abandoned house - law

Soldato
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Nottingham
Hmm, you could get the council involved. IIRC from watching the polotics show, the council can force an order on the owner to hand it over to them so they can do it up and rent it out on behalf of the landlord, almost making it a council home. I can't remember what it is for the life of me though. It was called something similar to an ASBO. lol

CPO (compulsory purchase order)
 
Associate
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Hmm, you could get the council involved. IIRC from watching the polotics show, the council can force an order on the owner to hand it over to them so they can do it up and rent it out on behalf of the landlord, almost making it a council home. I can't remember what it is for the life of me though. It was called something similar to an ASBO. lol

That was on the one show and is a very last resourt, your first port of call should be Planning Enforcement. You might even get a planner as helpful as me!

Borich
 
Soldato
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15 Dec 2007
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Worst advice ever - completely inaccurate.

What, it's true, you can't file criminal charges, only civil proceedings which are feeble and take ages. If the house is actually in that state its unlikely the owner would ever even discover what was going on for years anyway. It's not like I was offering it as a serious course of action in this case anyway :p
 
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Associate
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Surrey
What, it's true, you can't file criminal charges, only civil proceedings which are feeble and take ages. If the house is actually in that state its unlikely the owner would ever even discover what was going on for years anyway. It's not like I was offering it as a serious course of action in this case anyway :p

You're still wrong actually. Under s7 Criminal Law Act you can ask a trespasser to leave and if not they are committing a criminal offence.
Also you can file accelerated possession proceedings which take give the trespasser 24hrs to leave the property after which they are committing a criminal offence.

Its only if the trespasser has some former right to occupation that things start getting tricky.
 
Soldato
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18 Oct 2002
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Sussex
Theres a flat along for me that has been empty for at least three years, its first floor, the door has been boarded up by the management company but the windows are open and you can see its in a state.
When i complained to the management company they say they can't find out who owns it and data protection stops them trying to locate the owner via the mortgage. They can't write to the owner because the only address they have is the flat.

It drags down the value of all the property around it and sooner or later it will get squatters in it too.

So basically I've got the same problem :(
 
Associate
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Location
Surrey
Theres a flat along for me that has been empty for at least three years, its first floor, the door has been boarded up by the management company but the windows are open and you can see its in a state.
When i complained to the management company they say they can't find out who owns it and data protection stops them trying to locate the owner via the mortgage. They can't write to the owner because the only address they have is the flat.

It drags down the value of all the property around it and sooner or later it will get squatters in it too.

So basically I've got the same problem :(

You could do a land registry check (although you have to pay like £3 i think) which will reveal the name of the owner and vendor which could help you do a bit of digging.
 
Soldato
Joined
17 Feb 2006
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Winchester
No, of course not. How is the condition of his privately owned house a concern of anyone but the owner of the property?

Umm, whats it got to do with you?

If the visual condition is poor, I'd be very annoyed as it would be detrimental to the value of houses nearby.

Similarly, someone could throw all their rubbish in their front yard and say it's their land and none of the neighbours' business, but if it affects the neighbourhood, then the council can be notified.
 

Kol

Kol

Man of Honour
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8 Jan 2003
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London
Just to confirm, from the OP it sounds like the inside is a state, but what about outside? Because from the posts and advice offered so far the council will only enforce those orders if the house is making the area look untidy. Is it a wreck outside, also then?
 
Man of Honour
OP
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28 Nov 2007
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12,736
If the visual condition is poor, I'd be very annoyed as it would be detrimental to the value of houses nearby.

Similarly, someone could throw all their rubbish in their front yard and say it's their land and none of the neighbours' business, but if it affects the neighbourhood, then the council can be notified.

It is bad, front and back. It's been tidied up a bit, but not much.

you want to put the owner under a fire ....like cook him :confused:

Yes, that's right. It means to make someone have more urgency.

???

yeah he can - legally he can apply to the courts and get you evicted just like any other property owner would do with any other squatters

I'm not planning to squat!
 
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