By Craig Smith
With almost 60 million people living in the UK it is quite fair to assume that not everybody is going to get along and that each person will live their life to their own standards. (Wouldn’t it be a perfect world if this could happen?!) When two different types of people have to live in the same area, this is where problems can arise.
Complaints Concerning Rental Property
The majority of complaints made include noise issues or pets causing a nuisance. A lot of residents don’t realise that it is very difficult for a Landlord or agent to get involved in disputes between neighbours. Yes, there may be a clause in a tenancy agreement which might state that the tenant should not carry out any activities at the property which may cause a disturbance but the Landlord could find it difficult to rely on this to ask a tenant to leave without sufficient evidence.
A lot of disputes can be resolved between the two parties without the need for involving any authorities, a little common sense needs to be used if approaching a difficult neighbour. If a dispute cant be resolved there are other channels that can be explored, including contacting your local council who may be able to give further advice.
Threatening Behaviour
A recent case that has involved our office is where a neighbour has reportedly been abusive and threatening towards a tenant. In instances such as these the local police should be informed so that any abusive behaviour can be logged. Again, a Landlord or agent may still not be able to evict a tenant because of the issue although a sensible Landlord would act quickly in order to keep the property let and in a good standard.
The recent case mentioned above has been ongoing and not just an isolated incident. The Landlords have been doing as much as they possibly can in order to keep a good tenant in place and to resolve the issue but when the Landlord of the problem property is hard to contact, or if they were reluctant to assist with the matter, the tenant could find themselves feeling isolated in the property. The tenant may still be in a fixed term tenancy agreement which would add yet another problem to the dilemma.
The Solution?
Of course, a sympathetic Landlord could let the tenant leave early but this then leaves the Landlord with an empty property which could then be difficult to let knowing the problems with the neighbour! The ideal solution would be for the nuisance neighbour to leave but as this is not something that us or our Landlord can control, we are left with a very awkward situation!
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