Can't find a name to issue proceedings

[Happyman]

I intend to issue proceedings against the owners of the property behind my house. This surrounds problems involving nuisance builders, piles of rubble falling into my garden, and bonfires every day burning industrial waste. The problem I am having is identifying who owns the property as it is currently being renovated.

I used the Land Registry and the owner showed up as a Limited Company with 2 different addresses. One of which is in the next town from me.

I searched Companies House and the limited company shows up with a registered office address as a firm of accountants. These are situated in at a totally unrelated address in Bury St. Edmunds. The only names that show up are as 'officers' which are two names at the same firm of accountants.

Under the 'charges' section is a list of 10 different properties. The nuisance property is listed among them with 'persons entitled' followed by the name of the lender that appears on the deed.

I am none the wiser about who owns the house and it leaves me unable to issue proceedings.

Does anyone have any pointers please? Could I just issue proceedings against the limited company and send it to both owner addresses on the deed?

[atticus]

The owner is the Limited Company. That Limited Company has a registered office. You serve proceedings on the limited company at its registered office.

[atticus]

Have you complained to the council about statutory nuisance or to the Environment Agency about the use of the land to dump waste?

[Happyman]

Have you complained to the council about statutory nuisance or to the Environment Agency about the use of the land to dump waste?

Yes. Since October of last year. They have been useless. All they do is send out letters which the builders ignore because they know they are empty threats. Although most of the letters sent to that address remain piled up at the door for the builders to trapse over because they just assume all the mail is from the previous owner or at least has nothing to do with them. I doubt they have even read the letters from the EPA.

The council refuse to take any action until a EP Officer witnesses the bonfires first hand or sees the piles of waste. But there is never an officer available and hasn't been for 6 months despite repeated telephone calls. I must have called them over 30 times in 6 months. I could go through the complaints process and then appeal to the LGO but that could take another 6 months! I've decided instead to bring a private prosecution under section 82 of the EPA. I spoke to the Justice's clerk at my local magistrates' and she told me precisely what I need do to lay an information, and forwarded me all the necessary court documents.

However, the first stage under the EPA is to issue a notice of intention to prosecute, and give them a reasonable time to stop the nuisance. This is why I want the names of the owners of the property rather than a LTD company name.

[3.14]

The owner is the Limited Company. That Limited Company has a registered office. You serve proceedings on the limited company at its registered office.

Yep. There's no need to delve further than that.

...the owner showed up as a Limited Company with 2 different addresses.

<----That is the answer. The company is the owner.

[shootist]

The owner is the Limited Company. That Limited Company has a registered office. You serve proceedings on the limited company at its registered office.

Yep. There's no need to delve further than that.

...the owner showed up as a Limited Company with 2 different addresses.

<----That is the answer. The company is the owner.

Tread carefully on this one. A very well known supermarket company has two separate limited company identities at the same address. It has managed to evade a number of prosecutions for offences such as underage sales of cigarettes because a Trading Standards department has chosen the wrong company to deal with. For some reason the company concerned fails to mention this to the T.S. department until the offence is out of time. I may be wrong, but I thought that a company must nominate just the one address as a head office in order that documents may be correctly served.

As far as the council is concerned, you might have better luck complaining to your local councillor. A councillor on the phone doing the dance of the flaming arseholes at a head of department can have a quite enervating effect on that department.

[atticus]

The OP has found the name of the company, being the proprietor shown on the Proprietorship Register at Land Registry. As long as he brings his claim against that company, he has sued the registered proprietor of the land.

Your example is not of confusion as to address, but identity of defendant.

[3.14]

Tread carefully on this one. A very well known supermarket company has two separate limited company identities at the same address. It has managed to evade a number of prosecutions for offences such as underage sales of cigarettes because a Trading Standards department has chosen the wrong company to deal with. For some reason the company concerned fails to mention this to the T.S. department until the offence is out of time. I may be wrong, but I thought that a company must nominate just the one address as a head office in order that documents may be correctly served.

What many people do is to serve the company at ALL addresses and serve ALL the directors too at their own private addresses. Problem solved.

[atticus]

Why complicate things when s1139 Companies Act 2006 is so clear?

1139 Service of documents on company
(1)A document may be served on a company registered under this Act by leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the company's registered office.

[3.14]

Why complicate things when s1139 Companies Act 2006 is so clear?

1139 Service of documents on company
(1)A document may be served on a company registered under this Act by leaving it at, or sending it by post to, the company's registered office.

I agree but some people like to over think things sometimes. What i described is what Solicitors have instructed me to do when I know damn well, I can just serve the company and it would be fine.