Can you force renovation or property sale?

[StevieBee]

There's a dilapidated house near us that's been in a sorry state for at least 25 years.



I don't know him but I'm told the guy who owns it is a builder and a bit of a twonk. He fell out with neighbours many years back and keeps the house as it is as some weird sort of retribution - even though those he fell out with have long gone. He uses it to occasionally store building materials, small plant and the like. He's ripped off most of the roof tiles so it's uninhabitable. It's an eyesore in what is otherwise a really nice road.

A friend lives in the house next door to it and they're looking to move at some point over the coming year and are worried that the state of the property will impact the price they sell for - if indeed they're able to sell at all.

Is there any legal recourse to force renovation or the sale of a property?

[AlexGSi2000]

Not sure if its possible to say something under the grounds of it being a hazard?
Not sure if that would mean its just fenced off making it look more unsightly?

Box of matches?

[borcy]

I think councils can now under legislation, but i believe it's rarely used as it's quite expensive and long winded.


https://www.no-use-empty.org.uk/advice-and-guidanc...

Something like this?

[AndyC_123]

I've got a feeling that councils can force property owners to not leave a house in a derelict state over a prolonged period.

[UTH]

Nothing to add that's helpful, but certainly an 'interesting' situation.

Nobody would want to live looking at that would they, so damn right to be worried about trying to sell your place. Interested to see if you ever get to a conclusion here

[Flooble]

was there not some legislation about councils being able to take possession of empty houses (I forget the specifics now - I think it was empty for over 12 months and presumably some other conditions too)

[lizardbrain]

Personally I wouldn't buy next to it, unless the building work was well underway. These things have a habit of dragging on even with PP. So if they want to move within a year then they are already partially screwed

[alscar]

I would guess LA’s do have some power to at least speak to the owner especially if in dangerous condition or constitutes a health hazard.
If it’s been like that for 25 years though presumably no one has yet to actually contact them to complain ?
The builder may not even be alive ?

[hidetheelephants]

alscar said:

I would guess LA s do have some power to at least speak to the owner especially if in dangerous condition or constitutes a health hazard.
If it s been like that for 25 years though presumably no one has yet to actually contact them to complain ?
The builder may not even be alive ?

If it's unsafe you may get the council interested, although it may not be bad enough to be condemned.

[AyBee]

Make an offer to buy it is probably the only way out unfortunately.

[JQ]

House a couple of doors down from us was in the same state for 15 years. The owner was living in a care home and had a strange affiliation with the house (grew up there). Many many people tried to buy it, many tried to get the council to do something about it, but nothing could be done - he'd left instructions with his solicitor never to sell until his death. Solicitor has PoA. Things only changed when it became slightly famous as a video produced by an urbex explorer went viral. This resulted in lots of break-ins to the property and eventually it burning down a few years ago. The result was that the solicitor had to pay for the site to be fully secured - steel plates over all doors and windows, steel fencing around the boundary and a monitored CCTV system installed as a result of Council intervention. The only saving grace was they he'd sold the Bentley Blower that was stored in the garage a few years before it burnt down.

Owner passed away a few years ago and a rather large 6 bed mansion is in the process of being built.

Best of luck getting it sorted, but I doubt there's much they can do if the owner is doing it deliberately. Have they approached the owner and offered to buy it? Get short term bridging finance, buy, get pp for a new house and then sell to a developer.

[untakenname]

I'd check with the council as to if they've been paying council tax, afaik it's now recently increased for homes which aren't occupied.

[Puzzles]

JQ said:

Owner passed away a few years ago and a rather large 6 bed mansion is in the process of being built.

I thought that was his long game

[OIC]

This is nice.

Where is it in the UK?

So much fun to be had.

Few ideas;

1. Start a boundary dispute. 2. Claim against the owner for interfering with your right to peaceful ownership of your property. 3. Dispute the placement of the telegraph pole. 4. Claim (to Police) it's being used for illegal purposes (cottaging, drug dealing etc.). 5. Knock it down slowly at night. 6. Getting bored now, I'd probably just go and talk to the owner about buying it then get a solicitor involved if he turns out to be mental.

BUT - GET LEGAL EXPENSES COVER ON YOUR HOUSE INSURANCE IF YOU DON'T ALREADY HAVE IT BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING.

[ewanjp]

untakenname said:

I'd check with the council as to if they've been paying council tax, afaik it's now recently increased for homes which aren't occupied.

Some councils offer discounts if the house is uninhabitable - so the lack of tiles may be deliberate.

[StevieBee]

Thanks everyone - some useful info and that link looks handy!

OIC said:

This is nice.

Where is it in the UK?

Mid Essex - about 6-miles SE of Chelmsford.

[TA14]

borcy said:

I think councils can now under legislation, but i believe it's rarely used as it's quite expensive and long winded.

https://www.no-use-empty.org.uk/advice-and-guidanc...

Something like this?

Useful page. Note the rarely used comment; Councils are short of money and staff so a building like this which isn't dangerous and doesn't form a health hazard will be put to the back of a very long list of thigs to spend money on.

[CMTMB]

It seems mad that as a builder he wouldn't just renovate it and cash in or rent it out. Imagine the rental income he's missed out on over the last 25 years.

[Swervin_Mervin]

CMTMB said:

It seems mad that as a builder he wouldn't just renovate it and cash in or rent it out. Imagine the rental income he's missed out on over the last 25 years.

Another example here:

https://maps.app.goo.gl/5XLMcmw6VvsQK6sFA

Couldn't get building regs as something wasn't quite right (can't recall if it was windows related). That was 10years ago - you can see the progression on Streetview. Has let them go to ruin to the extent that in a storm a couple of years ago part of the roof blew off on to the neighbouring care home. I understand that the Council has been in dispute with them for years, possibly via planning enforcement - I don't know.

Some people are just mad bds.

[Sheepshanks]

ewanjp said:

Some councils offer discounts if the house is uninhabitable - so the lack of tiles may be deliberate.

Usually only for a limited time - but Googling suggests it could be removed from the Council Tax list altogether. Didn't know that.

OP: Is it listed for council tax? I guess even with unoccupied rates of council tax it still may be worth the builder keeping it for storage - although using it for that could be grounds for a complaint to planning.