PROPERTY LAW
SISTER’S SECURITY
MY sister has been living with her fiancé for nine years, but the house they share is in joint names with his ex-wife whom he divorced in 2002. He says he can’t take her name off the deeds until the house is paid for, which should be soon. My sister is obviously worried about her security. IT’S possible that the house has already been dealt with in the fiancé’s divorce settlement, and, as often happens, the mortgage company would not agree to his ex-wife’s name being taken off the register. If that’s the case then the fiancé could make a will or marry your sister if she is looking for security. If there was no divorce settlement the fiancé should sever the joint tenancy on the house (since otherwise the ex could inherit the entire property in the event of his death), and consider raising money now to buy out her share. Your sister is however in a very vulnerable position as she may not have acquired an interest in the property. It would be sensible for her to enter into a cohabitation agreement with her fiancé to cover the period prior to their marriage.
STOP THAT SHED
MY neighbour has informed me he is constructing a 25’ long workshop on the boundary with my garden. I fear this may not be solely for domestic use, and it will also spoil the view from my lounge and bedroom windows. How can I prevent this? YOUR neighbour won’t need planning permission as long as the workshop together with other outbuildings doesn’t cover more than half of the land around the original house as it was first built (or as it stood on July 1, 1948 if it was built before that date). But check your title deeds, since it’s possible there may be a restrictive covenant affecting your gardens. If you suspect the workshop is being used for business in a residential area the planning department could put a stop to it. However, you have no right to an unspoiled view.
WHO’S My LANDLORD?
I LIVE in a rented flat which needs urgent attention to the roof. I’ve told the agent who collects the rent but he’s done nothing and I don’t even know the name of the landlord so I can’t take any action against him. YOU should have received notification of the landlord’s name and address when you moved into the flat. You should therefore request this information again from the agent in writing and mention the letting agency redress scheme. All letting agents are required to be a member of one of three government-approved letting agency redress schemes. It’s a criminal offence for a letting agent not to be a member of a redress scheme. It will then be in the letting agent’s interest to get the information to you.
CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
I HAD a nervous breakdown when my marriage broke up, but over the next few years I found a flat and took on all the marriage debts, informed the companies of my new address and caught up with all the payments. But now I find one of them has put me on the bad debtors list, which is preventing me getting a mortgage. What can I do? YOU should first of all explain your financial circumstances and your past problems to the people you’re trying to borrow money from. It’s possible they’ll be sympathetic and ought to be impressed by the way you’ve paid off your debts. You can amend any incorrect information on your credit file by writing to the credit reference agency concerned.