191 thoughts on “Property Misrepresentation Claims in Practice”
Hi
We are currently purchasing a property where we were told they were not purchasing a property but moving into rented up north. When they completed the form with the question “do you need to complete on another property the same day as your current property?” they answered yes. We straight away went back to the estate agent and queried. They did not know of them offering on a property and thought they had made a mistake but he did double-check and the sellers said it was a mistake. The sellers have now added a property to the chain which now means we can not complete by the 30th June when we could before. We might get 5,0000 towards the additional stamp we will ensure but that is from their estate agent reducing their fee. If we complete can we sue them afterwards for the remainder or all of the extra stamp duty if we nothing towards it? Our offer price was based on getting it through by then, which they knew.
In a property transaction, a contract is formed at exchange of contracts. Before exchange of contracts, a date for completion should have been agreed. If that agreed date was after the SDLT holiday deadline of 30th June 2021, then it cannot realistically be said that you relied on any statement when entering into the contract that completion would take place before this.
If the agreed completion date was before the deadline, and this now looks unlikely to be met, you should discuss with your solicitor the service of a notice to complete. The standard conditions of sale normally incorporated into the contract of sale of residential property does contain provisions for compensation if the completion date is not met.
I purchased the house 4 months ago. We did not have a surveyor’s report only a mortgage surveyor and the TA6 Property information form from the seller.
We’ve now found a number of problems the major one being that the extension roof leaks. The extension was newly built (2017) by the seller. It was presented as a new high spec extension. On the form the seller stated having planning permission and never having any problems. After getting quotes to get the roof fixed, we’ve found out he’s got the wrong roof tiles (it’s a flat roof disguised as a pitched roof). I’ve contacted the council and they are sending me a completion certificate to state that it was signed off. I am looking for a solution that would involve some form of compensation for this issue, as I was misled in the buying process. Do you think I have grounds for a claim?
Aside from the extension leak, there are 3 other leaks throughout other parts of the house: kitchen, front room and upstairs bathroom and that’s caused by rotten roof joists that need replacing that would have been seen when putting in the extension and concealed damage built over rotten fascia boards.
We also had to replace the boiler on the second day as buyer concealed that the boiler was broken and left a bowl under the boiler to collect leaking water (the boiler was in the loft so was not in plain sight when viewing the sight), while stating on the form that it was in good working order, when in fact the bowl needed to be emptied very frequently and ultimately it was unfixable and needed to be replaced.
He also failed to declare that the 4th bedroom is a garage conversion – the garage roof has been encapsulated which is a major fire hazard.
Are any of these issues worthy of a claim? Or do I have to accept that I was naive to trust the seller?
Thank you for your comment. Unless you have been expressly told (and this normally has to be in writing) something about the property which is not accurate and have relied on this when entering into the contract, there is probably no basis of claim in misrepresentation. Unless a specific representation was made which was untrue, clause 3 of the standard conditions of sale (which are normally incorporated into the contract) state that the buyer accepts the property in the physical condition that it is in on exchange.
We would always recommend that a client have their own personal survey undertaken. A lender’s survey is normally restricted to advice on whether or not the property is “worth” what is being loaned against it and normally expressly states that it is not to be relied on by third parties.
We would also recommend that if there are specific concerns, these are always raised with the seller and if there are specific points to be considered by a surveyor, these are expressly included in that surveyor’s instructions. The reason for this is that in a property transaction, it is always “buyer beware” and it is incumbent on a buyer to undertake sufficient enquiries to satisfy themselves before entering into the contract.
We bought a house in April 2021 that was refurbished and the seller did not disclose on the PIF that they have removed some internal structural walls. A few months after our purchase I see signs of ongoing movement(cracks) where the structural walls have been removed. Can I take the sellers to court for lying about the structural alterations? I should mention the seller is a Limited Company.
Thank you for your comment. From what you have said this may not necessarily be sufficient to allow for a claim against the sellers. If they merely failed to mention a structural alteration or structural issues that is not necessarily a misrepresentation as a misrepresentation requires that the seller actively made a false statement. So if they were asked specifically if there were any structural issues or structural movement, or whether any structural alterations had taken place, and they said that there had not been, and this was false, then there may be a claim.
As part of the enquiries the seller has been asked weather the property suffers from any structural defects and they declared no.
To me the Property Information Form (TA6) is quite clear on the wording:
“Have any of the following changes been made to the whole or any part of the property (including the garden)? (a) Building works (e.g. extension, loft or garage conversion, removal of internal walls). If Yes, please give details including dates of all work undertaken:”
They have not given details of the walls that were removed. Is that not a lie?
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Hi
We are currently purchasing a property where we were told they were not purchasing a property but moving into rented up north. When they completed the form with the question “do you need to complete on another property the same day as your current property?” they answered yes. We straight away went back to the estate agent and queried. They did not know of them offering on a property and thought they had made a mistake but he did double-check and the sellers said it was a mistake. The sellers have now added a property to the chain which now means we can not complete by the 30th June when we could before. We might get 5,0000 towards the additional stamp we will ensure but that is from their estate agent reducing their fee. If we complete can we sue them afterwards for the remainder or all of the extra stamp duty if we nothing towards it? Our offer price was based on getting it through by then, which they knew.
Thank you for your comment.
In a property transaction, a contract is formed at exchange of contracts. Before exchange of contracts, a date for completion should have been agreed. If that agreed date was after the SDLT holiday deadline of 30th June 2021, then it cannot realistically be said that you relied on any statement when entering into the contract that completion would take place before this.
If the agreed completion date was before the deadline, and this now looks unlikely to be met, you should discuss with your solicitor the service of a notice to complete. The standard conditions of sale normally incorporated into the contract of sale of residential property does contain provisions for compensation if the completion date is not met.
I purchased the house 4 months ago. We did not have a surveyor’s report only a mortgage surveyor and the TA6 Property information form from the seller.
We’ve now found a number of problems the major one being that the extension roof leaks. The extension was newly built (2017) by the seller. It was presented as a new high spec extension. On the form the seller stated having planning permission and never having any problems. After getting quotes to get the roof fixed, we’ve found out he’s got the wrong roof tiles (it’s a flat roof disguised as a pitched roof). I’ve contacted the council and they are sending me a completion certificate to state that it was signed off. I am looking for a solution that would involve some form of compensation for this issue, as I was misled in the buying process. Do you think I have grounds for a claim?
Aside from the extension leak, there are 3 other leaks throughout other parts of the house: kitchen, front room and upstairs bathroom and that’s caused by rotten roof joists that need replacing that would have been seen when putting in the extension and concealed damage built over rotten fascia boards.
We also had to replace the boiler on the second day as buyer concealed that the boiler was broken and left a bowl under the boiler to collect leaking water (the boiler was in the loft so was not in plain sight when viewing the sight), while stating on the form that it was in good working order, when in fact the bowl needed to be emptied very frequently and ultimately it was unfixable and needed to be replaced.
He also failed to declare that the 4th bedroom is a garage conversion – the garage roof has been encapsulated which is a major fire hazard.
Are any of these issues worthy of a claim? Or do I have to accept that I was naive to trust the seller?
Thank you for your comment. Unless you have been expressly told (and this normally has to be in writing) something about the property which is not accurate and have relied on this when entering into the contract, there is probably no basis of claim in misrepresentation. Unless a specific representation was made which was untrue, clause 3 of the standard conditions of sale (which are normally incorporated into the contract) state that the buyer accepts the property in the physical condition that it is in on exchange.
We would always recommend that a client have their own personal survey undertaken. A lender’s survey is normally restricted to advice on whether or not the property is “worth” what is being loaned against it and normally expressly states that it is not to be relied on by third parties.
We would also recommend that if there are specific concerns, these are always raised with the seller and if there are specific points to be considered by a surveyor, these are expressly included in that surveyor’s instructions. The reason for this is that in a property transaction, it is always “buyer beware” and it is incumbent on a buyer to undertake sufficient enquiries to satisfy themselves before entering into the contract.
Hi,
We bought a house in April 2021 that was refurbished and the seller did not disclose on the PIF that they have removed some internal structural walls. A few months after our purchase I see signs of ongoing movement(cracks) where the structural walls have been removed. Can I take the sellers to court for lying about the structural alterations?
I should mention the seller is a Limited Company.
Thank you for your comment. From what you have said this may not necessarily be sufficient to allow for a claim against the sellers. If they merely failed to mention a structural alteration or structural issues that is not necessarily a misrepresentation as a misrepresentation requires that the seller actively made a false statement. So if they were asked specifically if there were any structural issues or structural movement, or whether any structural alterations had taken place, and they said that there had not been, and this was false, then there may be a claim.
If you are seeking additional advice on this please feel free to contact our Litigation department at the Braintree office.
Hi Jon,
As part of the enquiries the seller has been asked weather the property suffers from any structural defects and they declared no.
To me the Property Information Form (TA6) is quite clear on the wording:
“Have any of the following changes been made to the whole or any part of the property
(including the garden)?
(a) Building works (e.g. extension, loft or garage
conversion, removal of internal walls). If Yes, please give details including dates of all work undertaken:”
They have not given details of the walls that were removed. Is that not a lie?