416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
Thank you for your enquiry.
In short, there may be a potential claim for misrepresentation, if you have been misled by the contents of the property information form completed by the seller. We are unable to confirm this without looking at the conveyancing file itself and considering the position in detail but from what you have written, it seems that a claim may exist. The searches would be unlikely to identify this issue and the red boundary lines appearing on any Land Registry Plan relating to the property are more than likely general boundaries and would not show the exact location of the boundary. The only other thing which would normally identify the location of a boundary line is a surveyor’s report.
There could be scope here to claim that you have paid more for the property than it is worth, on the basis that you paid a purchase price which included the piece of land which is not part of the property but you were led to believe it did. You would need some valuation evidence to determine what this loss would be.
If you would like to consider the position in more detail, please do feel free to get in touch.
We are in the process of exchanging on a property. Throughout the process the seller and agent has maintained that the loft is demised. Shortly before exchanging contracts I pressed on the subject directly with the freeholder, who advised the loft isn’t demised.
The seller had cut and paste an excerpt from an email from the freeholder implying the loft was demised, omitting the information that it was to be used for storage only. I have completed on my current property and have to move out at the end of the month. I now believe that the property price is below what was agreed. The estate agents have not covered themselves in glory as the advert does not state the loft is not demised, just that consents are required.
We bought a small holding with a holiday let, prior to sale we were not allowed in the holiday let as it was rented out but the surveyor did go in. Anyway after completion we noticed it stank, we opened windows but realised the next day something was wrong. After looking we found mouse poison everywhere in cupboards and called in pest experts who confirmed there was evidence of mice in the loft. Fast forward two months and the entire loft insulatoon has been removed with 15 dead bodies and live ones caught. Also underneath the let are garages and they were in the insulation there, the kitchen was removed as heavily contamined with faeces etc. On the buyers form when asked if the council has ever been contacted the buyer put no, we found out that his prior tenant in 2018 had the council out twice when he complained mice were in the flat, they just laid bait traps. The tenant has offered to stand in court without us even asking. So the buyer knew about this problem and lied on the forms.
So far this has cost us thousands and the problem is ongoing , we bought this place to get revenue from the let. I was told I should get a surveyor to provide a valuation with this factor known before sending a letter before action so you have a professional view. There is also the issue of how do we let this place out in the future as it’s a converted stable loft area and impossible due to design to fully seal. Bu now we should have been renting it out for two months let alone loss of future revenue. I would rather have the contract rescinded as also there is the problem when we come to sell it ?
Hello. What a disappointment and inconvenience you have suffered and we are sorry to hear about what has happened.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that rescission is not guaranteed and if completion has taken place, it is considerably more likely that a Court would only award damages. This is primarily because of the impracticalities involved in reversing a contract for the purchase/sale of land when damages would normally be an adequate remedy to compensate you for any loss.
Case law establishes that the property information form is designed for a layperson to understand and complete. This broadly means that the Court will consider what a reasonable seller would have understood by the questions in the form and consider the answers given in this context. We assume you mean that the seller, in answer to question 3.1 of the property information form, said “no”, no notices or correspondence had been sent to the council, when in fact the seller was aware that correspondence had been sent to the Council (presumably because the tenant raised this with the seller). It may be the case that the Council has issued notices which prove this.
The other question to check in the property information for is the answer to question 14.4(a), which asks the seller whether or not the property will be left in a clean and tidy condition. Obviously this is a reasonably subjective question, but there may very well be scope to say that leaving a property in a condition where it remains subject to an ongoing infestation of mice is not clean and tidy.
As for the physical state of the property itself, which seems to make letting it difficult moving forward, this is unlikely to be anything that you would be able to obtain damages for. The standard conditions of sale, which are likely to have applied to your purchase, broadly say that a buyer accepts the property in the physical state it is in. There may be some scope to make a claim against your surveyor, but this would turn heavily on the scope of their instructions and what they were asked to do or advise on. We would be surprised if your surveyor agreed to check for rodent infestation which did not affect the structure of the building or that the property was suitable to be let. Their instructions are normally to advise on the structural integrity of the property and, when instructed by lenders, that the property represents good security for the mortgage provider to lend money against.
The aim of damages in cases of misrepresentation is to place the aggrieved party in a position they would have been had the misrepresentation not been made. Therefore the measure of damages may not necessarily be the full loss you have suffered, as damages will primarily be based on the difference in value of what you paid for the property and what a reasonable person would have paid had the issue been known about.
Before you spend any money on an expert, you might want to check that the report, once produced, would comply with Court rules.
Whilst we cannot give advice, as we do not know exactly what the situation is, we hope that our reply is of broad assistance to you. I you would like to consider the matter in more detail, please do feel free to get in touch with us.
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Thank you for your enquiry.
In short, there may be a potential claim for misrepresentation, if you have been misled by the contents of the property information form completed by the seller. We are unable to confirm this without looking at the conveyancing file itself and considering the position in detail but from what you have written, it seems that a claim may exist. The searches would be unlikely to identify this issue and the red boundary lines appearing on any Land Registry Plan relating to the property are more than likely general boundaries and would not show the exact location of the boundary. The only other thing which would normally identify the location of a boundary line is a surveyor’s report.
There could be scope here to claim that you have paid more for the property than it is worth, on the basis that you paid a purchase price which included the piece of land which is not part of the property but you were led to believe it did. You would need some valuation evidence to determine what this loss would be.
If you would like to consider the position in more detail, please do feel free to get in touch.
Hi,
We are in the process of exchanging on a property. Throughout the process the seller and agent has maintained that the loft is demised. Shortly before exchanging contracts I pressed on the subject directly with the freeholder, who advised the loft isn’t demised.
The seller had cut and paste an excerpt from an email from the freeholder implying the loft was demised, omitting the information that it was to be used for storage only. I have completed on my current property and have to move out at the end of the month. I now believe that the property price is below what was agreed. The estate agents have not covered themselves in glory as the advert does not state the loft is not demised, just that consents are required.
What action can I take?
We bought a small holding with a holiday let, prior to sale we were not allowed in the holiday let as it was rented out but the surveyor did go in. Anyway after completion we noticed it stank, we opened windows but realised the next day something was wrong. After looking we found mouse poison everywhere in cupboards and called in pest experts who confirmed there was evidence of mice in the loft. Fast forward two months and the entire loft insulatoon has been removed with 15 dead bodies and live ones caught. Also underneath the let are garages and they were in the insulation there, the kitchen was removed as heavily contamined with faeces etc. On the buyers form when asked if the council has ever been contacted the buyer put no, we found out that his prior tenant in 2018 had the council out twice when he complained mice were in the flat, they just laid bait traps. The tenant has offered to stand in court without us even asking. So the buyer knew about this problem and lied on the forms.
So far this has cost us thousands and the problem is ongoing , we bought this place to get revenue from the let. I was told I should get a surveyor to provide a valuation with this factor known before sending a letter before action so you have a professional view. There is also the issue of how do we let this place out in the future as it’s a converted stable loft area and impossible due to design to fully seal. Bu now we should have been renting it out for two months let alone loss of future revenue. I would rather have the contract rescinded as also there is the problem when we come to sell it ?
Hello. What a disappointment and inconvenience you have suffered and we are sorry to hear about what has happened.
Firstly, it’s important to understand that rescission is not guaranteed and if completion has taken place, it is considerably more likely that a Court would only award damages. This is primarily because of the impracticalities involved in reversing a contract for the purchase/sale of land when damages would normally be an adequate remedy to compensate you for any loss.
Case law establishes that the property information form is designed for a layperson to understand and complete. This broadly means that the Court will consider what a reasonable seller would have understood by the questions in the form and consider the answers given in this context. We assume you mean that the seller, in answer to question 3.1 of the property information form, said “no”, no notices or correspondence had been sent to the council, when in fact the seller was aware that correspondence had been sent to the Council (presumably because the tenant raised this with the seller). It may be the case that the Council has issued notices which prove this.
The other question to check in the property information for is the answer to question 14.4(a), which asks the seller whether or not the property will be left in a clean and tidy condition. Obviously this is a reasonably subjective question, but there may very well be scope to say that leaving a property in a condition where it remains subject to an ongoing infestation of mice is not clean and tidy.
As for the physical state of the property itself, which seems to make letting it difficult moving forward, this is unlikely to be anything that you would be able to obtain damages for. The standard conditions of sale, which are likely to have applied to your purchase, broadly say that a buyer accepts the property in the physical state it is in. There may be some scope to make a claim against your surveyor, but this would turn heavily on the scope of their instructions and what they were asked to do or advise on. We would be surprised if your surveyor agreed to check for rodent infestation which did not affect the structure of the building or that the property was suitable to be let. Their instructions are normally to advise on the structural integrity of the property and, when instructed by lenders, that the property represents good security for the mortgage provider to lend money against.
The aim of damages in cases of misrepresentation is to place the aggrieved party in a position they would have been had the misrepresentation not been made. Therefore the measure of damages may not necessarily be the full loss you have suffered, as damages will primarily be based on the difference in value of what you paid for the property and what a reasonable person would have paid had the issue been known about.
Before you spend any money on an expert, you might want to check that the report, once produced, would comply with Court rules.
Whilst we cannot give advice, as we do not know exactly what the situation is, we hope that our reply is of broad assistance to you. I you would like to consider the matter in more detail, please do feel free to get in touch with us.