Carlisle man tries to sell flat, discovers he actually owns property next door

'It's a complete mess,' says homeowner Chris Meyer

Several flat owners in Willow Court in Carlisle are living at the wrong address (Google)

A man in Carlisle has discovered he has been living in a flat next door to the one he actually bought and is now entangled in a legal nightmare as he tries to sell the property.

Chris Meyer discovered the mistake after trying to sell his three bedroom flat, when the solicitor for the person buying the property got in touch to say there was a problem.

But the mix up is not just confined to Mr Meyer - who has lived in the flat for six years - and his next door neighbour. Of the 15 flats in the building on Willow Holme Road in Carlisle, 10 owners now face the same problem.

Speaking to the Carlisle News & Star, Mr Meyer said: “Basically, I live in number 8 and thought I had bought number 8.

“But Land Registry documents show that I actually own Number 9. The man who thought he’d bought Number 7 actually owns my flat. It’s the same for ten of the 15 flats.

“It’s a complete mess. Not surprisingly, my buyer pulled out.”

The remaining five flats in the building are unaffected, with documents relating owners to the correct addresses.

But lawyers have said none of the affected owners can sell their properties unless the Land Registry gains every owner’s agreement to rectify the problem.

However, some owners have rented out their property, and have not yet responded to written requests to address the issue.

Burnetts, the Carlisle law firm that helped Mr Meyer purchase his flat said it was his responsibility to check the documents related to the correct property.

Nick Gutteridge, a managing partner at Burnetts, said: “We are very clear that responsibility for checking the title report was with Mr Meyer.

“Although this is not a situation of our making, we have gone above and beyond in helping Mr Meyer to rectify the issue, including liaising with other property owners and their lenders.”

He added: “We have previously encouraged Mr Meyer to seek independent legal advice and do so again. In the meantime, we are willing to continue to help, if he wants us to do so.”

Mr Meyer said: “This should never have happened. Burnetts have said that it was up to me to check the documents, but I paid them to do the conveyancing so that nothing like this would happen.

“That’s why you get a solicitor for these things. I just want somebody to fix this problem.”