Someone is parking in my spot without a lease- how to remedy?

[Ciscophone]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone knows anything about longterm parking leaseholds?

 

We have just bought a house which owns a carpark on 999yr lease to a man who lived next door and has died.

 

The lease was refused to be transferred to the new house owner when they moved in a few years ago, yet they park here and have the carpark registered in their name, even though they were denied permission to transfer the lease into their name- is this legal?

 

The lady who lived here before us was elderly and did not drive, she was taken advantage of by the sound of it.

 

Can I cancel a lease to someone who has no lease yet parks on our land?

 

We really just want them to move to a spot nearer their land and have offered to put it in their name, and they agreed before we bought the house.

 

Now we've bought the house, but they have changed their minds and will only move their car park if we move it 1 metre into our backyard- for free!

 

Any ideas? Thanks in advance:-)

[GrumpyToSayTheLeast]

If the lease was registered and sold on as part of the house estate after the death, then no, I dont think you can just cancel it.

[stu007]

Hi

 

A warm welcome to CAG.

 

When you purchased the House was the Land/Carpark & the lease mention in the sale and what do your Title Deeds says?

 

Have you checked the Land Registry? (may cost a fee but may be worth checking see below)

 

https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry

 

https://www.gov.uk/update-property-records-someone-dies/update-property-records-someone-dies

 

Please be patient due to the time of year it may be quieter than usual but you will get other advice to assist you.

[BankFodder]

How long ago did they register it in their name?

 

Start reading up on adverse possession. https://www.google.fr/search?q=adverse+possession&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-b&gws_rd=cr&ei=zv1qWL20MqzJgAaqx4v4Dg

I'm afraid that you may not like what you find

[ericsbrother]

leases can be transferred and sold on, usually with the freeholder's permission so you would ned to have the lease looked at very carefully by someone who knows about such things. Your conveyancing solicitor should have done this at the time but perhaps didnt because you thought that all would be hunky dory.

If the lease has expired on the death of the lessee then you can just build a wall or some other barrier to prevent the trespass as no-one else will have any rights to use to land other than you. If the person gets shirty then a solicitors letter warning them that an injunction to stop them interfering with your rights over your property will make them either see sense or cost them dearly in the long run. All depends on how much you want to fall out with this neighbour. Make sure you are 100% in the right with whatever you do..

[Ciscophone]

Thanks for all the replies:)

 

I just spoke to Land reg, and they said they have a leasehold over the title, we have the freehold.

 

The guy (Bob) parking there explained it as "we leased it from the previous owner, not directly from the previous freeholder of the land, as she wouldn't sign it. You still own it- but we leased it from the previous owner of the house". So they must've satisfied the land reg criteria to have it listed as their lease?

 

Our solicitor was terrible and was dealing with several other issues whilst we purchased, such as another neighbour complaining about the land on the other side on the property. Plus Bob had promised us that they would just move spaces if we asked. So we were stupid to take them at their word it seems.

 

Can I just call their conveyancer and ask to see what documentation they have pertaining to their lease of my freehold space?

[Ciscophone]

They registered it in their name in 2010, it was transferred to them from the previous tenant. But the owner of the house did not consent for the transfer to take place, so if they are accumulating these rights, they have convinced the land reg that they have a right to it, it seems!

[Ciscophone]

That's what I am worried about. They said they would move spaces but have since said they will only do this if we give them approx 3 mtrs of our backyard to park in. For free.

[ericsbrother]

a lease is a right to use a property or object so it can be legally assigned. If the original lease needed the freeholder's consent to assign the lease then the new tenant has no rights but you dont have many either as the lessee can leave it to someone else in their will (for example) and the freeholder will not be able to object as it is a 999 year lease and no-one lives that long so the lease will also cover their heirs and inheritors..

TBH you, your solicitor and the vendor's solicitor should try and sort this out. Were you made aware of the lease of this land before you pruchased? If so you dont have much to moan about. If not then you should make a complaint to the SRA about YOUR solicitor failing in their duty of care to you regarding the part of the land that is leased out if the matter cannot be sorted between yourselves. Their solicitor act for them, not you so nothing to do with your problems unless you can show they were lying or deliberately concealing something.

[ericsbrother]

the person who holds the lease can rent the spot out and trouser the money if they wish as well so be careful about going at this all guns blazing when you do not have the full facts.

[BazzaS]

TBH you, your solicitor and the vendor's solicitor should try and sort this out. Were you made aware of the lease of this land before you pruchased? If so you dont have much to moan about. If not then you should make a complaint to the SRA about YOUR solicitor failing in their duty of care to you regarding the part of the land that is leased out if the matter cannot be sorted between yourselves.

 

Legal Ombudsman, first, rather than SRA?

The LO can act if there was 'poor service' even if there wasn't a breach of the SRA's principles.

For a serious breach, the LO can refer on to the SRA (who refer on to the SDT if required ....), but the OP is more likely to get restitution for an error by using the LO.

[ericsbrother]

Bazza, you are most likely right on this but the fly in the ointment is we dont yet know what the OP was told at the outset and it does appear that he knew something but thought that it was different.

[BazzaS]

Bazza, you are most likely right on this but the fly in the ointment is we dont yet know what the OP was told at the outset and it does appear that he knew something but thought that it was different.

 

Yup, asking their (the OP's) conveyancer for an explanation should be the first step (and a pre-requisite to a LO complaint!)