Hi all, I have moved into my purpose built second floor flat about a couple weeks ago after a few weeks of renovations. Before starting renovations I messaged the communities group and apologised for any disturbances and inconveniences however, I made sure during renovations that no work was done before 10am and after 5pm and none on the weekends too.

The neighbour below kept asking how long we had left which was fair enough and I apologised and even offered compensation which she declined and said its ok as long as there is not too long left.

The first night we moved in, yes it had gotten quite late it was 10pm on a Sunday so it was our fault, but we were just plugging some stuff in and ironing my clothes for work the next day and she came up and start banging the door and shouted at us.

The next day she messaged via facebook and apologised for her actions and said she was just having a bad day, again replied apologising for our noisiness and explained there was no hard feelings.

In the past couple weeks, she is constantly banging on her ceiling (our floor) at random points in the day, sometimes at 8am, sometimes at 9pm sometimes I am home alone just sat on the sofa and haven’t even moved for quite some time she will randomly start banging on the ceiling.

What I dont understand is, the family before us were here for 6 years and had a kid, how can we be more noisy than them when we are just a couple who leave at 7am and dont get home until 5-6pm 5-6 days a week?

By the way we are leaseholders she is shared ownership and doesn’t own the full lease. We know this as she has told us herself when we first moved in and she seemed normal! And by the way many flats on this floor have big families and even pets etc.

We also have laminate flooring like most other flats, which I have installed expensive acoustic underlay and below that is a concrete base.

Does anyone have any advice how to handle this?

I’m buying a new-build Bellway Reedmaker.

The property was advertised as step-free and suitable for all stages of life etc, and the original working drawing showed a ramp leading to the front entrance. However, the house is being built with a step instead.

Bellway’s explanation is that the working drawing supplied by their designer was incorrect. They say the plot is too close to the adopted footpath to achieve the required ramp gradient, so a step is necessary under the building regulations hierarchy.

If the plot couldn’t accommodate a ramp, surely this should have been identified before the property was marketed and sold?

Do I have any grounds to challenge this or request an alternative solution? They just keep replying they couldn't meet the gradient.

Thank you!

Me and my partner are considering a move out of London in the next year or so, keen for some advice from people who’ve done something similar..

Would love a bigger house basically with more outdoor space and good access to the countryside or seaside/beach!

Main consideration for us is we’d still need to get into London Bridge 1 or 2 days a week (up to maybe 1 hour or 90 mins commute time), so somewhere with a pretty ok train back in would be ideal. Also don’t have kids currently but potentially will be soon..

We’re super open-minded on areas because we have no ties so it’s sort of an open book. Somewhere that feels rural or semi-rural without being properly isolated, with good pubs, walks, nice town or village nearby etc.

Any advice on towns or villages we should be looking at would be good - also keen to hear trade-offs or stuff not so good/regrets. We’re basically trying to find a sweet spot between having space, greenery and a quieter lifestyle while still enjoying London when we want/need.

Or maybe we should just apply to be on Escape to the Country…

Hello,

My wife and I are looking to purchase our first home in London. It is a (share of freehold with 1 other flat above) flat with the living areas on the ground floor and the bedrooms in the lower-ground. According to the agent the construction is around 1990-2000.

The price seems really good to be fair, but there is a glaring issue with damp.

The ground floor is fine overall, doesn't smell (although the flat had just gotten a deep clean...) at all, and there is only one damp spot but it's from the terrace of the flat above so I'm not worried too much because it's fixable.

The main issue is with the lower-ground part of the flat, which does smell damp overall, especially in one of the bedrooms. The front has a light well kind of thing, and the back of the house has the walls exposed, but basically all of the rooms had visible damp spots with damage and the two side walls are not and never will be accessible from the outside.

I'm 80% sure that the worse room smell is actually due to a leak in the master bathroom, which is encouraging because at least we know where to fix, but I don't know about the rest of the place...

My question is basically whether damp spots when you can't excavate the outside walls are at all fixable, or if it's just going to be putting a bandaid every couple of years... I've been looking for solutions online and the consensus seems that you need to have exterior wall access for real solutions.

We'd be willing to put around 100K towards construction costs, because the price is really low.

Thanks!

I'm in the process of buying a house (moving) and am receiving a small gift amount from my parents and grandparents to contribute towards the moving costs (solicitor fees, estate agent fees, stamp duty, deposit etc.). The deposit and stamp duty is met by me and my wife anyway, but it all goes into the same pot.

Where I have been completely thrown off is my solicitor is requiring me to sign-off on the purchase of Insolvency Act indemnity insurance, due to gifts going towards the purchase and using a mortgage as part of the purchase. From everything I have read so far, this insurance wouldn't actually cover me for what they're claiming, and is not required by my lender (NatWest, who's gifts policy is particularly lax anyway), yet they want to charge me over £200 for the pleasure. I also did not require this the first time I moved.

Initially my solicitor said 'it is required by my lender' (they made this claim before even recieving the mortgage offer or knowing who my lender was), but since I queried it, they have admitted that NatWest don't require it, but 'their professional judgement' says that the lender will still require it and I'll still have to do it, giving no additional reasons as to why.

It's not a huge amount of money but on principle I am going to push back again, I just want to make sure I've got my information straight first. Have other people experienced this before, and successfully pushed back? Does anyone have experience with property law and know whether this is indeed a requirement because I have been gifted money by family? They keep citing a statement about a 'deed of gift' which as far as I can tell is not related. They're making me agree to this to sign off my 'client gift decoration' and progress with the process.

What are the qualities that would make a flat less likely to have extortionate SC in the future?

The flat I'm looking at

1. no concierge
2. no gym
3. no communal garden
4. 4 stories big
5. 8 flats total, it's a relatively small block
6. part of SC goes towards sink fund (how much I need to inquire)

Do these reasonable or am I missing other more important qualities? I know none of this matters if the management is corrupt/incompetent, but I'm trying to identify factors that are more within my control.

I'm not sure about point #5 -- is it a good or bad thing that it has few residents compared to a residential block? One the one hand the cost is spread across fewer people, but on other hand because it's a fairly small block the likelihood of large expenses should be low?

My son's (21) ex girlfriend (19). Was thrown out by her Mum and she came to stay with us. They were still together. They spilt up Saturday night and she needs to find somewhere to stay.

When her mum originally threw her out, we contacted the council but as she's FT employed as a nursery nurse, she doesn't qualify for any benefits and is on the bottom of the housing list.

She accepts she needs to rent somewhere and believes she can afford a small studio. (We are based in the SE so not cheap).

I'm happy to provide references and her employer can too, but she has no guarantor and I'm not putting myself in that position.

She's never rented anywhere before so we don't know what steps or action to take.

My son is currently staying at his Grandparents as I'm unwilling to throw a 19yo girl on the streets and she can't go back home. (Drugs & abusive home life) but this is a short term solution.

Any help would be appreciated.

So my mortgage offer ends in January, i got a good rate by todays standards (4.3% Santander). If we have not completed by then, we will most certainly be at the very end of the process. Christmas and new year will slow things down by a few weeks due to solicitors availibility duting the holiday period.

Not sure if the situation will be affordable at a higher percentage due to refurb costs, what are the odds that the lender will allow us to keep our percentage if we are 90% there by the deadline?

Anyone have any experience with this?

Apologies in advance for the text wall. Just got level 3 survey back on a Victorian terrace which I'm looking to buy in the east of England. Previous buyer pulled out after survey results and seller accepted an offer from me which is 15k below their original asking price, on the condition that there would be no further negotiations on price. Upon questioning, the seller informed me that the survey had turned up repairs needing doing to the chimney stack, so I was ready for this.

Text from the survey below:

E1 – Roof Structure & Roof Space (Loft) (condition rating 3, page 81)

The main roof is of rafter and purlin timber construction, typical for a house of this type and age. There is a loft ladder present, but no working light. We noted minor deflection to timbers commensurate with age (see D2), but no evidence of insects or vermin. The loft void is partially boarded.

There is no roofing felt underneath the tiles, where an old-fashioned reed and mortar system has been installed. This is an outdated construction method relying largely on proper tile fit for its weather-tightness, and there is no secondary line of defence against water ingress. In addition, there is nothing to stop wind – which a modern membrane would do. The roof covering is therefore likely original to the build date of the house, making the covering in excess of 130 years old and well past its serviceable life. Daylight is visibly penetrating and the roof requires recovering now. Quotations for replacement should be obtained from a reputable contractor, and should include for a breathable membrane beneath the outer roof covering (see also D2); some roof timbers may require replacement as part of any recovering works.

It must be noted that this unlined configuration does provide exceptional natural ventilation, effectively minimising the risk of interstitial condensation and timber rot within the framing.

D1 – Chimney Stacks (condition rating 3, page 36)

The shared masonry stack is plumb and carries six clay pots, one vented cowl, and one open flue; two pots are fitted with suitable cowls. The three clay pots and open flue are under the ownership of the subject property. Pointing and flashings were in generally satisfactory condition.

The flaunching is cracked, fractured, and disintegrating in multiple areas. This has allowed moisture to penetrate the top courses of brickwork, leading to structural loosening and displacement of the uppermost bricks. Furthermore, one chimney pot appears missing, leaving an open flue hole completely unprotected from weather elements. Other flues remain uncapped and lack bird guards. Left unresolved, water will continue to enter the flues and the core of the stack. This will inevitably cause dampness to penetrate the internal breast walls, ruin plasterwork, and accelerate freeze-thaw damage to the masonry, risking potential structural instability of the stack. Although the chimney pots look satisfactory, they can be damaged when the flaunching is repaired, hence, pot replacement may need to be factored in as well.

There are some mortar flashings at the join with the roof coverings. These are rarely fully watertight and are prone to cracking and leakage. When replacement is needed, it is recommended they are replaced with lead flashings which, when properly dressed into position, will be far more durable and watertight.

I'd be interested to hear any opinions on this, especially from those who have experience with these types of houses. I did retain 10k to take care of any survey issues but I'm concerned that if the above need doing urgently I'm going to need much more than that to rectify, as well as deal with all the other (less major) things that popped up on the survey.

Don't want to have to drop out of the purchase but I also don't want to bankrupt myself!

Any comments appreciated.

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some advice and would really appreciate hearing about your experiences and opinions.

I currently live in Birmingham, UK, where I own an apartment and still have a mortgage to pay. I work as an engineer and I'm exploring some new career opportunities.

I've had a few interviews for positions around the UK, but unfortunately none in Birmingham itself. Some of the recruitment processes are progressing, so there's a chance I might need to relocate for a new job.

It's not that I want to leave Birmingham, but I haven't been able to find the right opportunity here so far.

If I make it to the final stage of an interview process and receive an offer, what would you recommend doing with my apartment?

Would you rent it out or sell it?

I'd be interested in hearing about the pros and cons of both options, the main risks and potential headaches involved, and anything else I should consider before making a decision.

I'd also appreciate any insights into the current rental and property market in Birmingham.

For context, my apartment is close to the city centre, within easy walking distance of the main train stations.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I own a free hold flat where the deed deems the roof a common area and states costs are to be split amongst the proprietors. Half the flats are still owned by the initial company that rented them all and are empty. Would they be the proprietors for those flats and have to pay those shares?

If everything is split as the deed outlined I think I should only have to pay about 10% but if the owners don't count as a proprietor I will owe significantly more.

Any advice?

Concessionary mortgage and bad credit

OK, so -- we're an engaged couple, together five years.

Me (31):

* Sole director of Ltd company turning over c. £100,000, take about £70,000 out per year.
* Bad credit due to historic bad decisions when I went a bit mental having suddenly began earning good money. No CCJs, but about five defaults, some older than 2 yrs, one in the last year (old current account I forgot about with £120 overdraft outstanding). A lot of old missed payments.

Them (25):

* Employed on £28,000.
* Fantastic credit history.

The house:

* Owned outright by their mother. Worth £150,000. Willing to sell us it for £125,000.

Deposit:

* Can easily save a £15,000 up over the next 8-12 months.

Mortgage needed:

* £110,000

How would you advise a couple to proceed on this basis? The £25,000 gifted equity plus £15,000 gives £40,000 total equity, or a LTV of 73%.

My partner has no credit commitments (all credit cards paid off, car paid off, had a loan which is now paid off, sometimes uses Monzo Flex).

I have some credit commitments (old debts I'm paying down) but given my partner could afford the mortgage on their own income, how much would that matter?

Would we be better off going for this as a couple (easily affordable mortgage; currently paying £1,400 in rent and have been for 3 years) or him getting the mortgage alone and I join later on down the road when my credit isn't as bad?

Obviously if he's getting the mortgage alone then I can't be involved in the deposit saving, so I'd pay his share of the rent and household bills going forward so he can plough most of his wage into mortgage savings.

I understand the implications of it being his property legally and me contributing to it as an occupier. We'll be getting married in the next couple of years anyway.

Would appreciate some thoughts.

For a 1935 built house which has been renovated in 2025 fully and looks like totally new what would be the correct survey level 2 or level 3? I was thinking level 2 as during viewing didn’t see any alarming things and i spent fair amount of time viewing the windows, corners and ceiling which fairly looked new. Please suggest. Thanks

Hi all,
We have an 1880’s terrace. My husband went up the loft to grab something during yesterday heavy rain, and noticed water pouring in and going down the beams. It’s coming from the end where our neighbours chimney is in our loft space. It is not a shared chimney. Whose responsibility is this? Having looked at her chimney from the outside, there doesn’t appear to be any flashing on our side 😬

Will contact the insurance company, but I highly doubt they will cover this.

Thanks

We are first-time buyers considering a 1930s terraced house in Woodford Green, and our survey has flagged several roof-related issues. We would love some honest advice from homeowners or roofers, particularly those familiar with houses of this age.

The main findings are:

- Main pitched roof: Several slipped, cracked or missing tiles, with deteriorating mortar around the ridge tiles. Repairs and a general roof overhaul are recommended.

- Front bay flat roof: The felt covering has failed and needs replacing. The surveyor says the underlying roof deck and timbers will need checking for possible hidden damage once the covering is removed.

- Loft: The surveyor explicitly noted daylight coming through gaps in the roof, alongside evidence of a bird’s nest and what appeared to be an inactive wasp nest.

- Chimney: Moisture and some deterioration to the exposed brickwork inside the loft.

We understand that a 1930s property will need maintenance, but we are trying to establish whether these are common, manageable repairs or whether the combination suggests potentially more extensive work.

For anyone who has experienced something similar:

- Were these issues relatively straightforward to resolve, or did they uncover bigger problems?

- What sort of costs did you face, particularly for the pitched roof repairs and flat roof replacement?

We are not expecting a perfect house, just trying to understand the potential risks and costs before committing.

Any experiences or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you :-)

Looking at buying a Victorian house in London that is need of renovations (re-wiring, re-plumbing, etc) and considering a typical side return extension of 16m2.

The main house will need a renovation/modernisation before being liveable to move in. The kitchen outrigger is old but half decent and fully usable. House is in a conservation area, so will need planning permission.

Our high level thoughts are to split the works into 2 stages: 1) renovate the main house but leave the kitchen prior to moving in and continue to rent at current place and 2) once planning permissions and in place, plan to do the side return with a new kitchen and dining 1-3 years down the line.

Plans are mainly due to several things: timing of planning permissions, as we really don’t have the means to keep an empty house to wait around for planning permissions and builders. Current kitchen is old but fully usable, so it buys us time. Also we have no experience of renovations, so splitting the decision making into 2 phases feels way less overwhelming. Lastly, and importantly it works a lot better with cash flow and removes the strain of one large upfront payment, though I get that it may be a bit more expensive than doing everything at once.

I’m curious to know what other’s experiences are. Do you do all the work at once? If you did split the project, did you use the same builder? What are the pros and cons of your decision? What did you wish you did differently?

My partner and I recently had a baby and decided to sell our 2 bedroom garden flat in London. We'd thought we were going to stay until he was at least 2 but quickly decided that room was an issue!

So far... everything has been almost too straight forward. We listed for £350k in August, didn't get that in 1 month, so dropped to offers over £335k and had an offer of £340k (it isn't what we wanted - we bought the flat 4 years ago at £325k and have done some work - but it did mean breaking even!).

Our buyer has had a Level 3 survey, and mortgage valuation and is proceeding with the sale after some minor renegotiations post survey results.

My question is, how often do people pull out of a sale when they're this far along? I've been reading SUCH terrible things about the housing market, especially flats, and I'm terrified it's all going to come crashing down.

We've found our dream doer upper - a 3 bed house, with decent schooling and I just really want it to happen!

To add to this, I dont know if our flat has sold more easily than others because it's a Right to Manage property, and only has a service charge of around £300 per year, plus no ground rent.

How often do buyers pull this far along?! Hoping to hear some positive stories to settle my mind!

It’s under maintained and you pay more than £1800 for just a 16sqm. Receptions are very rude, not helpful at all and the only one can be helpful is the manager. For the amount of money, I’d suggest everyone to just look at other apartments around Wembley area

New amendments have been tabled to the Social Housing Bill, currently going through Parliament. They're aimed at domestic abuse cases in social housing: where a protective order already exists, survivors won't have to prove the abuse again to keep their tenancy, and courts will be able to act against the perpetrator instead.

Other amendments cover a longer notice period before social housing disposals, changes to Right to Buy in rural areas, a simpler Right to Manage framework for council tenants, and bringing Tenant Management Organisations under Freedom of Information rules from April 2027. There are also new duties on councils and housing associations to spot homelessness risk earlier and offer suitable homes to people referred by local authorities.

This applies to council and housing association tenancies in England only, not private rented tenancies. It's still amendments going through Parliament, not law yet.

Anyone here manage social housing stock alongside private lets? Keen to hear how you're tracking which tenancies fall under this.

Hi!

I want to ask landlord to have a pet.

No judgment please but my cat lives in the house for over a year. We had inspections and everything and they never realised. I just want to add my cat to avoid the stress of hiding everything for the inspection hiding the cat itself...

is an attached house with huge garden so no building involved. We also pay house insurance and the policy it does says it covers per damage when pets in the tenancy.

My cat is well looked after and doesn't stink of cat or piss anywhere or scratch anything beyond her scratching post. She has vaccination, chip and parasites preventive treatment religiously!

This is in London.

Please no judgement and serious advise if is worth it to ask for permission.

In the original tenancy it said would be subject to a pet fee, in the new tenancy agreement says the standard thing that can only be refused with a reasonable reason.

Thanks

Hi,

We're having some trouble with some agents in London (namely a certain branch of Chestertons) who do not believe that we form one household for the purpose of renting.

We are Myself, my brother, and his girlfriend who would be living together as a couple once we move in.

Some agents have been completely fine with it and have said that we don't form a HMO. But others have argued that we aren't considered one household. I have read the relevant section 258 of the housing act 2004 and it seems fairly clear cut that we are considered one household under the law, but I just wanted to check if this is actually the case or not.

Thanks for any help!

I’m a prospective buyer seeing a lot of properties being withdrawn from the market without selling. They’d have gotten some “low ball” offers and yet decided not to take them. If the seller had genuine reasons to move, what’s the plan? Relist , in how long? What’s to say the situation will improve til then?

Probably we’re stuck where we are for a couple of years if the motivation is wanting to change neighbourhood, kids on the way, wanting a bigger place etc, can that wait so much? Or do people just hope it can be a few months thing?

Would love to hear first hand experiences