No longer required
Q. Several months ago my elderly mother was approached by a development company about purchasing her property as part of a regeneration programme. They told her they would pay any solicitors’ or surveyors’ fees, but they now say they no longer require her property and the sale has been stopped. What’s more they are refusing to pay her fees on the basis that the sale was not completed. However it would appear from the newspapers that the regeneration programme is going ahead nonetheless.
A. This doesn’t sound like a compulsory purchase, which can only be implemented by a public body such as the council or the highways authority. As such it is unlikely to be connected with the bona fide regeneration programmes currently underway in the city. Your mother’s advisers should be able to assist her in recouping any expense she has been put to. Before doing any work on her behalf her solicitors would normally obtain an undertaking from the developer’s solicitors to be responsible for her professionals fees “whether or not the matter proceeds to completion”. If her house was in fact the subject of a compulsory purchase order she (or her advisers) should contact the “acquiring authority” for further information. She is entitled to reimbursement of reasonable professional fees incurred.

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End of the road
Q. We bought a house on a private road over three years ago and were told the road itself would be completed when three other houses had been built. But although these have been finished there’s no sign of the road being made up. We wouldn’t have bought the house if we’d known we’d have to reach it via a sand track full of pot holes and puddles, but the builder says he will file for bankruptcy if we take the matter further.
A. It’s very common in these circumstances for a bond or deposit to be lodged with the council to ensure that the road is built even if the builder gets into difficulty. Check with your solicitor to see if any such arrangement was made. At the very least you should have arranged to withhold some of the money you paid for your house and made the final instalment payable once the road had been completed. You will certainly have some grounds for complaint against your solicitor if you were given no advice whatsoever about the road and any liability you may have to complete it. If the remaining houses haven’t been sold yet it’s possible you will be able to take the matter further with the builder when they do sell.

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Plans up in the air
Q. Our bungalow has an existing dormer running the length of the building. Would we need any kind of approval if we wished to turn a section into a balcony? I think I have read that if you do not exceed the existing roof line, planning permission isn’t normally required.
A. The best advice in these situations is to discuss your proposal with a planner for the area. Alterations are considered in the context of the Unitary Development Plan for the area, which takes into account things such as “visual amenity” – how it will look, or affect the “streetscene” (the fact that it will be below the existing roof line will be important), and “residential amenity” ¬– whether you will overlook other properties or cause a loss of light to neighbouring buildings. I think it is unlikely you will need planning permission but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

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Site for sore eyes
Q. I am thinking of buying and living in a static caravan when I retire in four years’ time. Could you explain the law as it affects purchase, commitments of resident and site owner, and what is covered in the site fees, for example council tax, maintenance and power supply? Also there appears to be a ten-and a-half month licence rule. Do you have to live somewhere else for six weeks?
A. People who own their static caravans and live in them on a permanent basis as their only home have extensive protection under the Mobile Homes Act 1983. However this does not apply to holiday sites. If you are looking at a site with a ten-and a-half month licence it suggests it is not a permanent residential site, and you should look elsewhere. You should get a solicitor involved in the purchase – as with any property purchase – to avoid nasty surprises later on. Details of pitch fees, services provided and so on should be set out in a written statement which will be binding on both site owner and resident.

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Leaning on my fence
Q. I recently spent over £3,000 on a new fence surrounding my garden. I didn’t ask my neighbours to chip, nor did they. Now I have discovered that one of my neighbours has piled bags of stones against his side of the fence, and I am concerned that this will cause damage. I’ve asked him to move them, but with no success.
A. You could ask your solicitor to write to your neighbour pointing out that he will be responsible for any damage caused. If there is damage, you could then attempt to sue your neighbour for the cost of any repairs. But as I’ve said many times, it’s not usually worth upsetting neighbours. If you went next door and offered to help your neighbour move the bags you may get a result.