Our buyers saying we didn't disclose neighbours.

[ihateconfrontation]

So we sold our house and exchanged and completed a few weeks ago.
Moving as we had to move area for work.
On solicitors forms it asked if we had any neighbourhood disputes, we answered no, which was true.
We were one of the middle houses in a terrace. One side had 4 teenage boys and parents and the other side is a multi occupancy let.
Both properties had noise coming from them which was to be expected, multi occupancy house had people smoking outside and chatting in normal volume voices until maybe 10pm, other side the teenage boys bickered occasionally and slammed doors when in a strop.
Both houses played music, but never past 10pm and not loud, just at music listening volume!
I've got noisy pre schoolers, so guessed that we made noise of our own.
Anyway, our buyers ended up with my email address and we've been getting constant emails saying we should have disclosed the neighbours and how loud they were on solicitors forms.
They are threatening to sue us and say that the noise is at an unacceptable level and I should have told them.
I feel awful as they've spend half a million pounds on a property that they clearly aren't happy in, but we lived there happily for 6 years and classed it just as neighbour noise.
What can I do? Can they sue?

What is normal noise is completely subjective.
If you like quiet, you dont buy a terraced townhouse.
Ive lived next to pubs, musicians, bikers etc. Most of the time none of it bothers me, but it might drive some people mad. I wouldnt expect it to be my fault if someone found an area too noisy.
Disputes with neighbours doesnt mean a bit of noise. It means much more than that.

Reply and say that there was never a dispute. They didn't complain about your constant drumming and parties until 3am so you didn't complain about theirs.

Who is in during the viewings? We go out and the estate agent shows them around.

There is no case here at all, either legally or morally. The domestic abuse calls to the police were not complaints, and those people have moved out so not relevant anyway.

It is a terraced house, you can hear the people either side of you. That is normal and to be expected. Unless the noise was classed as a nuisance (either very loud, late at night, etc...) there is nothing to complain about.

Plus the noise could well have increased since the OP moved out due to lockdown.

Actually, the form also asks "Is the seller aware of anything which might lead to a dispute about the property or a property nearby? If Yes, please give details"

Noise is subjective but if there really is excessive noise and OP is aware for example that others have complained, then it ought to have been disclosed.

FlamingoAndJohn

Some go for over a million where I live. Totally MENTAL

Buyer has now emailed saying she's contacting the council and if there's record of me ever complaining re the noise then there will be a problem.

I would be amazed if the council gave her this info, even if there was anything to give. GDPR.

Solicitor here. Commercial Property admittedly but a bit of experience in Res Con.

You haven’t had a dispute, so your forms weren’t misleading. They should have checked it properly.

Caveat Emptor (or whatever the Latin phrase/spelling is for buyer beware!)

Do not engage.

Or if they were prudent they would have checked out the neighbours at a distance and then they should have asked their solicitor to raise an enquiry

Why not just change your email address?

Because it’s horribly inconvenient and she can just block

You didn’t have a neighbour dispute to disclose. Therefore you had nothing to report. As such, you are not in the wrong.

I read this thread and thank fuck I don’t have neighbours like the OP’s neighbours

I’m glad they’ve packed it in but let’s be honest one persons excessive loud noise is another’s reasonable noise level. How can they prove or disprove that that noise is louder or even quieter than when you lived there? I’m sure they’d be laughed at if they tried to take it any further.

Tough tittie on them. If they keep emailing you report them for harassment-to the police if needs be. They should never have contacted you directly, solicitors all the way. Enjoy your new home, i hope it brings you many years of happiness😊

Block them now. You don’t need to be helpful anymore. Otherwise you are just waiting to see what they do. Calling the cops on a fighting couple who moved away two years ago is not something you need to disclose. They moved it’s irrelevant. You had no fights with neighbours so you answered correctly. They can’t touch you.

Op, you priginally said in your first post : ‘Both properties had noise coming from them which was to be expected, multi occupancy house had people smoking outside and chatting in normal volume voices until maybe 10pm, other side the teenage boys bickered occasionally and slammed doors when in a strop.
Both houses played music, but never past 10pm and not loud, just at music listening volume!’
Even though you never complained about these neighbours, I think you have to agree, this isn’t ‘normal’ really, not if it’s regular. I think you know, deep down that you were moving from neighbours that were noisy and slightly anti-social. We sold our last property due mainly to neighbours from hell. We never reported them formally as we knew we’d have to declare it when we moved, which we planned and carried out. Sorry Op, but I think you have done the same.

And she should have said yes, because she REPORTED HER NEIGHBOUR TO THE POLICE.

Not only does that neighbour not live there any more, but it seems clear to me that OP wasn’t ringing the police to complain about noise, but to raise a concern about domestic violence.

Are we now to ignore any DV incidents happening around us just in case it might put someone off buying our house years into the future?

Economical with the truth is not declaring that you've recently received a letter before action from your neighbour about the boundary (yes, I'm looking at you lady-we-bought-our-current-house-from).

It is not about reporting DV concerns to the police for a neighbour who moved out years ago.

If you follow that kind of logic I should have declared the time I called the police because someone (turned out to be then-neighbour) was trying to break in; she was alcoholic, drunk that night and forgot she lived in the house next door. She died some years before we sold. It never once occurred to me to mention it on the forms.

They didn’t research the area and now find the noise levels too high. That’s really their problem, they should’ve snooped around the area more. My neighbor’s DIY-mad and I don’t like hearing his power tools ( we’re also in a terrace) but that’s part of dense urban living.

Sweet jaysus. Clearly some people just blurt any/everything unprompted in this situation

It's a tricky one. I don't think you've done anything wrong. Every house on our street is an HMO except mine and my two neighbours. It can be very noisy with parties and shouting at night. However between June and October they all move out as they are students and we have the whole street to ourselves. So there's benefits!

They didn’t research the area and now find the noise levels too high. That’s really their problem, they should’ve snooped around the area more. My neighbor’s DIY-mad and I don’t like hearing his power tools ( we’re also in a terrace) but that’s part of dense urban living.

I have only bought once and don’t have neighbours like OP’s former neighbours ( thank fuck for that).

However, how do you due due diligence to avoid sat the situation like the poster above regrets to?

(refers to)

@Aridane - the due diligence we did was to visit the street at different times of the day, weekends, weekdays etc. Looked around at the number and type of cars in the street. Ie. Get an image of the street in all situations, not just the quieter daytime when most people are at work/school (pre-lockdown).

@FenellaVelour

And she should have said yes, because she REPORTED HER NEIGHBOUR TO THE POLICE.

Not only does that neighbour not live there any more, but it seems clear to me that OP wasn’t ringing the police to complain about noise, but to raise a concern about domestic violence.

Are we now to ignore any DV incidents happening around us just in case it might put someone off buying our house years into the future?

Anything that has been reported to the police or council has to be included. It doesn't matter what the details are, the buyer has to be aware of the facts before the purchase so they can decide themselves.

Its a legal document and if the Police can trace the report back, it will screw the sale. Its lying by omission.

The buyers solicitor will be able to check with the Police and Council and they find the complaint, they can sue and they will win.

No they won’t Peter you are wrong.