It’s all in the mind
Q. I am a widower and I have met a woman who is a widow. We live together in a three-bedroomed detached house. We would like to get married, but her family have power of attorney over her property. Can this be undone, or is it final? She is of sound mind!
A. It depends to some extent what type of power of attorney has been granted. As you may be aware a Lasting Power of Attorney comes in two parts, one giving authority over financial affairs, the other over personal affairs. Then there’s the older Enduring Power. Were any restrictions placed on the powers by your friend? Have they been registered with the Office of the Public Guardian? The mental health charity MIND has an advice line you can ring for further information on 0845-7660163. If your wife still has capacity, she should be able to revoke the Power of Attorney.

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Missing a HIP
Q. I am currently a sitting tenant and have applied to buy my home under the Right-to-Buy legislation. The house has been inspected by the landlord’s valuers, and I have received a valuation report. But they say I won’t get a Home Information Pack because I am exempt. I think this is grossly unfair. Can I challenge the legislation?
A. Landlords will be required to provide the energy performance certificate component of the HIP as from 1st October this year, although currently there will be no requirement to provide EPCs to existing tenants. The HIP programme has been rolled out piecemeal, as is often the case with new legislation. In the view of many people, you are not missing out on much. You should be wary of information provided by the vendor, especially a valuation report. Get your own done.

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Unwanted intrusion
Q. Because of the slope of our garden our neighbour’s garage roof projects on to our property at head height. We complained about this while they were still building in, but they just carried on regardless. Is there anything we can do that won’t incur expensive legal fees?
A. You should resolve this now even if there is cost involved since, apart from presenting an obvious danger to visitors to your property, if could devalue your house and make it difficult to sell in future. You should ask your solicitor to write to your neighbour asking him to modify the garage so that it doesn’t intrude on to your land. Although it’s sensible to avoid disputes with your neighbour, it’s not as though he wasn’t given the opportunity to resolve the problem at the time. If your neighbour doesn’t respond to the letter you can go to court to ask for an order that the projection to be removed. Your neighbour may well be ordered to pay your legal costs if court action becomes necessary.

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Estate management
Q. Before he died a relative said I was his next of kin and asked me to dispose of his assets. What powers do I have to do this, and what responsibility do I have to carry out his wishes?
A. If you are in fact your relative’s next of kin and he hasn’t made a will then you are likely to receive most of what he left. If he didn’t make a will and name an executor to carry out his wishes (and he left property, goods or cash amounting to more than a few thousand pounds) then someone will have to apply to the probate registry for “letters of administration” which will give them authority to dispose of your relative’s assets. Who gets to do this will depend on how closely they were related to the deceased, but you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to. Another relative will probably take the job on if you turn it down. Most people ask a solicitor for help.

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Ground rent hike
Q. We have lived in our house for the last five years, after my wife bought it from her brother. We paid ground rent of £1.65 a year until 12 months ago, when we received a demand from a new property management company for £4.00. Are we obliged to pay this increase of approximately 250%?
A. Whether or not they can increase your ground rent in this way will depend on what’s written in your lease agreement. I have to say I think it’s unlikely. You should have a copy of your lease, but if not it’s probably worth obtaining one from the Land Registry so that you are aware of any restrictions imposed on your use of the property. It’s important that you don’t break any of these rules.

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