PROPERTY LAW
BLOWN UP
MY house was destroyed in an explosion. It was a deliberate act, and the person responsible has been sent to prison. On the day of the explosion the council took over under section 78 of the Building Act 1984. I was only notified of this by letter 16 days later. I have now received an invoice for £9,000 and they have put a charge on my property. Am I responsible for paying this, and should I have been notified earlier? SECTION 78 gives the local authority emergency powers to ensure the safety of dangerous structures. The legislation states that the local authority should “if reasonably practicable” give notice of their intention to the owner and occupier. It also states that they can recover from the owner expenses reasonably incurred in making the building safe. It’s not clear why it took so long for you to be notified, and you can argue about the sum spent. But you or your insurers will have to foot the bill in the end. You could try to recover the sum from the culprit.
LEFT FUMING
A year ago I bought a house which had had a new gas fire fitted by the previous owners. However the flue is unsafe; the mantelpiece and chimney breast had large gaps which allowed fumes from the fire back into the room. The previous owners admitted that the fire wasn’t installed by a Gas Safe engineer. Do I have a case for compensation? IT’S unlikely. It would have been up to you to check whether or not the fire complied with the necessary regulations. This could have been highlighted by your surveyor and you could have had it inspected or asked to see whether or not there was a gas safety certificate for the fire. Your only chance of compensation would be if you had been told that the fire was fully compliant by the people selling the property and you relied on that advice.
WERE WE INSURED?
WE more or less paid off our mortgage seven years ago, and then took out a further loan for some building work. We have now paid off the additional loan and intended to close our account, but the bank says we owe £240 in unpaid insurance premiums for the last six years. If we’d submitted a claim I’m sure they would have told us we weren’t covered in the circumstances, so why should we pay the premiums now? MOST lenders will only give mortgages on the basis that the property that’s the subject of the loan is insured. If the bank issued you with a policy document each year you’re probably obliged to pay the premiums retrospectively: it’s likely to form part of the contract which was the basis of your loan.
OVER THE TOP
SOME years ago we sold a farmhouse and buildings but retained the surrounding farmland. Recently the person who bought the farmhouse has asked us to remove a branch from a tree on our land which overhangs his buildings. What is our legal responsibility? YOU should remove the branch: in legal terms it may amount to a “nuisance”. If you don’t comply with the request the owner of the farmhouse can cut the branch himself however: it’s one of the few occasions when the courts don’t object to people taking the law into their own hands. Alternatively, if the branch is causing damage to his land or property, your neighbour can go to court for an order to get you to cut the tree back, but it’s an unnecessarily complicated and expensive procedure. »»Call Bromleys Solicitors LLP on 0161 330 6821 or visit www.bromleys. co.uk If you have any legal questions, write to Property Law, MEN Media, Mitchell Henry House, Hollinwood Avenue, Chadderton OL9 8EF, or email mail@ lawQs.co.uk