Rent draining away
Q. We bought a property where a pipe was leaking. The vendor knew about this and said she would sort it out through her insurance. We had tenants lined up to move in, but it took four weeks to fix the pipe and as a result we missed out on a month’s rent. Are we entitled to compensation for this from the vendor?
A. The better approach to the problem would have been to have insisted on an allowance from the sale price to cover the cost of sorting out the problem – you could then have got your own plumber in to do the work more expeditiously. I think you would have difficulty persuading a judge that you are entitled to four weeks’ rent by way of compensation. That’s unless there was a specific clause in the sale contract entitling you to such compensation in circumstances where letting of the property was held up by the seller’s failure to sort the leak within a specified time scale.

Marking out territory
Q. We bought a new house from a large national house builder a year ago and there has been a muddle over the boundary ever since. As a result we have been unable to register our property. The developer sent the wrong plan to our neighbour by mistake and their property was registered using that plan, although the estate plan, also registered, is correct and matches the layout and features on the ground. The Land Registry has agreed to conduct a survey when we register our property because of the boundary mismatch, but we seem to be making no progress.
A. You don’t say whether your neighbour agrees that his registered boundary is in the wrong place. If he does, it should be possible to have your neighbour’s plan changed thereby enabling your registration to proceed. You should be able to put the onus on the builder to sort the problem out if the area you have contracted to buy includes the area previously transferred to your neighbour. This is not an infrequent occurrence where new estates are concerned.

Waiting for repairs
Q. I have been renting an agency house since November 2003 and it is in a terrible state. The sitting room ceiling looks as though it could come down at any minute. I have reported the problems many times but although they keep sending people to inspect, nothing ever gets done. They have recently informed me that the rent is to increase.
A. It’s not clear whether you are renting from a private landlord or whether the property is provided in connection with your job. Your landlord has a duty to carry out repairs if you have notified them of the problem. You could probably leave at fairly short notice subject to your tenancy agreement, but if you want the repairs done I suggest you contact the council’s housing advice team on 0161 234 5600 for detailed advice.

Duties of trustees
Q. There’s a clause in the will drafted by my solicitor that gives my trustees total freedom to deal with my estate, including the right to invest in unsecured, interest-free loans and to handle my affairs “without any of the consents required by section 41 of the Administration of Estates Act 1925.” What does that mean, and is it customary to give trustees such wide-ranging powers?
A. The investment options of executors and trustees used to be very limited. Now their scope is fortunately much wider so solicitors insert clauses such as this to make the administration of the will easier. The part of the clause which refers to section 41 deals with transferring assets to beneficiaries, which your executors may decide is preferable to selling up. Under this section the beneficiaries have to give their consent, which can cause difficulties especially where minors are involved, so it is normal to remove this requirement. Your trustees still remain under a duty to act in the beneficiaries’ best interests.

Passing trade
Q. I live in a bungalow on a small estate. One of the neighbours has started a business which involves visitors calling, even though the property deeds state that this is not allowed. The council say it is fine as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. Are the deeds not worth the paper they’re written on?
A. The council will not enforce the covenant in your title deeds. You would have to go to court to do this, providing evidence of any disruption, and apply for an injunction to stop the nuisance. The disruption would have to be serious for your application to be successful. The council could reach the same conclusion from a different angle, since its remit under the planning laws is to prevent the spread of businesses into residential areas. But similar criteria apply. People are allowed to work from home as long as the use of the property isn’t altered significantly.