Untidy neighbours could cost you over £20,000 when selling your home in Yorkshire

“First impressions count when it comes to selling homes, with the sale price often negatively impacted when the neighbouring property looks scruffy,” says Sarah Khan, head of Churchill home insurance.

Surveying 253 estate agents nationwide, Churchill found that 82 per cent of property professionals stressed the importance of speaking to neighbours about improving the appearance of adjoining properties before maximising the kerb appeal of your own home to sell.

The biggest impact on house prices caused by unsightly neighbouring properties is in London, where messy neighbours could impact a sale price by more than £50,000.

“If you have a good relationship with your neighbour, it is worth approaching them to see if they would be happy to make changes to the appearance of their property,” suggests Sarah. “Investing a few hundred pounds in a gardener to tidy up next door’s front garden could pay huge dividends when it comes to selling your home, a win-win for both you and your neighbour.”

An overgrown garden (22 per cent), rubbish in the neighbours’ front gardens (20 per cent), overflowing gutters (20 per cent) and even garden ornaments and statues such as gnomes (18 per cent) are just some of the deterrents putting off buyers, the survey found.

Estate agents also reported sellers deliberately timing viewings so prospective buyers are not exposed to issues from a neighbouring property, such as the playing of loud music (22 per cent), noise from pets (21 per cent) or simply meeting the neighbours in real life (16 per cent).

“Many people don’t realise they can offend those next door by letting overgrown plants hang into their garden and blasting music without any prior notice,” says Chris Bonnett, founder of gardening website GardeningExpress.co.uk.

His advice is to always start with boundaries; for example, know who is responsible for maintaining dividing fences (check on your title deeds). Chris also points out that if hedges and climbers grow over into your own garden, legally you are entitled to trim them back yourself if they come across your boundary line.

When you’re selling, it is a legal obligation to declare any formal disputes with the neighbours on the Seller’s Property Information Form (SPIF) you will be given by your conveyancing solicitor. Whilst strained relations won’t scupper a sale, failure to disclose them could result in legal action from your buyer, who may accuse you of mis-selling the property. As a result, the sale is likely to fall through.

It’s a delicate area, agrees property disputes partner Tom Edwards, from Yorkshire-based LCF Law, who says he’s seeing a big increase in arguments between neighbours due to an increase in the number of extensions being built and a big uplift in home and garden improvements: “Properties that are generally not well-looked after or maintained properly can easily become an issue for neighbours, as well as causing plenty of emotional turmoil, so it’s important to try to resolve them early, if possible, so they don’t turn into something much bigger that could affect the sale of a property or reduce its value as a result.”

Short of sending a gardener over the fence at your own expense, what else can you do to persuade your neighbour to smarten up? Tom advises that “communication is key, if a situation is handled carefully, it can prevent escalation”.

So a quiet word in person, or popping a polite note about the brambles taking over a shared drive through the letterbox would be good approaches?

Yes, says Joanne Ellis, head of the consumer land team at Stephensons Solicitors, a law firm with offices in the North of England and London, and you should always be courteous and considerate: “If, for example, your neighbours are struggling with taking bins out or maintaining their property, you could even offer to assist them with these things.”

Be aware that the fact a neighbouring property is simply unsightly is unlikely to give you grounds for any kind of legal claim, warns Tom: “Unless there is some sort of encroachment, physical injury or interference with the quiet enjoyment of the property affected or the mess is so bad it causes some sort of dangerous or noxious environment.”

However, do check any other paperwork associated with your own home and neighbouring properties, Tom adds. There may be a contractual obligation to keep a property tidy. If this is the case, it is worth contacting a lawyer and asking their advice on how to proceed to persuade next door to polish up their act.