Rotting plot
Q. In between my house and next door there’s a small patch of land owned by a third party. The owner has been refused planning permission to build on it following objections from other residents and because of access problems. Now the land is neglected and attracts trouble-makers, but the owner doesn’t want to know. Instead he wants £20,000 for an oversized garden plot with a couple of fruit trees. Is there anything I can do to make him look after his property?
A. Generally speaking people can’t be made to maintain their property unless there’s a covenant to that effect in their title deeds, and that seems unlikely in this case. Your best bet may be to ask your solicitor to make the owner a reasonable offer for the land: it would certainly add value to your property and you would then be able to control access to it, which could add further value. It’s possible the owner blames you for the fact that he was refused planning permission, but your solicitor may be able to persuade him of the advantages of selling.

Dealing with leftovers
Q. I bought a house, and the previous owner left some items behind. He knew about them, but never returned to collect them. They weren’t mentioned on the list he gave to his solicitor. Are they now my property, or can the previous owner of the house still claim them, even after ten years?
A. It depends what they were. If the items were fixed to the house (e.g. fitted furniture), you will be able to claim that they were part of the house purchase unless they were listed on the property information form as being excluded from the sale. But if the previous owner left behind loose items, such as jewellery, a lawnmower, or paintings on the wall you would have more difficulty claiming ownership. If you’re planning to dispose of them you should warn the previous owner in advance and keep a receipt. The owner wouldn’t have a very good case for claiming compensation from you for their loss.

Little gained
Q. My parents transferred their house to their children in 1995 under a deed of trust. They remained in the property until 2005, when the surviving partner moved to a care home. They never paid rent. The property was then let on a commercial basis and was finally sold in 2007. Will the children pay capital gains tax from 1995, or from 2005 when the asset became realisable?
A. Assuming they didn’t live in the property between 1995 and 2005 the children would pay capital gains tax from the date of the gift, in other words from 1995. It’s possible that the trust deed you mention will spread the capital gains tax burden or remove it altogether if your parents were beneficiaries. But you should take specialist advice on this. Hopefully the arrangement has resulted in a saving on care home fees.

Paying off a rent charge
Q. Could you advise how to acquire and pay a fair price for the right to buy our ground rent? Our house was built in the 1930’s and is freehold, but on the deeds we are require to pay £4 a year. This year we were quoted a price of £200, whilst last year we were quoted £128.
A. Since your house is freehold what you are paying is a rentcharge (also known as a Chief Rent) and is not to be confused with ground rents payable on leasehold property. Pre-1977 rentcharges can be redeemed by obtaining an application form from the Government Office for the North West, City Tower, Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester M1 4BE. Send in the completed form together with a copy of the deed that created the rentcharge, and they will work out the redemption figure based on a formula contained in the Rentcharges Act 1977.

Barred from garage
Q. There’s a lane at the bottom of my garden that gives rear access to the three cottages in our row. My family has lived here over 100 years, but while I was in hospital my new neighbour blocked off his end of the lane with a farm gate, which means there’s no longer room for me to get into my garage. According to my deeds he’s taken an extra ten yards of the lane, but my neighbour says he’s contacted the Land Registry and my title deeds aren’t worth the paper they’re written on.
A. Contrary to your neighbour’s opinion your title deeds are the ultimate authority concerning your property. You should ask a solicitor to look at them. It’s possible that each cottage owns the section of the lane that backs on to it, but that all the cottage owners have access over it to reach their property. In that case your new neighbour may be entitled to put up a gate as long as you can still go through it. Even if you don’t have a defined right of access, if you’ve been using your neighbour’s section of the lane in order to reach your garage over a long period of years he may have great difficulty preventing you doing so now.