Dealing with disputes Flat Living WEBSITEGUIDE
lEaSE manaGE YoUrBloCK SErVICE
CharGES& aCCoUnTS
maInTEnanCE hEalTh &SafETY CaSElaW DISPUTES EnErGY EffICIEnCY InSUranCE
www.trinityestates.com 0845 345 1584
Trinity and property management go together like...
NeigHbourdisputeswhenthey arisecanbe someof themost acrimonious (andexpensive) type of
legalproceedings.Itisbadenoughto fall outwithaneighbourwhenhelives in thehouse next doorbutatleast youmayhaveagarden fenceordrivewaybetweenyou.Whenyoulive in aflat ,fallingoutwithaneighbourcanmake lifealmostunbearable as youliveinsuchclose
proximityandmayevenshare a partywall. Noise, leavingbulkyitemsinhallwaysand behavingin athoughtlessmanner aresome of thereasonsneighbours falloutbut thereare plenty of
others.The sectionof the Flat Living websitededicated to disputes,tackles some of thetrickysituationsflatowners canfind themselves inandoffers
somesolutions.These
pages are split into the following topics: nNeighbours nLandlord disputes nAccess nClamping
Toreadmoreonanyofthesetopics,go to:
http://www.flat-living.co.uk/ advice/21-disputes
Love thy neighbour RogerSouthamof propertymanagementcompanyChainbowprovides somepracticaladvicefor leaseholders
LiviNgiNAbLock of flats comes with responsibility andaneed forall to be consideratetoeach other. Someof thesituationswe as propertymanagers have seen demonstrate just howdifferently people live, as well as how much somewish to dictate their neighbours’lifestyle. This canbe fromgeneralannoyances right throughtofragrantabuse. It is always extremely
difficult for the blockmanager to interveneorgetembroiledin neighbourdisputes. However, fromourperspective this does notmeananagent buries their head in the sand. You only have to watchthe occasional TV programmeof‘Neighbours from Hell’toveryquickly seethat nothing is ever as it first seems. Irememberone showwhere both neighbours complained about each other; one said that the other caused a lot of noise andthe otherthathis neighbour wasOCD on complainingabout everythingwhen nothing was wrong. Guesswhat? There wasn’t a lot of noise at all and the OCD guy was an obsessive complainer!
48 Somesaythatthe proliferation
of Buy-to-Lets have added to the issueonneighbourdisputes, as it is felt people on assured shortholddon’t care asmuch as leaseowners. Fromour experience, this is certainly not the case. It is an even balance betweenthe two. Someowners areirresponsible andsome tenantsare irresponsible;itis certainly notall oneway.Which brings it downto humannature andpeopleeitherknowhow to live and let live and co-exist amicably or they don’t.
DeaLingwith DiSputeS–a
SummaRy If you find yourself in the dif- ficult position ofmediating be- tweenwarring neighbours,here is aquick guidetodealing with
the problemfast and effectively. nDon’tignorethe situation– acknowledgetheycannotdeal with the problem(nomatter how trivial itmay appear) and deal
with it in a fairmanner. nIf theRMCdirectorsfind they
cannot deal with theproblem themselves by talkingtothe partiesinvolvedand coming to anamicable agreement, theissue should be escalated, notallowed
to fester. nIf your block has amanaging agent, theymaybeableto help deal with theproblem as objective neutral parties. However, not all agents are willingtoget involved andRMCs mayhavetofallbackontheir own good judgement. If all else
fails, aprofessionalmediatormay
be enlisted to help. nDepending on the nature of the dispute, asurveyororsolicitor maybeneeded to resolvethe issue fairly andtothe satisfaction of both parties. Bear in mind that thismay become costly and that both partiestothe dispute must be prepared to accept the outcome as final.●
Toreadthis article in full,go to:
www.flat-living.co.uk/ advice/21-disputes
WhaTElSEISThErE formEonlInE?
Other topics covered by the Disputes section of thewebsite include:
nAvoiding and resolving disputes
http://www.flat-living.co.uk/advice/355-avoiding-and- resolving-disputes
nHowto handle neighbour disputes
http://www.flat-living.co.uk/advice/357-how-to-handle- neighbour-disputes
nLandlord disputes on the increase
http://www.flat-living.co.uk/advice/655-landlord-disputes-on- the-increase
Issue 15 Flat Living
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68