Is my seller required to inform me of problem neighbours and does the seller have to disclose disputes about the property?
We regularly act for property buyers who have discovered that their seller may have been less than truthful when it comes to providing information about disputes and arguments with neighbours and owners of nearby properties.
In the vast majority of residential property transactions, the buyer will want to know whether or not there is anything the seller is aware of that might constitute a dispute or which might give rise to a dispute in the future. In fact, this particular question appears in the Property Information Form (“TA6”), a document that is normally completed by the seller and provided to the prospective buyer at the start of the conveyancing process. Whilst a seller does not have to answer this question or indeed to complete the form at all, a buyer might be wise to exercise some caution about proceeding, if the seller has not completed it.
When you buy a house, especially if it is going to be your home, the last thing you want is a “neighbour from hell” who is going to make your life miserable.
Even if you plan to let the property to tenants, you may struggle to find and retain them if there is a problem neighbour. You may also find you are subject to criticism as the landlord of unpleasant tenants, although the prospect of a claim in this respect is fairly limited.
Problem neighbours – your options
If you purchase a property, and find that someone nearby is a “neighbour from hell”, or that there was or remains an ongoing dispute, what can you do?
Obviously, you may be able to deal with the neighbour directly, but it will depend on the circumstances as to what you can legally do. For example, various possible claims might apply including common law nuisance, trespass, or perhaps even an application under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.
As for the seller, if they have misled you about the existence of a dispute regarding the property or a property nearby, there may be a claim for misrepresentation.
When is it misrepresentation?
The law of misrepresentation applies to any contract, but we have several blogs on property misrepresentation which can be found here: My Seller Lied To Me!, here: Reliance in Misrepresentation Claims and here: Misrepresentation Claims in Practice.
The key elements of a misrepresentation claim that a claimant must prove are:
- that the seller made an inaccurate false statement about some factual circumstances;
- that the buyer relied on that inaccurate statement of fact when deciding whether or not to purchase the property; and
- that as a result of that inaccurate statement, the buyer has suffered loss and damage.
Remember that there is no requirement for a seller to disclose any information about their property. However, if they choose to offer information, or answer the buyer’s questions, they would be well advised to ensure that any information provided is correct.
Therefore, merely failing to mention a problem neighbour will not give rise to a claim.
If a seller says nothing expressly or implicitly misleading to their buyer, then the buyer has not relied on something that the seller has said; they have relied on their own assumptions and assessments.
The Property Information Form, or “TA6”
As we have said, it is standard practice to use a property information form in a conveyancing transaction [link], to allow the seller to provide routine information about the property to the buyer, without the buyer specifically having to ask the questions.
The most recent edition of the Property Information Form prepared by the Law Society asks at question 16.1:
At question 16.2, the seller is asked:
The new edition of the Property Information Form (5th Edition 2004) and its accompanying guidance notes is far more extensive than historical versions. However, these questions have appeared in all previous versions of the Property Information Form.
These questions aim to protect buyers by identifying potential issues affecting the property or its surroundings. While broad in scope and somewhat subjective, they seek to uncover:
- Direct property conflicts (e.g., boundary disputes), and
- Local issues indirectly impacting the property
The Property Information Form includes specific questions about boundaries and rights of way, which complement these broader inquiries. By casting a wide net, the TA attempts to capture all relevant information, recognising that the significance of issues may vary between individuals.
Neighbour from Hell: An example
In the High Court case of Doe v Skegg [2006], the “neighbour from hell” in question was regularly trespassing and causing all sorts of nuisance to the property owners. It transpired that this had not started simply when the new purchasers moved in, but had been an ongoing issue for quite some time, and that the seller was fully aware of it.
The Court effectively held that this sort of behaviour was sufficient to be considered circumstances that could give rise to a dispute and found that the seller, by answering “no” to the questions in the property information form regarding the existence of any disputes or circumstances that could give rise to any disputes, had made a misrepresentation and was therefore liable to the buyer for damages.
The fact that the seller had not personally been a victim of antisocial behaviour by their immediate neighbour did not necessarily mean that they could overlook problems which have arisen nearby.
More potential cases of ‘problem neighbours’
All of these cases are very fact-specific. As an example, a known individual lives nearby and has caused issues of some sort for nearby homeowners, but not the seller specifically. Could this be considered something that might lead to a dispute about a nearby property?
It might be easier to envisage a situation where someone insists on parking inconsiderately at the top of a road, making access to a house at the bottom of the road impossible. This might lead to a dispute about an affected property, even though it might be occurring at some distance from the driveway itself.
Neighbour disputes about parking are not uncommon and in the case of McMeekin v Long [2003], the seller had been engaged in a dispute about parking for some time and was held to have made a misrepresentation to the buyer by suggesting that there was no such dispute.
Collecting the evidence needed
In practice, it is often hard to identify evidence that a seller knew, or could reasonably have known, about anti-social behaviour or other circumstances that might give rise to a dispute regarding the property or a property nearby. It does not necessarily follow that just because you have experienced issues with a “neighbour from hell” since moving in, the seller gave factually inaccurate answers when they answered “No” to the relevant questions in the Property Information Form.
It is a principle of law that “he who alleges must prove”, which means a buyer will have to identify evidence that proves the information their seller provided was factually inaccurate. Without such evidence, it is open to the seller to deny all incidents pre-dating the sale, to allege that they had a perfectly good relationship with the problem neighbour during their period of ownership, and perhaps argue that any issues the buyer is having are the result of a personality clash between the buyer and the ‘problem’ neighbour.
Obtaining such evidence may involve approaching other neighbours about the historical issues that the seller or those in the local area may have experienced. Sometimes, if there has been involvement from the Police or the local authority, it may be worth contacting them to see if any records might exist and which might be capable of being obtained as evidence for use in legal proceedings. It may also be worth checking local news websites, to see if any incidents have made the news in the past.
Assessing the amount of damages to claim
The damages available in a misrepresentation claim are generally assessed by reference to the diminution in value of the property.
This is the difference between what the property was worth and what the property would have been worth if, for example, the antisocial behaviour had been made known to an average buyer.
This will normally require input from professional surveyor and clearly, the extent of the issues (i.e. how serious and regular they might be) is likely to have an impact on the figure in question. This is why obtaining evidence is not only important to liability (i.e. whether or not the buyer can prove a misrepresentation happened) but quantum (i.e. the value of the claim).
Sometimes the cost of repairs is ordered, as an alternative to diminution in value. Sometimes, but not often, rescission of the contract is ordered. Rescission is when the contract is reversed and the property returned to the seller (for practical reasons, this is very difficult in the context of property misrepresentation).
What remedy is available will depend on a large number of circumstances, but a prospective claimant should expect damages (i.e. financial compensation) to be what is most likely to be ordered by a court.
What are your options?
The Property Information Form is often the first and primary piece of evidence to consider when the buyer has discovered that there is an existing dispute or circumstances that could give rise to a dispute. However, it is often the case that more evidence is required to prove that those circumstances existed during the seller’s period of ownership.
You may think that you cannot claim because the people who are causing the dispute are not your actual neighbours. However, actionable misrepresentation claims are not limited to issues directly adjacent to your property. Even if the source of the problem is some distance away, it may still be grounds for a claim if it negatively impacts your home. The key factor is the effect on you and your property, not the proximity of the issue or the location of the persons involved.
If you’ve found yourself having to deal with problem neighbours after you’ve just moved into your new home, Cunningtons’ team can advise you on your options. Whether you’re dealing with boundary disputes, noise complaints, trespass, parking issues, or any other property-related conflicts, we’ve seen it all.
Try our new Property Misrepresentation Assessment service
If you think your seller withheld information about ‘nuisance neighbours’, you may be able to claim against them.
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