416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
My partner and I have recently completed on a 3 bedroom mid terrace property, prior to making an offer on the property we asked all the routine questions you would normally ask, structural integrity, neighbours etc. We also asked how long ago the property had been rewired, we have in writing from the estate agent that the house was rewired 12 years ago, who presumably got this information from the sellers. Not long after moving in we started decorating and removed a plug socket and light switch in one of the bedrooms and saw wiring that was definitely not up to current regulations (some of the wires didn’t even have a sheath on them) so we called an electrician who has told us the whole house needs rewiring and that in fact a lot of the wiring upstairs is pre 70’s and very unsafe.
Rewiring the whole house is going to cost us in the region of £5000. This is obviously a very unexpected cost for us and something we would have factored into our offer when purchasing the house. We feel we have been directly misled by either the seller or the estate agent and are wandering whether we have any legal leg to stand on or if we could try and seek some recompense for this massive cost that we are now going to have to pay out for. It isn’t even just the rewiring, the house was built in 1867 so the chance of there being any conduit in the walls is extraordinarily low which will mean all the walls for light switches and plug sockets will have to be channeled out in every single room. We are having the upstairs done as quickly as possible because it’s in far worse condition and we are so worried when we go to sleep we turn all the electrical outlets to the upstairs off.
This is obviously a very stressful situation and one we didn’t anticipate being in, we just don’t know how best to proceed now and whether we do have any grounds to seek compensation.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with much in the way of input at this point. Whether or not this will amount to a property misrepresentation claim will turn on exactly what was asked and exactly what the response was. The Law Society standard conditions of sale, which are normally incorporated into a contract, would generally exclude oral representations and representation made by any party apart from those made in writing by the other party or their solicitor. Therefore what the estate agent told you may not be capable of forming an actionable misrepresentation unless the statement was made fraudulently or recklessly. This can sometimes be difficult to prove.
Property misrepresentation claims can sometimes be straightforward. Sometimes they can be very complex, as the matter will turn on the subjective understanding of the party responding to questions asked and identifying evidence. It may very well be the case that the property was rewired in 12 years ago but was done so defectively, using outdated or existing wiring. At the moment, you have (which is probably right) the opinion of another electrician but this would probably not be enough without further input.
If the property was rewired 12 years ago (so 2008), there should have been an electrical safety certificate. Information regarding the electrical installations would normally appear in question 12 of the property information form. Many solicitors will use the standard Law Society Property Information Form (TA6) which was updated in February this year (4th edition). It can be found on the Law Society website. Whether or not your solicitor should have pointed this out to you is also a point you may want to consider.
You are correct to identify the fact that your loss is the opportunity to negotiate on the sale price. You may not have had enough information to know what the overall cost of the works would be at that point and the seller may have decided not to negotiate on the point anyway. Therefore your loss is going to be the difference in value for what you paid for the property and what someone would pay for it knowing about the problem.
If you would like to consider the matter in more detail, please do get in touch with us.
I recently purchased a house in central london and have since discovered that the lower ground floor is suffering from rising damp in many areas. The Homebuyers Survey I commissioned did state that there were high levels of damp in the property and I asked for information from the sellers.
The sellers stated that when they purchased the house a few years ago, they were told that it did register damp but it was normal for that age property. They also stated that they had a contractor round during renovations that said it didnt need damp proofing and there was nothing unusual for that age of house. They discloused that when they moved in tbey needed to repair some flooring in the bay that had been damaged due to damp from the old wooden windows. These had been replaced by new windows. They also stated that the bathroom registered high levels of damp but they had an extractor fans fitted and insulated the walls to overcome the problem. They stated in writting that although they are not disagreeing with the levels of damp noted by my homebuyers report – they have never seen signs of damp such as mould, water marks or flaking paint. They property was well maintained and well decorated throughout.
They seemed very open and I continued with the purchase without getting a more detailed survey. However, the damp problem soon became evident a few months after moving it and there is some flaking of paint. I cant tell but it looks like they have also used damp seal paint.
There were no questions about damp on the property information form from the solicitors and I didnt ask specific questions regarding damp, I simply asked for more information based on the homebuyers surbey report. In my opinion, although it seems they have been very open I believe I have been mislead.
In your opinion do I have a legal option to seek compensation?
We are unable to provide specific legal advice which can be relied on in this blog. We would need to consider your case in much more detail and look at all of the relevant documents and correspondence before we could provide an informed opinion.
However, we can provide some general guidance and from what you have described, we are not sure that you would have a claim.
It sounds as though you effectively asked whether or not the property suffered from damp and you have been told that it did. Even if the issue was more specific, namely whether or not the sellers experienced any issues with damp and were informed not, then you would need to identify evidence that this statement was untrue. We suspect that this would be difficult to do.
Whilst we would be happy to consider the position with you in more detail, we are hesitant about whether or not there could be a claim here.
We purchased our flat last year. The flat is in a block of 100+ new built properties and we bought it directly from the builder. The builder showed us our parking lot when we were buying the property and it was indeed the best parking lot available. Since then, we found out that the builder has assigned and sold the same parking lot to another flat owner in our building. When raising the dispute, we are told that the other party will keep the parking lot. The builder suggested they will find a new parking lot for us and allocate that to us. They are taking too long and I would prefer to keep the same slot.
Thank you for your comment and we are sorry to hear about this. Clearly the lack of a parking space would have a reasonably detrimental impact on any property. However, valuation evidence of the extent of this would be required.
In respect of misrepresentation, this does depend on the terms of the contract of sale, including whether or not the Law Society Standard Conditions of sale applied. Normally, oral representations are expressly excluded from being actionable. This is to ensure that there can be no dispute later on about what was agreed, which should all be in writing. Often developers will have bespoke contractual terms.
However, what you have written does sound strange. If you purchased a flat with the benefit of a parking space, then it is yours to own. We cannot see how the subsequent purchaser of the parking space would obtain what is called “good title”. It was not the developer’s to sell, as they had already done so. It may seem obvious but in law and put simply, it is not possible to sell something that does not belong to you. If this is what has happened, we are struggling to see how the buyer of the parking space would be able to register themselves as the legal owner. If you own the parking space, you would need to have signed a transfer to the new buyer.
We would need to look at the contractual documentation carefully and also consider the terms of the lease before we could provide any advice. The terms of the lease will set out the rights and obligations of the parties and would need careful scrutiny. Sometimes, leasehold flats have parking spaces included in the same Land Registry title number. Sometimes, the parking space may be a separate title number or even have a separate lease. It would be necessary to work out exactly what the contractual position was.
If you would like to look into the position in more detail with us, please do feel free to get in touch.
Thanks for your quick response Mark! I have already bought the property and the parking space is clearly written in the agreement
Just to clarify a few things if that helps – the parking space is noted in the deed – the same space is mentioned in the deed of another flat owner, they bought the flat and hence parking space before me. Hence they are the rightful owner I suppose. – builder is proposing to give us a new parking space instead of the original one. However I’m concerned because A) they are taking too long to find out which spot they want to allocate. It’s causing a lot of hassle for me B) the space I was originally allocated was quite convenient
We are unable to provide specific advice which can be relied upon on this website. This is primarily for the fact that we have not considered your documentation and correspondence which would be relevant to matters.
However, from what you have written, it appears that you have paid for something that you did not receive.
We do not believe that you can compel the developer to give you another parking space, which would effectively be property belonging to them. The possible exception to this was whether or not it can be said that another contract had been entered into. For example, if you have agreed a settlement, which is just another form of contract (i.e. that you would not pursue a claim in exchange for a different parking space) then this may be capable of being enforced by the Courts. However, this is questionable on the basis that the terms agreed appear reasonably uncertain. A contract can be void at law for uncertainty.
It is more likely that your claim lies in damages. This would be to compensate you for the loss of value to the property, which may be significant depending on the availability of alternative parking arrangements. This is something that a valuer should be asked to provide input on.
You will also probably need to consider amendments to the lease and Land Registry title. A buyer may be unwilling to purchase a property which is not accurately reflected in these formal documents. This is not necessarily difficult to do but of course would require work.
Please do feel free to get in touch if you would like to explore the matter further.
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My partner and I have recently completed on a 3 bedroom mid terrace property, prior to making an offer on the property we asked all the routine questions you would normally ask, structural integrity, neighbours etc. We also asked how long ago the property had been rewired, we have in writing from the estate agent that the house was rewired 12 years ago, who presumably got this information from the sellers. Not long after moving in we started decorating and removed a plug socket and light switch in one of the bedrooms and saw wiring that was definitely not up to current regulations (some of the wires didn’t even have a sheath on them) so we called an electrician who has told us the whole house needs rewiring and that in fact a lot of the wiring upstairs is pre 70’s and very unsafe.
Rewiring the whole house is going to cost us in the region of £5000. This is obviously a very unexpected cost for us and something we would have factored into our offer when purchasing the house. We feel we have been directly misled by either the seller or the estate agent and are wandering whether we have any legal leg to stand on or if we could try and seek some recompense for this massive cost that we are now going to have to pay out for. It isn’t even just the rewiring, the house was built in 1867 so the chance of there being any conduit in the walls is extraordinarily low which will mean all the walls for light switches and plug sockets will have to be channeled out in every single room. We are having the upstairs done as quickly as possible because it’s in far worse condition and we are so worried when we go to sleep we turn all the electrical outlets to the upstairs off.
This is obviously a very stressful situation and one we didn’t anticipate being in, we just don’t know how best to proceed now and whether we do have any grounds to seek compensation.
Thank you for your comment, Damien.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide you with much in the way of input at this point. Whether or not this will amount to a property misrepresentation claim will turn on exactly what was asked and exactly what the response was. The Law Society standard conditions of sale, which are normally incorporated into a contract, would generally exclude oral representations and representation made by any party apart from those made in writing by the other party or their solicitor. Therefore what the estate agent told you may not be capable of forming an actionable misrepresentation unless the statement was made fraudulently or recklessly. This can sometimes be difficult to prove.
Property misrepresentation claims can sometimes be straightforward. Sometimes they can be very complex, as the matter will turn on the subjective understanding of the party responding to questions asked and identifying evidence. It may very well be the case that the property was rewired in 12 years ago but was done so defectively, using outdated or existing wiring. At the moment, you have (which is probably right) the opinion of another electrician but this would probably not be enough without further input.
If the property was rewired 12 years ago (so 2008), there should have been an electrical safety certificate. Information regarding the electrical installations would normally appear in question 12 of the property information form. Many solicitors will use the standard Law Society Property Information Form (TA6) which was updated in February this year (4th edition). It can be found on the Law Society website. Whether or not your solicitor should have pointed this out to you is also a point you may want to consider.
You are correct to identify the fact that your loss is the opportunity to negotiate on the sale price. You may not have had enough information to know what the overall cost of the works would be at that point and the seller may have decided not to negotiate on the point anyway. Therefore your loss is going to be the difference in value for what you paid for the property and what someone would pay for it knowing about the problem.
If you would like to consider the matter in more detail, please do get in touch with us.
Hi
I recently purchased a house in central london and have since discovered that the lower ground floor is suffering from rising damp in many areas. The Homebuyers Survey I commissioned did state that there were high levels of damp in the property and I asked for information from the sellers.
The sellers stated that when they purchased the house a few years ago, they were told that it did register damp but it was normal for that age property. They also stated that they had a contractor round during renovations that said it didnt need damp proofing and there was nothing unusual for that age of house. They discloused that when they moved in tbey needed to repair some flooring in the bay that had been damaged due to damp from the old wooden windows. These had been replaced by new windows. They also stated that the bathroom registered high levels of damp but they had an extractor fans fitted and insulated the walls to overcome the problem. They stated in writting that although they are not disagreeing with the levels of damp noted by my homebuyers report – they have never seen signs of damp such as mould, water marks or flaking paint. They property was well maintained and well decorated throughout.
They seemed very open and I continued with the purchase without getting a more detailed survey. However, the damp problem soon became evident a few months after moving it and there is some flaking of paint. I cant tell but it looks like they have also used damp seal paint.
There were no questions about damp on the property information form from the solicitors and I didnt ask specific questions regarding damp, I simply asked for more information based on the homebuyers surbey report. In my opinion, although it seems they have been very open I believe I have been mislead.
In your opinion do I have a legal option to seek compensation?
Thank you for your comment.
We are unable to provide specific legal advice which can be relied on in this blog. We would need to consider your case in much more detail and look at all of the relevant documents and correspondence before we could provide an informed opinion.
However, we can provide some general guidance and from what you have described, we are not sure that you would have a claim.
It sounds as though you effectively asked whether or not the property suffered from damp and you have been told that it did. Even if the issue was more specific, namely whether or not the sellers experienced any issues with damp and were informed not, then you would need to identify evidence that this statement was untrue. We suspect that this would be difficult to do.
Whilst we would be happy to consider the position with you in more detail, we are hesitant about whether or not there could be a claim here.
We purchased our flat last year. The flat is in a block of 100+ new built properties and we bought it directly from the builder. The builder showed us our parking lot when we were buying the property and it was indeed the best parking lot available. Since then, we found out that the builder has assigned and sold the same parking lot to another flat owner in our building. When raising the dispute, we are told that the other party will keep the parking lot. The builder suggested they will find a new parking lot for us and allocate that to us. They are taking too long and I would prefer to keep the same slot.
Do I have a case of misrepresentation?
Thank you for your comment and we are sorry to hear about this. Clearly the lack of a parking space would have a reasonably detrimental impact on any property. However, valuation evidence of the extent of this would be required.
In respect of misrepresentation, this does depend on the terms of the contract of sale, including whether or not the Law Society Standard Conditions of sale applied. Normally, oral representations are expressly excluded from being actionable. This is to ensure that there can be no dispute later on about what was agreed, which should all be in writing. Often developers will have bespoke contractual terms.
However, what you have written does sound strange. If you purchased a flat with the benefit of a parking space, then it is yours to own. We cannot see how the subsequent purchaser of the parking space would obtain what is called “good title”. It was not the developer’s to sell, as they had already done so. It may seem obvious but in law and put simply, it is not possible to sell something that does not belong to you. If this is what has happened, we are struggling to see how the buyer of the parking space would be able to register themselves as the legal owner. If you own the parking space, you would need to have signed a transfer to the new buyer.
We would need to look at the contractual documentation carefully and also consider the terms of the lease before we could provide any advice. The terms of the lease will set out the rights and obligations of the parties and would need careful scrutiny. Sometimes, leasehold flats have parking spaces included in the same Land Registry title number. Sometimes, the parking space may be a separate title number or even have a separate lease. It would be necessary to work out exactly what the contractual position was.
If you would like to look into the position in more detail with us, please do feel free to get in touch.
Thanks for your quick response Mark!
I have already bought the property and the parking space is clearly written in the agreement
Just to clarify a few things if that helps
– the parking space is noted in the deed
– the same space is mentioned in the deed of another flat owner, they bought the flat and hence parking space before me. Hence they are the rightful owner I suppose.
– builder is proposing to give us a new parking space instead of the original one. However I’m concerned because
A) they are taking too long to find out which spot they want to allocate. It’s causing a lot of hassle for me
B) the space I was originally allocated was quite convenient
Thank you for your further comment.
We are unable to provide specific advice which can be relied upon on this website. This is primarily for the fact that we have not considered your documentation and correspondence which would be relevant to matters.
However, from what you have written, it appears that you have paid for something that you did not receive.
We do not believe that you can compel the developer to give you another parking space, which would effectively be property belonging to them. The possible exception to this was whether or not it can be said that another contract had been entered into. For example, if you have agreed a settlement, which is just another form of contract (i.e. that you would not pursue a claim in exchange for a different parking space) then this may be capable of being enforced by the Courts. However, this is questionable on the basis that the terms agreed appear reasonably uncertain. A contract can be void at law for uncertainty.
It is more likely that your claim lies in damages. This would be to compensate you for the loss of value to the property, which may be significant depending on the availability of alternative parking arrangements. This is something that a valuer should be asked to provide input on.
You will also probably need to consider amendments to the lease and Land Registry title. A buyer may be unwilling to purchase a property which is not accurately reflected in these formal documents. This is not necessarily difficult to do but of course would require work.
Please do feel free to get in touch if you would like to explore the matter further.