Passing the buck
Q. I sold my house in April, and a couple of weeks later the person who moved in told me that a fractured pipe had resulted in sewerage leaking into the foundations area. He’s now claiming that I had prior knowledge of this and is now taking me to court to recover repair costs of more than £2,000, although he has carried out the work himself. I’d like to know whether I am liable to pay this.

A. I presume the new owner of your property had a survey carried out before he bought it. If a professional failed to spot the problem at the time it’s unlikely that the buyer would be able to convince a court that you, a layman, were aware of it. He would have to have some proof in order to win his case, and I would have thought this would be hard to come by. The fact that he has carried out the work himself suggests that he his bluffing. If he was serious about taking you to court he would have got a builder in and presented you with the bill.

Blocking our access
Q. My neighbour and I have a right of access, both vehicular and walking, over our back gardens. We have had this right of access for years, and it is shown in the title deeds. Now a builder has built on the land so that we cannot get to the unadopted road behind our properties. They put fences up, we take them down, and they put them back up again. They just put the phone down on us when we call them.

A. You should see a solicitor about this as soon as possible. You may be able to get an order from the court for the building to be removed and to re-establish your right of way. Is the builder working for a neighbour or on a development of his own? Either way your battle over the fence should have prompted him to sort out the legal issues. Pretending a problem doesn’t exist doesn’t make it go away.

Neighbour’s neglect
Q. I live in a row of stone terraced houses. My next door neighbour doesn’t maintain his property. The retaining wall at the front is close to collapsing on to our communal pathway, and water is running constantly from his bathroom overflow: as a result I have damp on the exterior wall of my back bedroom. I am not very good at confronting people, nor have I a great deal of spare cash. Is there anything I can do about this?

A. You should try to discuss these issues with your neighbour in the first instance. You can always walk away if the reception is hostile. The next step would be the council’s environmental health department, which can intervene in the case of dangerous structures such as your neighbour’s wall, and where health issues are involved, such as the damp in your bedroom. If you have to resort to the law then it can get expensive as you suggest, but it may ultimately be your only option.

Collection duties
Q. We have been responsible for collecting the chief rent for four houses, including our own, for more than 30 years. Recently we have had a few changes of neighbours. I telephoned the solicitors recently to see if individual letters could be sent making everyone responsible for their own payments. They told me there was somewhere you could write to, but they weren’t sure where! Can you help?

A. You can apply for an Order of Apportionment which legally separates your share of the rent from the others. This would mean that you are only responsible for the rent apportioned to your house. You will need to obtain an application form from the Rentcharges Unit, Government Office for the North West, City Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester M1 4BE. You will be required to submit a copy of the deed that created your rentcharge (aka chief rent) with your application. The Rentcharges Unit will help with any difficulties you may encounter.