Free Advice Column - 25/03/2009
25 Mar 2009
Who foots the bill?
Q. I have an elderly relative who has recently had a severe stroke and will need residential if not nursing care when she is discharged from hospital. She has a daughter who lives away and a son who lives with her. They are both in their 40's. Would I be expected to contribute as well? The relative has made a will dividing her property equally between the children. How would the daughter get her share while her brother was living there?
A. If your relative has to go into a home, she will be assessed for her ability to contribute to the cost. The council has discretionary powers to take the value of her property into consideration as long as it is not being occupied by a spouse or a relative aged over 60. Her son should take advice on this if necessary, since the rules are complicated. If your relative has insufficient means the council will pick up the bill for her accommodation and the NHS should pay for any medical care. No-one else will be asked to contribute. If, after her death, your relative's will does not give her son the right to stay on in the house, a court could well order him to leave if the daughter requested this. That's assuming the house isn't required for payment of care home fees.
Room to pass
Q. A few years ago we sold a barn for conversion, and signed a deed of grant giving the people who bought it access over our drive. We always park our car in front of our door and there is ample room to get round it, but we have now received a summons from our neighbours who want to take out an injunction to stop us parking there.
A. This should be easy to resolve by means of photographs, although your neighbours obviously feel strongly about it if they are prepared to take you to court. I presume they have discussed the problem with you and you are not prepared to park your car elsewhere or widen the drive. In that case you will have to attend a court hearing and have the dispute resolved that way; the loser is likely to have to pay the other side's costs. If you can sort the problem out without going to court so much the better.
Built-in costs
Q. I have recently had to pay £1200 to get retrospective permission for some building work carried out on my house, so I would like to know how to go about buying my property's freehold. I was offered it ten years ago for £250 plus legal fees, but I couldn't afford it at the time.
A. Generally speaking if you can buy your freehold for a reasonable sum it's a good idea to do so, if only to avoid problems such as those you have experienced. If you have a long lease and the ground rent is minimal, the value of the freehold may not even amount to three figures. Unfortunately unless your landlord is prepared to negotiate, the cost of forcing him to sell could reach four figures by the time you have paid solicitor's fees, valuation fees and your landlord's own costs.
Ploy for peace
Q. My neighbours put up a fence on my property to keep their dogs off my garden. It was easier to put it on my lawn rather than digging up their tarmac drive, but I paid half of the cost. The neighbours are now selling the property and are telling prospective purchasers that it is their fence. Can I remove it without their permission?
A. I suggest you tell your neighbours that if they fall out with you about the fence it will constitute a dispute, in which case they will have to mention it when they sell the house. This may of course deter potential buyers, so they may allow you to take the fence down. However it's a bad idea to erect fences in this way; your neighbours could argue that you agreed to give them a slice of your land.
Q. I have an elderly relative who has recently had a severe stroke and will need residential if not nursing care when she is discharged from hospital. She has a daughter who lives away and a son who lives with her. They are both in their 40's. Would I be expected to contribute as well? The relative has made a will dividing her property equally between the children. How would the daughter get her share while her brother was living there?
A. If your relative has to go into a home, she will be assessed for her ability to contribute to the cost. The council has discretionary powers to take the value of her property into consideration as long as it is not being occupied by a spouse or a relative aged over 60. Her son should take advice on this if necessary, since the rules are complicated. If your relative has insufficient means the council will pick up the bill for her accommodation and the NHS should pay for any medical care. No-one else will be asked to contribute. If, after her death, your relative's will does not give her son the right to stay on in the house, a court could well order him to leave if the daughter requested this. That's assuming the house isn't required for payment of care home fees.
She won't believe me
Q. My wife left me two years ago, at which point we had the house valued. I was in the middle of making major improvements at the time, but I never got round to completing the work. The result is that when I had the house valued again recently (by no fewer than five estate agents) they all agreed that the house is worth more or less the same as it was two years ago. My wife thinks it must be worth more. What is my legal position if she refuses to accept what they say?
A. The answer is to invite her to get her own valuation done on the property, or better still call in a surveyor whose valuation you both agree to abide by. You may have to pay for this, but it's likely to be more accurate since estate agents tend to be slightly optimistic! If you can't agree you will probably end up in court trying to work out a financial settlement, and that could be expensive.
Room to pass
Q. A few years ago we sold a barn for conversion, and signed a deed of grant giving the people who bought it access over our drive. We always park our car in front of our door and there is ample room to get round it, but we have now received a summons from our neighbours who want to take out an injunction to stop us parking there.
A. This should be easy to resolve by means of photographs, although your neighbours obviously feel strongly about it if they are prepared to take you to court. I presume they have discussed the problem with you and you are not prepared to park your car elsewhere or widen the drive. In that case you will have to attend a court hearing and have the dispute resolved that way; the loser is likely to have to pay the other side's costs. If you can sort the problem out without going to court so much the better.
Built-in costs
Q. I have recently had to pay £1200 to get retrospective permission for some building work carried out on my house, so I would like to know how to go about buying my property's freehold. I was offered it ten years ago for £250 plus legal fees, but I couldn't afford it at the time.
A. Generally speaking if you can buy your freehold for a reasonable sum it's a good idea to do so, if only to avoid problems such as those you have experienced. If you have a long lease and the ground rent is minimal, the value of the freehold may not even amount to three figures. Unfortunately unless your landlord is prepared to negotiate, the cost of forcing him to sell could reach four figures by the time you have paid solicitor's fees, valuation fees and your landlord's own costs.
Ploy for peace
Q. My neighbours put up a fence on my property to keep their dogs off my garden. It was easier to put it on my lawn rather than digging up their tarmac drive, but I paid half of the cost. The neighbours are now selling the property and are telling prospective purchasers that it is their fence. Can I remove it without their permission?
A. I suggest you tell your neighbours that if they fall out with you about the fence it will constitute a dispute, in which case they will have to mention it when they sell the house. This may of course deter potential buyers, so they may allow you to take the fence down. However it's a bad idea to erect fences in this way; your neighbours could argue that you agreed to give them a slice of your land.
Subscribe to Rowlands' RSS feeds and have our latest news and free advice delivered directly to your inbox or news reader.