Think Tank

This is a very unfortunate position to be in. I assume from what you say that a dispute has arisen or a complaint made rather than you just putting up with the nuisance and trying to ignore it (in which case you would not have to disclose anything).

However, I am afraid to say you are going to have difficulty pinning liability on the council for placing the tenant next door to you and I'd be pessimistic about your chances of recovering damages. The general legal principle is that a landlord is not liable for acts of nuisance caused by a tenant unless authorised or adopted by the landlord – the council is at risk of a claim that it has "adopted" the nuisance if, despite complaints, it has failed to take steps to deal with the matter. However, the courts have proved unwilling to find "adoption" even in very serious cases such as Hussain v Lancaster City Council where a family suffered appalling racially motivated nuisance over a number of years.

Nick Billingham, Partner and head of housing management litigation at law firm Devonshires

You could complain to the local government ombudsman. We would look at whether the council had acted with maladministration in moving the troublesome neighbour next to you, and if this had caused you injustice. This might mean looking at what the council knew of her previous behaviour, but we would also look at how the council made the decision to rehouse her and if it had taken into account any potential problems.

We could also look at what the council had done in response to any current problems.

But we would be likely to think the main cause of the nuisance was the neighbour herself, unless there had been some obvious fault by the council that contributed to it. We would expect you to have complained to the council itself before coming to us.

Tony Redmond Local government ombudsman

Checking for gas safety
We have recently had an incident when a family went to A&E claiming to be affected by carbon monoxide poisoning from a gas fire. They had completed a mutual exchange in September 2003 and claim the gas fire that caused the problem was left in the property. It was not installed by the housing association and we did not check either the gas or the electrical installation at the time of the exchange.

It is quite clear under the terms of the exchange that the new tenant assumes responsibility for all repairs. The annual gas safety check was done on 1 August 2003. I know that legally we have no responsibility for the repairs, but I would not like to stand up in court and defend my position if a prosecution was brought under the 1994 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations. What is current good practice? We can protect our interests by having a gas and an electrical test done at the time of the exchange, but can we insist that the cost of these tests be paid by the tenants before exchanging?

All too often, tenants make unauthorised alterations to electrical circuits and, as here, install their own gas appliances. Although such an appliance will not be the landlord's responsibility under the 1998 Gas Safety Regulations, the incoming tenant may not be aware what gas fittings or electrical circuitry were installed by the previous tenant. In those circumstances one can imagine a landlord coming in for criticism in court, if not facing actual liability.

The answer is to do property inspections at the time of the exchange. If the outgoing tenant has made alterations without consent, you should be able to recharge the cost of putting them right and the costs of inspecting. If there are no problems found, without a specific clause in the tenancy agreement entitling you to recharge, you will not be able to recover the cost of the inspection.

Nick Billingham, Partner and head of housing management litigation at law firm Devonshires