416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
My daughter put a deposit on a new build flat in a building previously being used as offices. When we saw the show apartment, the windows in the flat were from floor to ceiling. Nobody mentioned that the flat we placed a deposit on would not have the windows from floor to ceiling and neither on the 2 or 3 times we returned to see the apartment did anyone mention it! On one of the occasions I was even taken to the location where my flat would be before the work started and saw the windows as per the show apartment. Further communication with the developer followed where they advised the windows hadn’t been changed! The developer advised that some flats were planned to not have these windows but it was these that were the wow factor. The contract does not state anything that the apartment we put a deposit on would not have the floor to ceiling windows. We asked for compensation in price reduction as believe the value has fallen from changing the windows but have been refused.
Of course with the Covid-19 pandemic, the developer has now advised that cannot guarantee meeting contractual dates so it is possible the apartment may not be ready by the agreed completion date although tbh we have been given earlier dates previously only to be let down.
I would like to rescind the contract and wondering if we have a strong case to do that based on the windows and/or should they complete after the agreed contracted date?
Purchasing off-plan property can represent a risk, and often in the contract there will be a clause which allows a developer to change specifications provided it does not materially affect the value of the property.
Whether or not it is possible to rescind the contract will largely depend on the terms of the contract and whether or not the representations made in relation to the windows were relied upon. There might be some scope here for a claim based on conduct, namely that the developer showed you what your property would look like once finished, however, we would envisage some difficulties here.
Unfortunately without a better review of the contractual documents, it is difficult to say whether or not there is a claim here.
Advice please. We purchased a residential bungalow dwelling completing on 19/02/20 having sold our former property. We’ve spent £30k to renovate and make good as the dwelling hadn’t been touched since it was built circa 1988. Soon after we exchanged the bungalow next door was put under construction, still is, every day from 8am – 9pm (it’s a one man build). I’ve looked back through the property form and disclosure. The vendor did not reside here as the bungalow was formerly his mother’s home and she had passed away January 2019. The dwelling on the other side of the one under construction was also unoccupied an the occupant was also deceased June 2019. In August 2019 the house in the middle (problem house) of the 2 deceased’s had interest from a purchaser. The plans for developing this 3 bed. 1 story bungalow in a bungalow residential area were submitted to the local authority. There were no objections as the letters were sent to 2 deceased persons re: objections. 16/10/19 the local authority resolved to support the reconstruction application as no parties had offered any objection (how could they, they were deceased). This was the primary factor for the purchaser of the bungalow under construction. When the vendor, the son of the deceased, was asked on the property information form of there were any plans for building in the locality, he stated ‘extension proposed for neighbouring property’. He then failed to complete the supporting information required. This form signed by the vendor of our property was signed on 06/12/19, almost 4 months after he was aware of the proposed huge extension next door. Dishonest. We were made aware very late in the proceedings, about 3 weeks before our exchange date. We were already committed to the move as we had parties purchasing our house . We viewed the plans online however they stated ‘dormer upstairs and extension to the rear. This build is absolutely hideous and huge! It is most definitely NOT in keeping with the surrounding dwellings , I am flabbergasted this build was ever approved but with no one to object, no problem for the purchaser. The owner of the house we purchased WAS aware as when asked by the owner / builder of the next door property, he said he didn’t care about it as he was selling his deceased mother’s house anyway. Our hearts are broken, the noise is causing stress and anxiety, the deceit is hard to take and we are at our wits end. The building is so intrusive, it looks directly into every aspect of our 60 foot garden, even the patio area outside our rear bedrooms. We have zero privacy. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
Just by way of clarification, we can only provide general guidance here and not specific advice. The general guidance should not be relied upon as a substitute for obtaining specific legal advice.
Obviously it is disappointing and frustrating when a neighbour undertakes construction work. Planning regulations exist to balance the interests of a property owner to build on their own land against the rights of neighbours. It sounds to us that you might want to consider raising your objections with the Council as soon as possible.
In some cases, a “half-truth” can amount to a misrepresentation. If certain facts were disclosed by a seller but others not, so as to give an false impression, then this can form the basis of a claim. However, from what you have written, whilst supporting information was not provided (although we are unclear what this might be – unless a non-standard property information form was used, there is not a specific question about the details), the fact that a proposed extension was identified by the seller and before exchange of contracts is likely to mean that you do not have a claim for misrepresentation.
For a claim for misrepresentation to exist, there must be a false statement of fact. Unless you were told the specifics about the proposed extension and relied on this when entering into the contract, only to later discover that this was untrue, then there might be some scope. However, this does not appear to be the case here and it sounds as though the case may be risky primarily because the prospect of the extension was specifically brought to your attention.
With the property I recently purchased, the seller had declared (in the flooding section on the property information form) that a drain had once been overwhelmed during a very heavy rain. He said, the incident took place while he was away and there was no damage. His neighbour had noticed the build up of water and cleared debris from the drain to help the water flow down. After speaking to the neighbour he said that before he cleared the drain, the water had built up high enough for water to enter the subfloor vents and enter into the subfloor. I am concerned that this could have damaged the subfloor structure. Has the seller committed misrepresentation by saying there was no damage when water got into the subfloor?
Solicitors should always advise their clients to consider the potential cost and risk of pursuing a course of action against the potential benefit of doing so. It would be remiss of any solicitor to advise that a claim exists and should be pursued when the overall benefit to the client is not worth the cost and risk. This is an ongoing process, as often at the outset of a matter, it is not completely clear what the prospects of success are or the likely recoverable damages. Sometimes the best a solicitor can do at the outset of a matter is explain that there is a possible claim but investigation into the evidence and likely loss needs to be considered further.
With all types of litigation, the colloquialism “it’s about proof, not truth” often rings true. It may very well be the case that no damage was ever caused and without evidence to suggest the contrary, it would be unlikely that any sort of claim would be successful.
Even if damage had been caused historically, a careful consideration of the loss that this has caused to you would need to be taken into account. A one-off flood, which does happen, might not necessarily have any impact on the value of the property, whereas a systemic and repeated flooding problem likely would.
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My daughter put a deposit on a new build flat in a building previously being used as offices. When we saw the show apartment, the windows in the flat were from floor to ceiling. Nobody mentioned that the flat we placed a deposit on would not have the windows from floor to ceiling and neither on the 2 or 3 times we returned to see the apartment did anyone mention it! On one of the occasions I was even taken to the location where my flat would be before the work started and saw the windows as per the show apartment. Further communication with the developer followed where they advised the windows hadn’t been changed! The developer advised that some flats were planned to not have these windows but it was these that were the wow factor. The contract does not state anything that the apartment we put a deposit on would not have the floor to ceiling windows. We asked for compensation in price reduction as believe the value has fallen from changing the windows but have been refused.
Of course with the Covid-19 pandemic, the developer has now advised that cannot guarantee meeting contractual dates so it is possible the apartment may not be ready by the agreed completion date although tbh we have been given earlier dates previously only to be let down.
I would like to rescind the contract and wondering if we have a strong case to do that based on the windows and/or should they complete after the agreed contracted date?
Appreciate your advice on this.
Thanks
Thank you for your comment.
Purchasing off-plan property can represent a risk, and often in the contract there will be a clause which allows a developer to change specifications provided it does not materially affect the value of the property.
Whether or not it is possible to rescind the contract will largely depend on the terms of the contract and whether or not the representations made in relation to the windows were relied upon. There might be some scope here for a claim based on conduct, namely that the developer showed you what your property would look like once finished, however, we would envisage some difficulties here.
Unfortunately without a better review of the contractual documents, it is difficult to say whether or not there is a claim here.
Advice please. We purchased a residential bungalow dwelling completing on 19/02/20 having sold our former property. We’ve spent £30k to renovate and make good as the dwelling hadn’t been touched since it was built circa 1988. Soon after we exchanged the bungalow next door was put under construction, still is, every day from 8am – 9pm (it’s a one man build). I’ve looked back through the property form and disclosure. The vendor did not reside here as the bungalow was formerly his mother’s home and she had passed away January 2019. The dwelling on the other side of the one under construction was also unoccupied an the occupant was also deceased June 2019. In August 2019 the house in the middle (problem house) of the 2 deceased’s had interest from a purchaser. The plans for developing this 3 bed. 1 story bungalow in a bungalow residential area were submitted to the local authority. There were no objections as the letters were sent to 2 deceased persons re: objections. 16/10/19 the local authority resolved to support the reconstruction application as no parties had offered any objection (how could they, they were deceased). This was the primary factor for the purchaser of the bungalow under construction. When the vendor, the son of the deceased, was asked on the property information form of there were any plans for building in the locality, he stated ‘extension proposed for neighbouring property’. He then failed to complete the supporting information required. This form signed by the vendor of our property was signed on 06/12/19, almost 4 months after he was aware of the proposed huge extension next door. Dishonest. We were made aware very late in the proceedings, about 3 weeks before our exchange date. We were already committed to the move as we had parties purchasing our house . We viewed the plans online however they stated ‘dormer upstairs and extension to the rear. This build is absolutely hideous and huge! It is most definitely NOT in keeping with the surrounding dwellings , I am flabbergasted this build was ever approved but with no one to object, no problem for the purchaser. The owner of the house we purchased WAS aware as when asked by the owner / builder of the next door property, he said he didn’t care about it as he was selling his deceased mother’s house anyway. Our hearts are broken, the noise is causing stress and anxiety, the deceit is hard to take and we are at our wits end. The building is so intrusive, it looks directly into every aspect of our 60 foot garden, even the patio area outside our rear bedrooms. We have zero privacy. Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment Sharon.
Just by way of clarification, we can only provide general guidance here and not specific advice. The general guidance should not be relied upon as a substitute for obtaining specific legal advice.
Obviously it is disappointing and frustrating when a neighbour undertakes construction work. Planning regulations exist to balance the interests of a property owner to build on their own land against the rights of neighbours. It sounds to us that you might want to consider raising your objections with the Council as soon as possible.
In some cases, a “half-truth” can amount to a misrepresentation. If certain facts were disclosed by a seller but others not, so as to give an false impression, then this can form the basis of a claim. However, from what you have written, whilst supporting information was not provided (although we are unclear what this might be – unless a non-standard property information form was used, there is not a specific question about the details), the fact that a proposed extension was identified by the seller and before exchange of contracts is likely to mean that you do not have a claim for misrepresentation.
For a claim for misrepresentation to exist, there must be a false statement of fact. Unless you were told the specifics about the proposed extension and relied on this when entering into the contract, only to later discover that this was untrue, then there might be some scope. However, this does not appear to be the case here and it sounds as though the case may be risky primarily because the prospect of the extension was specifically brought to your attention.
With the property I recently purchased, the seller had declared (in the flooding section on the property information form) that a drain had once been overwhelmed during a very heavy rain. He said, the incident took place while he was away and there was no damage. His neighbour had noticed the build up of water and cleared debris from the drain to help the water flow down.
After speaking to the neighbour he said that before he cleared the drain, the water had built up high enough for water to enter the subfloor vents and enter into the subfloor.
I am concerned that this could have damaged the subfloor structure.
Has the seller committed misrepresentation by saying there was no damage when water got into the subfloor?
Thank you for your comment Matthew.
Solicitors should always advise their clients to consider the potential cost and risk of pursuing a course of action against the potential benefit of doing so. It would be remiss of any solicitor to advise that a claim exists and should be pursued when the overall benefit to the client is not worth the cost and risk. This is an ongoing process, as often at the outset of a matter, it is not completely clear what the prospects of success are or the likely recoverable damages. Sometimes the best a solicitor can do at the outset of a matter is explain that there is a possible claim but investigation into the evidence and likely loss needs to be considered further.
With all types of litigation, the colloquialism “it’s about proof, not truth” often rings true. It may very well be the case that no damage was ever caused and without evidence to suggest the contrary, it would be unlikely that any sort of claim would be successful.
Even if damage had been caused historically, a careful consideration of the loss that this has caused to you would need to be taken into account. A one-off flood, which does happen, might not necessarily have any impact on the value of the property, whereas a systemic and repeated flooding problem likely would.