416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
We recently brought a property and moved in only to find a problem with silverfish … the previous owner is denying all knowledge but the neighbours also have them. Should she have mentioned this and can I claim against her ..
Unless something specific was said about the issue, it is unlikely that there is a claim here. A purchaser must show that they have relied on a statement made by the seller which was untrue. If no such statement was made, there can be no reliance by the buyer and no claim for misrepresentation. The standard conditions of sale which are normally incorporated into the contract of sale expressly provide that the buyer takes the property in the condition that it is in. It is therefore up to the buyer to ask such questions as they might want the answers to before committing to the purchase. Questions about pest infestations do not appear on the standard property information form but perhaps additional enquiries were raised by your solicitor which dealt with the issue. The response to any of these enquiries would be important to consider.
I recently bought a property with a basement. The seller informed me that the basement had previously been used as a gym and confirmed that there was no previous flooding to any part of the property or land on the property information form. Since moving in the basement has repeatedly flooded with any significant rainfall, up to 2-3 inches deep at times, with the water entering from a crack around what I now think is a floating basement floor. This was not picked up by the surveyor or on the flooding searches. Can I do anything about this?
If you have been expressly told in writing that there was no previous flooding of any part of the property but this is untrue and you relied on this statement when entering into the contract, then there may be a claim for misrepresentation. It appears to us that the starting point would likely be the need to obtain evidence that flooding during the previous owner’s period of occupation had occurred. It would be a potential defence to the claim for the previous owners to say that what they stated was true. As a potential claimant, it would be for you to prove that what was said was factually inaccurate. If that evidence is not readily available from other sources, it may be the case that an expert surveyor needs to be appointed to confirm whether or not previous flooding had occurred or might likely have occurred.
As for any claim against the surveyor, much will depend on the terms of the retainer that you agreed with your surveyor. This would be a professional negligence matter and the starting point in determining whether or not there is any liability in this respect are the surveyor’s terms and conditions. Whether or not the surveyor should have identified the issue will depend on the factual circumstances and whether or not a reasonably competent surveyor would have identified the problem.
In short, the answer to your question is that yes, there is quite possibly a claim against both the seller and the surveyor, but this is subject to evidence being available which may or may not also include the need to obtain expert input.
We would be more than happy to look into the matter for you if you would like to get in touch.
Hello, I purchased a house in October 2020, prior to buying the house I specifically asked the seller if there was or had been any problems with damp, the reply email was that the seller had no knowledge of damp, and no work had been done for damp. I knew the next door neighbour had been having problems so I had a damp inspector go into the property to do a report and he noted small amounts of damp and gave me a quote to fix it. I went back to the seller and they agreed to pay half of the costs. Upon collecting the keys and entering the property, the damp was a whole lot worse than originally noted. Upon speaking to the neighbour I’ve been informed that the walls have been ‘tanked’ twice by the seller as it wasn’t sorted the first time, and now, I’m left with a huge damp problem. The seller of the house had also paid half to have some work on the chimney with the neighbour prior to the house going on the market due to the damp issue affecting the neighbour. My most recent quote being £2500 as opposed to the £660 from the original damp inspector. Would this be classed as a misrepresentation case or would it be not due to half of the original repair costs being offered. Thank you
Put as simply as possible, you have likely been told something which is factually untrue and you relied on this when entering into the contract. In such cases a claim for misrepresentation may very well exist.
From what you have written, it does appear that there is the possibility of a claim, irrespective of the fact that a damp inspector went into the property to look at it. If the damp inspector has not identified the problem properly, you may also have a concurrent negligence claim.
If you would like to consider the matter further, please do feel free to get in touch.
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We recently brought a property and moved in only to find a problem with silverfish … the previous owner is denying all knowledge but the neighbours also have them. Should she have mentioned this and can I claim against her ..
Thank you for your comment, Amanda,
Unless something specific was said about the issue, it is unlikely that there is a claim here. A purchaser must show that they have relied on a statement made by the seller which was untrue. If no such statement was made, there can be no reliance by the buyer and no claim for misrepresentation. The standard conditions of sale which are normally incorporated into the contract of sale expressly provide that the buyer takes the property in the condition that it is in. It is therefore up to the buyer to ask such questions as they might want the answers to before committing to the purchase. Questions about pest infestations do not appear on the standard property information form but perhaps additional enquiries were raised by your solicitor which dealt with the issue. The response to any of these enquiries would be important to consider.
I recently bought a property with a basement. The seller informed me that the basement had previously been used as a gym and confirmed that there was no previous flooding to any part of the property or land on the property information form. Since moving in the basement has repeatedly flooded with any significant rainfall, up to 2-3 inches deep at times, with the water entering from a crack around what I now think is a floating basement floor. This was not picked up by the surveyor or on the flooding searches. Can I do anything about this?
Thank you for your comment.
If you have been expressly told in writing that there was no previous flooding of any part of the property but this is untrue and you relied on this statement when entering into the contract, then there may be a claim for misrepresentation. It appears to us that the starting point would likely be the need to obtain evidence that flooding during the previous owner’s period of occupation had occurred. It would be a potential defence to the claim for the previous owners to say that what they stated was true. As a potential claimant, it would be for you to prove that what was said was factually inaccurate. If that evidence is not readily available from other sources, it may be the case that an expert surveyor needs to be appointed to confirm whether or not previous flooding had occurred or might likely have occurred.
As for any claim against the surveyor, much will depend on the terms of the retainer that you agreed with your surveyor. This would be a professional negligence matter and the starting point in determining whether or not there is any liability in this respect are the surveyor’s terms and conditions. Whether or not the surveyor should have identified the issue will depend on the factual circumstances and whether or not a reasonably competent surveyor would have identified the problem.
In short, the answer to your question is that yes, there is quite possibly a claim against both the seller and the surveyor, but this is subject to evidence being available which may or may not also include the need to obtain expert input.
We would be more than happy to look into the matter for you if you would like to get in touch.
Hello, I purchased a house in October 2020, prior to buying the house I specifically asked the seller if there was or had been any problems with damp, the reply email was that the seller had no knowledge of damp, and no work had been done for damp. I knew the next door neighbour had been having problems so I had a damp inspector go into the property to do a report and he noted small amounts of damp and gave me a quote to fix it. I went back to the seller and they agreed to pay half of the costs. Upon collecting the keys and entering the property, the damp was a whole lot worse than originally noted. Upon speaking to the neighbour I’ve been informed that the walls have been ‘tanked’ twice by the seller as it wasn’t sorted the first time, and now, I’m left with a huge damp problem. The seller of the house had also paid half to have some work on the chimney with the neighbour prior to the house going on the market due to the damp issue affecting the neighbour. My most recent quote being £2500 as opposed to the £660 from the original damp inspector. Would this be classed as a misrepresentation case or would it be not due to half of the original repair costs being offered.
Thank you
Thank you for your comment.
Put as simply as possible, you have likely been told something which is factually untrue and you relied on this when entering into the contract. In such cases a claim for misrepresentation may very well exist.
From what you have written, it does appear that there is the possibility of a claim, irrespective of the fact that a damp inspector went into the property to look at it. If the damp inspector has not identified the problem properly, you may also have a concurrent negligence claim.
If you would like to consider the matter further, please do feel free to get in touch.