but they can be slow to respond. I suppose I'd also need to find out what the nature of the complaints was? Are the council likely to disclose this?

[ComtesseDeSpair]

Sellers have to declare neighbour disputes. It’s a slightly grey area and what constitutes a dispute is open to interpretation - two or three calls over a several year period about low-level noise nuisance probably wouldn’t count as a dispute whereas regular and frequent complaints over multiple nuisances probably would. Best return to your conveyancing solicitor and ask their advice and what action they recommend, if any.

[flugelhorn81]

Sorry should add we bought the house in December, so very recent.