So Upset Over Property Dispute

[kurotora]

I’m posting because I’m feeling pretty overwhelmed and could really do with some perspective from people who might have been through something similar.

We own a leasehold flat in a block. When we bought it from the developer years ago, the lease included a storage cupboard on the same floor. We’ve used it ever since, and since 2021 when the flat has been rented out, our tenants have used it too. No one has ever questioned this, and it’s just been treated as part of the flat.

Recently, another owner in the building (who live in India and have been renting their flat, but apparently now want to use it themselves) are now saying that this same storage cupboard actually belongs to them. They accuse us of taking their belongings from inside when we were given it as an empty unit when we bought from the developer in 2014! From what we can tell, it looks like there may have been a developer error years ago where the same cupboard was allocated twice on paper.

What’s really upset me is that they went ahead and changed the locks on the cupboard while our tenants’ belongings were inside. We requested the keys be turned over to our tenant until such time as this could be resolved since we both have paperwork stating we own it. Now we have been sent a very aggressive “letter before action” accusing us of unlawful use going back years and demanding a very large sum of money. They’ve copied in managing agents, the developer and even a law firm, which feels incredibly intimidating and stressful…especially just before Christmas.

We’re not trying to hang on to something that isn’t ours if the paperwork genuinely shows that, but we honestly believed we were entitled to use it and have never acted in bad faith. We didn’t sneak into anything, take anything, or knowingly use something that wasn’t ours. It was just something that came with the flat when we bought it and was on our lease.

The estate agent we have used to manage the flat agrees both our paperwork contradicts each other but have said we need to sort this out ourselves now.

I’m finding this really stressful because we don’t have spare money for legal battles, the tone of the emails has been frightening, and I feel like we’re being blamed for a mistake we didn’t make. I’m so anxious I’m shaking.

Has anyone been through anything similar with storage cupboards or other developer mistakes in blocks of flats? How did it actually end in real life? Did it really escalate into expensive court action, or was it eventually resolved more sensibly?

I’d really appreciate any reassurance or experiences. Please be kind, I’m having a bit of a wobble.

You need to get a copy of the lease for your flat and the other flat (both can be obtained from the Land Registry website for a small fee) as well as a copy of the title plans for both properties. Two things could have happened. Either the landlord included the cupboard in both leases by mistake or there may have been an error when the leases were registered. Start by looking at the leases and comparing the plans in them and then compare them to the title plans. Then if necessary, seek independent legal advice.

Perhaps it’s purposefully on more than one lease because you ads all supposed to have access. We have a path on our deeds but everyone is allowed to walk on it. We can’t lock it up for our own use only.

Do you know anything about the other owner? Are they likely to have lots of money to fight this all the way, or is it just a threat? Either way, I think you will need legal advice which will cost unfortunately. Otherwise when you eventually come to sell in future, potential buyers will be put off by the dispute and lack of clarity over who owns the storage cupboard, especially if it's mentioned on the lease. It needs taking off your lease or theirs. Is it communal, as I've heard of some blocks having shared access to storage cupboards and that sounds the most reasonable solution.

We have a copy of both title deeds - theirs is less ambiguous than ours but both have it mentioned. Then we have a copy of our lease where it’s explicitly indicated as part of our lease. The other party hasn’t shown their lease to us, but our estate agent says it’s on theirs too.

The cupboards aren’t communal, they’re locked personal use cupboards.

The developer say that ours should have had it removed but we didn’t have that information. DH even showed the title deeds and lease to the estate office before we started using the cupboard and they confirmed it was the right one.

The problem isn’t so much ownership - we’re happy to let that be sorted out by the correct paperwork being checked, though we do need to insist our tenants have access to their things in the meantime until it’s resolved.

Its that they are now demanding £12k compensation for us using the cupboard!

These owners have never lived in the block, but have rented out the property till now. We lived there since the start, they bought around the same time. I’d assume if they are Indian and buying UK property to rent that they’re of better means than we are.

Get a copy of their lease and then seek legal advice.

@kurotora I'm not a lawyer but common sense says that using something shown on your title deeds and lease can't be unlawful use! I'm guessing the Letter before action is intended as a frightener to get you to back off and the next thing will be to waive the £12k (that you can't owe as above) if you just hand over the ownership.
Surely Legal ownership is actually with the first completion showing it on their deeds? And the error would be the later one?
Do you have legal cover on your home insurance? They will help if so.

Letter before action is to scare you
Anyone can write one for anything pretty much.

Is it a big room like an airing / laundry room or is it a cupboard???

My mum has this...she actually has joint use and the storage room was meant for people to dry laundry....

You should ask MNHQ to move your post to legal where several solicitors watch the threads. Just hit the 3 dots and report it.

Stop panicking, you acted in good faith believing that the cupboard was for your use as it is in your legal paperwork. They can demand £12k and they certainly won't get it.

Get advice on here but you might also need a solicitor as they are preventing your tenants from accessing their belongings which is disgusting behaviour.

If it’s on both of your leases and a developer error
you Trump the neighbour because
You have Adverse possession since you’ve been using it since 2014

If they get a solicitor to send a letter before action, the Solicitor may well have breached their code of conduct.

I would suggest in the meanwhile either demand that they allow your tenants to retrieve their property or get the Police involved to allow them to recover it.

They sound like chancers/scammers. They need to provide their copy of the deeds proving their right to use/ownership of the cupboard. I would seek legal advice and take counter action against the developers if you have written admission that they failed to submit the correct paperwork and as a result you have been under the impression you had use of the storage for over the past decade. I don't believe they can just change the locks and deny your tenants access to their possessions.

The solicitor did not send the letter, it was written by the other party themselves. But they copied a solicitor in on the email they had sent to us so I assume they have legal advice? It’s a very aggressive letter and to be fair I was fairly firm in my communication that our tenant had to be allowed keys to access their things until the ownership issue was clarified. But we never said we were fighting to keep the cupboard. Just trying to do our “landlord duty” of keeping our tenants belongings secure.

If you both have it on your leases then surely you both own it. So you need to get your tenants stuff out of it and then work out what to do. I think it’s best that one of you sells to the other in these circumstances.

Evening, @kurotora , we've moved your thread over to Legal Matters now, as requested. Hope you get it all sorted.

Are yo sure you dont have any legal cover anywhere?

An obvious starting point might be your landlord insurance

I might also ask them to send a copy of their lease on a 'put up or shut up' basis

I’m going to have to search for what would cover this. I know I took out Landlord cover through the estate agents who manage the flat. We took their max package because we are accidental landlords!

The estate agents and developer have apparently seen this - we haven’t - and can confirm that both leases include the cupboard. We are happy to relinquish if legally correct but I do want to see the paperwork before handing over (I asked the developer for this on Thursday and haven’t had it yet). The problem is now this demand for £12k regardless!

Definitely explore whether you have access to any legal advice, on your landlord insurance, via your employer, on your home insurance, via NRLA.

I understand that a party who aggressively proceeds to a court action without trying to settle in the English civil courts will not have a good time and may be penalised for not attempting to resolve matters amicably- so do not be rattled by bully boy tactics. To claim money they would have to show loss, £12k is a bit rich for a cupboard, especially one they weren't using...so that's unlikely to succeed.

I recommend that you respond, offering them a conversation. Send them all your documentation and request that you meet or have a call to discuss how to move forward. In the interim, ask for them to allow your tenants access immediately to get their property, tell them that if they are depriving your tenants of their property and do not intend to return it, you understand that this is theft and you will take advice on how to proceed with the police.

I would also pick this up with your original conveyancer and the developer, the original mistake lies somewhere between them and I would push them both to assist you.

It seems to me that the vendor/developer/conveyancers are clearly on the hook and it would be worth getting their involvement OR if they dont play dragging them into it as they have sold the storage cupboard twice

Also of course the plaintiffs cant get their £12K until they have been to court and I suggest wont do it if they have any sense.

I would want compensation from the developer as you paid for the property plus storage

If they’ve sold the same thing to two different people they are mis selling

i have looked into it and found we have £100k legal cover on our landlord’s insurance. I’m relieved at that.

Have a full day of work today with a client and will have zero time to deal with any of this though. My stress levels are through the roof.

Use your legal cover to get advice. I’d be involving the developer - the value of your property included use if the storage cupboard. If they’re cock up means you don’t actually own this space then they should be on the hook for the diminution in value.

Look at the date the leases for both flats were completed. Whichever was completed first owns the cupboard. Whichever completed second no longer owns the cupboard because the developer had already granted a lease of it.