Deceived by landlord about construction works by BOTH of our neighbours

[NickNack81]

Hi

I have posted about this before and now the situation has become even worse and we desperately need some advice.

We moved in to a rented property at Christmas last year and soon after a builder came to the house to tell us he'd bough a patch of the neighbours land to build a house! He told us the landlord knew about it and it was why he had moved out of the property. There was a planing process which the landlord knew about and apparently he had arguments with the builder about it, at one point he said he would try and get an injunction to stop the works.

After enduring construction works literally in our garden all summer, our enjoyment of our garden has been ruined, we've had to put up with the noise, the dust and the constant lack of privacy.

NOW to make it worse, our adjoining neighbour has started renovating their house, so we are now woken up every morning to drilling walls. The whole house shakes and we are woken up in a stressed anxious state every day. We work from home and it's now impossible with the horrific noise. They're renovating their basement and bathroom which won't be a quick job.

Im not exaggerating when I say this is ruining our lives. I don't sleep very well anyway so being woken up to this noise from one side or another every day for three months has made me a nervous wreck!

The landlord knew about both plans and let the house to us deceitfully. Is there anything we can do? Ive checked about the noise and as someone has already said on a separate thread, they aren't breaking any laws so theres not really much we can do.

We took out a 12 month lease and three months of those have been unbearable. We pay a fortune to live here and it's been totally ruined.

Any advice would be appreciated! I was already told by a solicitor that whilst it's morally wrong that the landlord didn't tell us about the building works, there's not much we could do legally, however now the other neighbour has started works too, I'm wondering if we have more of a case for damages.

Ive taken video and photographic evidence of the noise levels, dust and now the drilling from next door

Thanks

[jaguarsuk]

I was already told by a solicitor that whilst it's morally wrong that the landlord didn't tell us about the building works, there's not much we could do legally.

What they said.

[Amethyst]

Do you have a copy of the tenancy agreement - presumably when you say leased you mean it's a fixed term tenancy of 12 months?

Is there any break clause in your tenancy agreement ? ( although you've been there 8 months now I think?)

Otherwise is the noise/construction being kept to reasonable times ( say between 8am and 6pm ) you can check with your local council as there are rules on the hours construction work can be undertaken. They shouldn't work on Sundays or Bank holidays and I think only half day on Saturdays.

[NickNack81]

Hi It is a fixed tenancy yes. Neither builders are breaking any actual laws, it's all been contained between well 7am actually in the builders case which we spoke to them about and they made sure they didn't start noisy work until 8am. We don't work normal hours, we work late and from home so we're being woken up by the noise at 8am. Its a horrible way to start our day.

I can't believe that legally the landlord could mislead us like this, he knew about both and rented his property out anyway!

[Amethyst]

So yes your only issue is that your landlord didn't inform you of the building work when you were looking at renting the property. You don't want to move out particularly but are looking for a reduction in the amount you pay or compensation for the reduced enjoyment of the property due to the landlords omission/possible misrepresentation ( ie his not informing you his reason for leaving the property was due to the intended building works ) I don't think it could be misrepresentation unless he specifically said it was a quiet property. Have you discussed with the council regarding the noise? It seems unlikely there will be an issue if it is standard construction noise and kept within reasonable hours.

Have you discussed with the landlord and tried to negotiate a reduction in your rent due to the disturbance that he failed to warn you about ? I'm not sure what you can threaten him with though if you don't want to leave the property early breaching your tenancy agreement.... thinking if you make noises that you might leave and refuse to pay any further rent and he'll have to sue you for it which you will strongly defend on the grounds of his misleading statements (

It's non-disclosure rather than misrepresentation really. )

…. but that's a bit of a calling his bluff risk as he could just say ok, leave and I'll sue you - and your grounds are legally weak.... your solicitor is right but I'm sure he could think outside the box a bit. Is your rent the same rate as other similar properties in the area ? ( ie you don't already have some kind of reduction built in without your knowledge?) ( I'm just thinking out loud a bit ).

Arrgghhh I do understand your frustrations and the effect it has on you ( we've got two houses being built at the bottom of our garden - about 10 metres from our back door - some days it's been a complete nightmare but mostly just a bit irritating )

[NickNack81]

Thanks so much for your response.

We have already asked for a reduction and he refused (the guys an arse) And no we don't have any reduction already in place, we pay nearly 2k to live here! That's what makes it even worse, we chose the house as it was perfect for our needs. We both work from home and need quiet.

This new house is about 5 metres from our back door haha, honestly it's been awful. We haven't been able to enjoy the nice weather as either theres noise and dust or the builders are looking in to the garden so we don't feel comfortable. They're just about wrapping up and the noisy stuff has pretty much stopped and they've moved inside then the other side starts! Its actually worse as they're drilling in to internal walls and foundations so the whole house shakes! We have thought about just halving the rent and if he takes us to court then he does and we'll fight our case, he won't get anyone else to move in whilst this is happening so it's better than nothing. Arrrghh just so annoying, and we would have to pay to get out of the lease if we chose to move out!

[des8]

Here's an extract from a link you might find useful: https://www.tpos.co.uk although I doubt he is a member

disclosure-of-building-works-misleading-omission
Published on Thursday, 05 December 2013. Posted in Case Studies
Complaint

The Tenants, Mr and Mrs A, agreed to rent a fourth floor apartment in London for 18 months without the knowledge that six weeks after the start of the tenancy, the building the apartment was situated in was scheduled for major redevelopment works. According to Mr and Mrs A, had they known, they would not have signed the tenancy agreement and,as such, blamed the Agent for not providing them with all the information they needed to come to an informed decision.

Investigation

In this case, given the scale of the works, I had no doubts that the leaseholders would have been contacted about the redevelopment of the block and in all probability a section 20 notice had been issued as they would have to pay for the said works. I, therefore, considered that the Landlord would have known about the planned works but he may not have anticipated the disruption that the works would cause to anyone living in the block. In my view, it would have been good practice for the Agent to have enquired from their clients, the landlords, as to whether a section 20 notice had been issued, and if so, the circumstances behind the notice. In any event, Mr and Mrs A provided documentary evidence that the Agent was aware of the works prior to them signing the tenancy agreement. Whilst it was not clear whether the Agent was aware of the exact extent of the works, it was apparent that they were placed ‘on notice’ that an event was to occur which would be considered material information to any potential tenants.

Outcome

I supported the complaint as I considered that, at the least, the Agent should have divulged that works were scheduled which may have impacted on Mr and Mrs A’s decision to proceed with the tenancy. Indeed, it was apparent that Mr and Mrs A had negotiated the early termination of the tenancy with the Landlord following the extent of the works becoming clear. I made an overall award of £400 for the distress, aggravation and inconvenience that the Agent’s shortcoming had caused and, in doing so, recognised that the Landlord was apparently the only party aware of the full extent of the works prior to the tenancy being agreed.

[NickNack81]

Brilliant thank you!

[des8]

Amethyst wouldn't The Consumer protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, sec 6 Misleading omissions be relevant as they apply to private lettings
https://housingrights.org.uk/news/tr...on-regulations

[MrDynamite1]

Hi It is a fixed tenancy yes. Neither builders are breaking any actual laws, it's all been contained between well 7am actually in the builders case which we spoke to them about and they made sure they didn't start noisy work until 8am. We don't work normal hours, we work late and from home so we're being woken up by the noise at 8am. Its a horrible way to start our day.

I can't believe that legally the landlord could mislead us like this, he knew about both and rented his property out anyway!

I completely agree with you! Since I had a similar situation I continue to use good construction services that do not prevent me from sleeping! By the way I was deceived before by several companies that did their work poorly and demanded quite a lot of money. However, I did not think long began to look for another service that will be more cost-effective. Thank heaven I found a company that qualitatively built bowling green covers for me and it didn't take a lot of time (it took about a week)

[alexisavi]

I agree with you! Since I have a similar situation right now, my neighbor is repairing his house that noise is really loud and annoying i can’t have my nap, the noise wake me up every single morning, i talked to them and they promised me to do their best to keep quiet as possible but the situation is still bad but tbh i really like the new railings they installed last and i asked them where did they buy it and they sent me this link :https://www.maxima-aluminum.com/serv...ings-services/ , i think i’ll change mine too and disturb my neighbor when they finish and live in their new house lol !