No through road
Q. We live in a group of about 20 houses and pay for the maintenance and upkeep of the land and driveway in. A builder wants to put up some houses across the way and the only access would be through our estate. We’re objecting to this but wondered whether we would be able to do so on legal grounds.
A. It sounds as though the owners of the houses on the estate may only have a right of way over the road. The owner of the road is likely to be the company you pay your service charges to. This company will presumably have the right to decide whether to give the builder access for a fee. For the complete picture you should ask a solicitor to check your property details at the Land Registry. Unless the owners of the houses jointly own the road they may not be able to object. They could object to planning permission for the new houses however, on the basis (for example) of increased traffic through their estate.

No quick solution
Q. I am a pensioner living with my son. We bought our council flat two years ago. My son-in-law has now offered to pay off the mortgage and allow us to live in the property rent free. What would be the easiest way of doing this?
A. This raises so many questions that you must talk it through with a solicitor. Firstly you stand to lose your discount if you transfer ownership of the property within five years. There are ways round this, but it depends what your intentions are. How long is your son to remain in the property rent-free? Until your death, or for his lifetime? Although you will have the benefit of rent-free accommodation, you are in effect giving your son-in-law the discount you built up on the flat. Is your son happy about this? Do your daughter and son-in-law own another home of their own? In that case they could be creating a capital gains tax liability. Then there’s the question of who insures and maintains the property. And so on.

Generous son’s tax bill
Q. My husband was declared bankrupt 15 years ago, and in order for us to keep our home I took out a mortgage jointly with my son. We are due to retire before the mortgage is paid off, and intend to either sell up or pay off the outstanding mortgage with the lump sum from my husband’s pension. My son has a house in Ireland, where he now lives. If we sell, will he have to pay tax on the profit from his share? My husband has always contributed to the mortgage.
A. Possibly, but if your son is a taxpayer in the Republic of Ireland he may well be able to offset some of the tax he pays in the UK against tax he pays there under a “double taxation agreement”. However if your husband has been paying the mortgage for the last 15 years even though it is in your son’s name, it could be that your son is holding that share of the property on trust for your husband and your husband is the true owner. You need to see a solicitor specialising in tax and trusts.

Feeling undervalued
Q. I live in a compulsory purchase area, but the council isn’t paying out what I think the house is worth. Where do we stand in this situation?
A. You are likely to have received notification that you are entitled to engage a chartered surveyor to calculate the value of your property. Reasonable fees incurred in making this calculation should be met by the local authority. You should be offered a sum equivalent to what your house would fetch on the open market if the compulsory purchase scheme was not going ahead. If necessary you can appeal to the Lands Tribunal, but you could expect to pay costs if the tribunal upheld the council’s decision.

Charges on the up
Q. Our apartments are managed by a residents’ association, but there has been no annual general meeting since I moved in three years ago. In the meantime my service charges have increased from £495 to £800 a year. Can they impose these increases without consulting the leaseholders? There are supposed to be four directors, but one has only just been appointed.
A. The way increases are introduced, the frequency of AGMs and the appointment of directors will all be governed by the rules of the association, something which you should study carefully. You will have agreed to abide by these rules in your lease or tenancy agreement. You will be entitled to see a copy of the accounts which will show how your money is being spent.

Will confusion
Q. Can the executors of a will benefit from it?
A. Yes, the executors are often (but not necessarily) the main beneficiaries. It’s the witnesses (or their spouses) who must not benefit from a will.