Can I speed up Probate?

[mrsjellies]

My next door neighbour died in July 2007 having suffered from Alzheimer's for several years. Her house had not been lived in for over15 years and is in a very dilapidated state; since August 2002 I have been lobbying the Council to enforce a Tidy Up Notice and to bring the property back into use. The Council's present position is that it cannot make an Empty Dwelling Management Order or take any other formal action on the property because Probate has not yet been granted. It is more than likely that her son, one of the two executors, will inherit the entire estate. In June 2008 he tidied the garden and cleared an abandoned vehicle and rubbish from the land. When talking to him about the Grant of Probate he made it clear that he would not be taking any action towards resolving the issue which is delaying the grant (I don't know what this issue is) and he has done nothing more to tidy the property.
Is there anything I can do to prevent this property declining further and affecting the value and fabric of my own house?

[Barmaid]

There could be a number of reasons why probate has been delayed - from litigation to apathy. However, unfortunately, you have no "locus standi" (ie legal standing) to hurry things along as you are neither a creditor or a beneficiary of the estate. The only thing you could do (if it IS the case that there is some damage being done to your property as a result of the dilapidated state of the other property), is write to the executors and explain you are considering taking legal action against the estate.

However, in reality, unless there is something escaping from the property (say water or sewage) onto yours or it is falling down and pulling yours with it, I do not think that you have an actionable case against them.

The only other thing I can think of is to check the deeds of the property with the Land Registry (you can only do this if registered land). There may be a covenant which is being breached, but that is a very long shot, and I doubt there will be any such breach.

[mrsjellies]

Thanks Barmaid for your amazingly fast reply.

I suspect both litigation and apathy are involved. I think my best bet is to continue to put pressure on the council to use its powers under the EDMO. I've also written to my MP but it's hard to see what can be achieved until probate is sorted out and I don't know what else I can do to help that along.

Do you know if the council has powers to force a resolution to the probate problem?

I think it's unlikely there's a covenant on the house, there isn't one on ours. The party wall is damp but we'd probably have to pay a surveyor to prove that it's due to the poor state of next door. The house was broken into in the summer, it's possible to get into our house through the loft so obviously I'm concerned about the lack of security, the possibility of vandalism, arson etc.


Thanks again for your advice.