I want to sell my ground floor maisonette which suffers from dreadful noise levels from the flat above. If I don’t declare this at the time of selling, could there be any legal implications for me?

There is an obligation on all sellers to disclose all material facts which may influence a buyer when considering buying your property.

This will of course depend on the nature of certain enquiries raised by a buyer’s solicitor in the buying process, but the standard property information forms which sellers are obliged to complete will usually include an enquiry covering any nuisance experienced by, or complaints made, by the seller.

If a buyer can subsequently show that there was a long history of such nuisance or complaints then it would be very difficult for a seller to deny that it was a fundamental fact which should have been disclosed in the course of the sale.

If you are living in a flat and the noise levels from the first floor maisonette are horrendous then you should immediately draw this to the attention of the landlord. At least you can then disclose that you have done everything you can to address any nuisance – instead of just keeping quiet!