when you sell a property do you need to declare disputes with neighbours?

[flamingnora]

V long & drawn out reasons why - but my council tenant neighbours have a serious mouce infestation which I have complained about to the council. Now am terrified I will never sell this flat as a result!

Yes, you do have to declare it. Can't remember what the document is called but there is a questionnaire which asks you for all kinds of information like which fixtures and fittings you are leaving and it asks specifically in that if you have any neighbour disputes. If you don't declare it and it subsequently comes out (as it inevitably will), the new owners can sue you. However, a mouse infestation should be fairly easily dealt with or are the neighbours ignoring it?

i dont understand it. I thought it was just if you had had any legal dealings?

I thought it was a dispute which necessitated police involvement.

I thought it was only if you had solicitors involved that you needed to declare it.

we had major problems with neighbours and the party wall act but avoided using solicitors because of this.

You have to tell them if they ask. I don't think this would be a dispute though, something like a boundary argument or antisocial behaviour but tell them if they ask to be on the safe side. It's not just legal dealings. You would want to know if you were buying a house next to the neighbours from hell who played def leopard at 3am right?

No, you have to fess up. The buyers' solicitors will send you a form which may be more or less detailed, depending how together the solicitors are. I don't think the form is standard.

But you have a certain degree of choice as to how you word your responses. In your case I would say something along the lines of "we have occasionally raised maintenance issues with the council who own the neighbouring property, and our concerns have always been dealt with promptly" or words to that effect.

I know this will sound dim, but how do you know they have a mouse infestation? Do you hear them on a night, seen them or have the neighbours said?
I can't imagine why anyone would want to live with mouse infestation?

Sorky, if you live in terraced or semi houses and your neighbours have a mouse infestation, you will have a problem too. It is deeply irritating to spend a fortune to get the rentokil man round on a regular basis only for the problem to keep recurring because there's one house in the terrace where people don't deal with the critters.

Oh I see, thanks.

OK, found the wording from the enquiry form when we moved three years ago:

During the last three years, has the Seller complained or had cause to complain about the state and condition, or the manner of use, of any adjoining or neighbouring property? If so, please give particulars.

Sounds pretty clear that you would have to mention the complaint to the Ccouncil about mice.

The form we had last year was different, though annh.

It said something about "do you have any disputes with your neighbours" or words to that effect.

If you phrase your answers carefully I think you can cover yourself without sending prospective buyers running to the hills.

Thanks all! Sorry, had to go and placate teething DD! Sorkycake - I know they have mouse infestation because, well over a year ago I got a nasty smell whenever I walked in my front door. I called the council back then & asked them to investigate & they confirmed the small was that of mice from the flat downstairs. The smell returned (& then some!) recently so I complained to the council along with complaints about how bloody noisy neighbours are. The very nice lady from environmental health today told me that she has had to remove a mouse nest from under their bath & that there's a serious amount of rodents down there because they have eaten a shed loads of poison. The smell now, throughout my whole flat is stomach churning in the extreme & is, apparently, going to get worse before it gets better. To add to my misery, I now have to spend money (I don't have) on sealing up every minute crack in my floor boards etc because it's likely that the work they are doing downstairs is going to encourage mice to come to our flat. I feel totally sick about this, not to mention completely enraged. I can't believe that by finally complaining to the council I may have ruined my chances of ever selling this bloody place (I have to be out of here by Feb next year as that's when my mortgage term makes it sensible to move and I can't stand it anymore!). What a nightmare - let's hope I can finesse this bloody form!