191 thoughts on “Property Misrepresentation Claims in Practice”
We have just bought a property at auction in Scotland, but have not completed yet. The property was advertised with a tenant paying rent at a yield of 7%. When the auction was over the vendors anounced that no such tenancy existed and the tenant had a life rent (registered agreement to stay in the property for the rest of their lives for no payment effectively). We are now faced with completing the purchase and not getting any return on the investment for decades, whilst being faced with maintenance costs – or refuse to pay (already paid 10% deposit) and let the vendors chase us for any potential losses they incur on resale. The small print in the auction sale terms are that they are not responsible for any misrepresentation and it is our duty to check the validity of all statements prior to the auction. The repeated claims that the property was generating a reasonable income were blatantly misleading and unfortunately we took them at their word. Please can you advise – we would value any help you can give.
I sold a property and on TA6 form marked no to Japnese Knott Weed. I was not aware that there was in fact JKW present. The buyers appointed a level 3 RCIS surveyor who took photos of JKW and also failed to identify the weed. Buyers failed to check the surveyors report and act on it. Buyers are now taking me to court for marking no to presence of JKW. I have offered to pay part of the cost to eradicate the weed, but buyers have refused and want me to pay full amount plus the devaluation of property.
On the standard property information form, we believe that they is also a “don’t know” or “not known” box to tick.
On this basis, it would seem that you had the option to tick such a box (or at least not answer at all, or explain you didn’t know) rather than effectively confirming that you had checked and were sure that knotweed was not present.
The buyer does not have to sue their surveyors if they do not want to. It may be the case that there is a possible defence for them as well (can it be said that a surveyor would definitely have spotted the knotweed?).
Whilst we cannot give legal advice on our website, it may be worthwhile you seeking this, as from what you have said, you could be at risk of a claim and may need assistance in mitigating any loss.
I purchased a property over 12 months ago. On viewing the property I asked the sellers if there were any parking issues being a narrow street. They advised me they had their own parking spot at the rear of the property. On the property information form they have stated no access/right of way issues, no disputes with neighbours and that they park at the rear or front of property. I recently had a knock at the door advising I was not allowed to park at either the front or rear of the property as it is private land. If I was aware that there was no parking with the property I would not have gone ahead with the purchase. The owners of the private land have provided their deeds and proof of solicitors letters sent to the previous owners advising that they could purchase some of the land to use for parking and so they were well aware of this issue and it had been an ongoing dispute for a number of years. Would i have a case for misrepresentation?
There may be a claim for misrepresentation. However, you would likely need to prove that the sellers were aware of the issues and deliberately misled you (i.e. a “fraudulent” misrepresentation). The chances are that your contract of sale incorporated the standard conditions of sale. These exclude liability for oral representations. In the absence of fraud, these would prevent you from taking action against the seller for things said to you orally, at a viewing, for example.
It may also be the case that you have a claim against your solicitor. This would depend on precisely what they agreed to do for you and whether or not a “reasonably competent conveyancing solicitor” should have spotted any legal issues regarding the point.
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We have just bought a property at auction in Scotland, but have not completed yet. The property was advertised with a tenant paying rent at a yield of 7%. When the auction was over the vendors anounced that no such tenancy existed and the tenant had a life rent (registered agreement to stay in the property for the rest of their lives for no payment effectively).
We are now faced with completing the purchase and not getting any return on the investment for decades, whilst being faced with maintenance costs – or refuse to pay (already paid 10% deposit) and let the vendors chase us for any potential losses they incur on resale.
The small print in the auction sale terms are that they are not responsible for any misrepresentation and it is our duty to check the validity of all statements prior to the auction.
The repeated claims that the property was generating a reasonable income were blatantly misleading and unfortunately we took them at their word. Please can you advise – we would value any help you can give.
Thank you for your comment.
We are sorry to say that we cannot advise on Scottish law, just the law of England and Wales.
I sold a property and on TA6 form marked no to Japnese Knott Weed. I was not aware that there was in fact JKW present. The buyers appointed a level 3 RCIS surveyor who took photos of JKW and also failed to identify the weed. Buyers failed to check the surveyors report and act on it. Buyers are now taking me to court for marking no to presence of JKW. I have offered to pay part of the cost to eradicate the weed, but buyers have refused and want me to pay full amount plus the devaluation of property.
Thank you for your comment.
On the standard property information form, we believe that they is also a “don’t know” or “not known” box to tick.
On this basis, it would seem that you had the option to tick such a box (or at least not answer at all, or explain you didn’t know) rather than effectively confirming that you had checked and were sure that knotweed was not present.
The buyer does not have to sue their surveyors if they do not want to. It may be the case that there is a possible defence for them as well (can it be said that a surveyor would definitely have spotted the knotweed?).
Whilst we cannot give legal advice on our website, it may be worthwhile you seeking this, as from what you have said, you could be at risk of a claim and may need assistance in mitigating any loss.
I purchased a property over 12 months ago. On viewing the property I asked the sellers if there were any parking issues being a narrow street. They advised me they had their own parking spot at the rear of the property. On the property information form they have stated no access/right of way issues, no disputes with neighbours and that they park at the rear or front of property. I recently had a knock at the door advising I was not allowed to park at either the front or rear of the property as it is private land. If I was aware that there was no parking with the property I would not have gone ahead with the purchase. The owners of the private land have provided their deeds and proof of solicitors letters sent to the previous owners advising that they could purchase some of the land to use for parking and so they were well aware of this issue and it had been an ongoing dispute for a number of years. Would i have a case for misrepresentation?
Thank you for your comment.
There may be a claim for misrepresentation. However, you would likely need to prove that the sellers were aware of the issues and deliberately misled you (i.e. a “fraudulent” misrepresentation). The chances are that your contract of sale incorporated the standard conditions of sale. These exclude liability for oral representations. In the absence of fraud, these would prevent you from taking action against the seller for things said to you orally, at a viewing, for example.
It may also be the case that you have a claim against your solicitor. This would depend on precisely what they agreed to do for you and whether or not a “reasonably competent conveyancing solicitor” should have spotted any legal issues regarding the point.