Whether it's a boundary disagreement with a neighbour, a rental dispute with a tenant, or an inheritance conflict among family members, property disputes can cause a lot of stress and frustration. This comprehensive guide outlines everything you need to know about dealing with property disputes and the routes to pursue to solve them.
What is a property dispute?
A property dispute refers to a disagreement or conflict between two or more parties regarding the ownership, use, or rights associated with a particular property. These disputes can arise in various contexts, such as residential or commercial real estate, land, or even intellectual property. Property disputes can involve issues such as boundary disputes, easements, encroachments, zoning conflicts, lease disagreements, or disagreements over the title or possession of a property. When it comes to resolving property disputes, matters often require legal intervention - this could involve negotiations, mediation, arbitration, or even litigation in a court of law.
What are the different types of property disputes?
From issues with construction to a breakdown in landlord-tenant relations, property disputes can arise from many different problems. Here are some common types of property disputes you may encounter:
Commercial property disputes
Disputes between landlord and business tenants can occur for many reasons, such as a late payment of rent, damage to property, inadequate maintenance, disputes over service charges. When dealing with a commercial property dispute, it is advised to keep a log of any incidents that may have occurred with respect to the dispute before embarking on alternative dispute resolution.
Family property disputes
Family disagreements are one of the most common reasons for UK property disputes and can occur due to a breakdown in relationships, inheritance disputes or issues surrounding a joint property dispute. For example, joint property disputes often occur when one person wants to sell their share of the property, and the other does not. Other causes of disputes are when one person feels they have contributed more financially to a property, leading to a disagreement over property shares. An unclear will or disagreement over the shares of property inheritance can also lead to a property dispute. Before taking further steps, it is useful to find any written formal agreements to support your dispute and help to gain settlement.
Property construction disputes
Construction projects are often cash and time-sensitive, with multiple sub-contractor businesses involved in bringing the building to completion. When a construction project isn’t properly managed, it can lead to delays, dissatisfaction and disputes during the various stages - this can be incredibly frustrating for everyone involved. Construction disputes often occur due to issues such as outstanding payments, extensions of time, damage to property or poor-quality work and penalty clauses. To prevent this, it can help to ensure both parties are clear on the expectations of the project beforehand to prevent construction disputes from occurring. Depending on whether alternative dispute resolution is successful, you may need a construction lawyer to advise when disputes arise and represent you in any legal action.
Boundary disputes
This type of dispute commonly arises between owners or occupiers of neighbouring properties. This is typically, but not always, a boundary dispute where one party erect a fence, wall or a building in a position where neighbours have different views as to where the boundary lies.
Party Wall Act claims
Under the Party Wall Act, a party wishing to carry out works on, or adjacent to, a party wall must serve
a notice in accordance with the Act. Where a party carrying out the works does not comply with the provisions of the Act this can give rise to claims in trespass and/or breach of statutory duty which in turn can lead to orders for injunctive relief and damages. If you are trying to make alterations to a shared wall, it is important to know that you might need to seek out legal advice. Certain excavations, builds, extensions or take-out will require you to hire an expert party wall surveyor. Their role is to provide impartial advice on your party wall, especially if a dispute has arisen, you are changing the dimensions of the property, or the alterations are going to decrease the value of your building.
Landlord-tenant disputes
Landlord-tenant property disputes are very common. Conflicts between landlords and tenants can arise from issues related to lease agreements, rent payments, property maintenance responsibilities, and eviction procedures. From tenants paying rent late or landlords failing to address property repairs, it’s easy for the landlord-tenant relationship to sour.
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR)
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is a method of obtaining a binding decision other than litigation in court to solve your property dispute and is a common option when a dispute cannot be resolved through communication. It can be a more straightforward experience than going to court, and it can also be more cost-effective. ADR also allows you to have more input in the overall decision that is made. ADR involves meeting on neutral ground with an impartial third party who oversees the discussions and helps facilitate a resolution. This method helps prevent the dispute from escalating to a court setting and offers various approaches to finding a solution. Some common methods of ADR include:
Mediation
During mediation, you will usually be in the same room as the other party, with an impartial mediator overseeing the discussion and illuminating the points of each party to help you gain a greater understanding. The mediator will help you to reach a decision together through a process of discussion - however, they will not make the decision for you, and it will not be legally binding.
Arbitration
Another form of dispute resolution is arbitration. This is a more formally structured type of dispute resolution for higher conflict situations, where you may not wish to be in the same room as the other party. A qualified person will arbitrate your discussion, and you will have a chance to plead your own case. This is different from mediation, as an arbitrator looks into the legal rights and wrongs of a dispute and makes a decision. The ultimate decision will rest with the arbitrator, and the court will make the decision legally binding.
Litigation
Property litigation involves resolving disputes between property owners and their tenants, but can also cover a wide range of matters involving the ownership of residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural property.
When do you need it?
Litigation becomes necessary when you have tried all alternatives and found them to be unsuccessful. When seeking legal representation during property litigation, you will usually be asked if you have attempted ADR first.
When you have attempted to resolve a property dispute by other means, obtaining the right lawyer is necessary. They can help to guide you through your legal position of your argument and provide an opinion as to whether your argument is likely to be accepted in your particular case. A lawyer will lay out the benefits and pitfalls of going to court. If litigation does become necessary, your lawyer will help you obtain the best possible outcome.
Who can benefit?
Retailers, investors, developers, property managers, leaseholders, educational institutions, financial institutions, and commercial and residential landlords would all benefit from property litigation help. Essentially, everybody who owns, rents, or leases a property of any kind may require the services of a property law solicitor or litigator at some point.
Expert property advice at Simon Levy
Simon Levy is an expert, independent firm of building surveyors and has a wide range of experience as a chartered surveyor, providing measurement surveys and other project management services. Whether a residential or commercial property, Simon Levy Associates can help identify any problems and have carried out surveying in Borehamwood, Watford, Barnet, Greater London, Home Counties and the South East of England. We can help you deal with an array of property disputes, including issues surrounding:
● Party Wall Administration
● Boundary Disputes and Neighbourly matters
● Expert Witness Services
● Dilapidations
● Construction Consultants
● Construction and Home Improvement Disputes
● Landlord and Tenant Disputes
For more information on how we can assist you, please
contact us today.
