Dispute resolution solicitors help council tenant win legal victory

Posted 20/09/2010

A man who sought the assistance of dispute resolution solicitors after encountering a problem with buying his council property is celebrating a legal victory.

Paul Taylor, 61, applied to buy the two-bedroom Victorian lodge he moved into in 1993 under the Right to Buy scheme in 1995.

However, he was told by Macclesfield Council – now Cheshire East Council – that because it was on consecrated land and a public footpath ran through the back garden, he would not be able to.

Now, after a 15-year battle which saw dispute resolution solicitors called in, Mr Taylor has won the right to buy the property.

Furthermore, he is able to purchase it at the 1995 price, rather than the £350,000 it is worth, meaning that with a residents’ discount, Mr Taylor will only pay £65,000.

“They tried to come up with every excuse in the book to stop me buying the house. I always knew I would win,” the widower commented.

Anyone affected by a dispute with another party should seek the advice of solicitors, who may resolve the matter through litigation, arbitration, mediation or other types of negotiation.