416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
I bought a house two months ago. During the viewing process of a property, the underfloor heating system in one of the rooms sprung a leak. I was advised by the estate agent that the seller will have it remedied before the house was sold. When the sale of the property was going through my solicitor requested a warranty for the works and we were supplied with a guarantee for the work undertaken by an Underfloor heating company. Although there was a ‘warranty’, It transpires the leak wasn’t fixed, but the underfloor heating system was removed, the floor re-screeded and new floor tiles put down. Sure enough, the company did work to the underfloor heating, but not corrective work. I now have a room with no heating. There isn’t even an option to install a radiator in that room as the rest of the ground floor is underfloor heating. The only way to remedy it is to dig up the floor and re-instate new piping. In the Law and property form, the seller claimed that a floor had to be replaced due to leaking an underfloor heating system. He stated this formed part of an insurance claim and that the claim was successful and remedial works completed successfully. I’ve emailed the seller and his solicitor and I’m being advised from his solicitor that there is no response from the seller. Do I have a claim?
Thank you for your query. Before we can respond in any detail, it would be best to speak first. After this, we would most likely need to have a better consideration of your conveyancing file to see what was put in writing during the transaction itself and leading up to exchange of contracts.
If you have purchased something which is not what you contracted for, then there is a potential claim for breach of contract. However, this can be vitiated by the terms of the contract itself, which normally incorporate what are called “the standard conditions of sale” and which say that a buyer purchases a property in the condition it is in as at the date of the contract (i.e. exchange).
As for misrepresentation or potentially a negligent misstatement, these are also possibilities. A misrepresentation can occur even if the “truth” is told (i.e. that repairs were undertaken) but it is misleading because of what was left unsaid (i.e. that the underfloor heating was no longer working). As for a negligent misstatement, a seller does not normally have a duty of care to a buyer. However, in some cases, a duty of care can be imposed, particularly if there was an assumption of responsibility on the part of the person making the statement. This is unlikely to be the strongest basis upon which to build a claim but it is a point which we can explore in more detail, as it would be very fact specific.
Please do get in touch with us at https://cunningtons.co.uk/contact/ and we can give you an idea of what steps are likely to be required and the sort of cost involved.
My partner and I purchased a house 7 months ago. We have had major issues with the next door neighbours and their dogs who jump and bark at us at the fence. Left out all day etc. We tried talking to them about it several times but it devolved into nastiness from their end. I have health issues and this stress lead me to be hospitalised. Apparently they were friends with the people who owned the house. I also found out that the same neighbours (with the dogs) had been having ongoing dispute issues with parking with our other neighbours. The people who sold us this house would have known about this too. They also said the boiler had been serviced and it broke in two weeks and had to be replaced.
If we had known that these people were obnoxious and had historically annoyed other neighbours we would have never bought the house. We are looking at selling the house, have put in a new boiler, driveway and brand new bathroom. It has raised the base value. However due the issues we are concerned that we won’t get the money back. The estate agents are confident it will sell and it has increased in value.
Can we go back to the sellers for seller misinterpretation if we can’t sell the property?
Recently the neighbours have calmed down and started controlling their dogs. I’m hoping this will not be an issue when we sell.
Thank you for contacting us. Whilst we can’t give legal advice on this forum, looking at the situation based solely on your comments, it may be that your seller at the time had no particular issue with the neighbours dogs or with parking, and did not feel it warranted mentioning on any legal documentation. If this is the case it would also be difficult to show any intention to misrepresent the situation to you, and as yet you have not suffered any financial loss.
However, if you have difficulty selling or do not achieve the desired (realistic) price then you may potentially have a claim but you’d need to consider carefully the cost of pursuing that against any likelihood of success.
Hi. We purchased a property but found that the kitchen had a bad leak and the floor is rotten. The seller stated a repair was done through insurance but guarantee had expired. We now discover that the repair may have been a DIY job by the seller and no professional repair was done. I have made a small claim through MCOL for the leak repair, vermin, rubbish and unsanitary state house was in but if mediation doesn’t succeed I will apply for a non party disclosure to their insurance company. Plus documents they have sent to the court show leak claim was June 2012 and not as stated on PIF as Sept 2013. Would we potentially have a misrepresentation claim? Many thanks
The first thing to understand is that it would be for you as a Claimant to prove that what was said was a misrepresentation. Expert evidence to prove that the work was not undertaken professionally would probably be important, if this is the thrust of your claim and the basis of the misrepresentation. What is important to show is that there is a link between what you were told and what you relied on when entering into the contract.
You also mention an application for disclosure against the seller’s insurance company. Whilst we obviously cannot advise anyone on a forum such as this, you may want to consider whether or not this is the right application to make. Normally, the third party would be entitled to their costs of dealing with the application. Before you expose yourself to this risk, some thought should be given to asking the seller what insurance documentation they have. Perhaps an application for specific disclosure would be more appropriate.
If you do intend on making an application for third party disclosure, it is very much worthwhile being very specific about the documentation you want. There are cases where the Court has awarded very high costs on the basis that the documentation sought was very wide. Constantin Medien AG v Ecclestone [2013] EWHC 2519 (Ch) provides a good overview of the criteria that the Court takes into consideration: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2013/2674.html
You do not mention whether or not you have your own buildings insurance. It may be worth checking to see if you have legal expenses cover under this, as well as cover for the repairs.
Mediation is certainly sensible and, if the claim is in the Small Claims Case Management Track (colloquially called the “Small Claims Court”) you might find that making a small financial concession at mediation is a cost-effective outcome.
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I bought a house two months ago. During the viewing process of a property, the underfloor heating system in one of the rooms sprung a leak. I was advised by the estate agent that the seller will have it remedied before the house was sold. When the sale of the property was going through my solicitor requested a warranty for the works and we were supplied with a guarantee for the work undertaken by an Underfloor heating company.
Although there was a ‘warranty’, It transpires the leak wasn’t fixed, but the underfloor heating system was removed, the floor re-screeded and new floor tiles put down. Sure enough, the company did work to the underfloor heating, but not corrective work. I now have a room with no heating. There isn’t even an option to install a radiator in that room as the rest of the ground floor is underfloor heating. The only way to remedy it is to dig up the floor and re-instate new piping.
In the Law and property form, the seller claimed that a floor had to be replaced due to leaking an underfloor heating system. He stated this formed part of an insurance claim and that the claim was successful and remedial works completed successfully.
I’ve emailed the seller and his solicitor and I’m being advised from his solicitor that there is no response from the seller. Do I have a claim?
Thank you for your query. Before we can respond in any detail, it would be best to speak first. After this, we would most likely need to have a better consideration of your conveyancing file to see what was put in writing during the transaction itself and leading up to exchange of contracts.
If you have purchased something which is not what you contracted for, then there is a potential claim for breach of contract. However, this can be vitiated by the terms of the contract itself, which normally incorporate what are called “the standard conditions of sale” and which say that a buyer purchases a property in the condition it is in as at the date of the contract (i.e. exchange).
As for misrepresentation or potentially a negligent misstatement, these are also possibilities. A misrepresentation can occur even if the “truth” is told (i.e. that repairs were undertaken) but it is misleading because of what was left unsaid (i.e. that the underfloor heating was no longer working). As for a negligent misstatement, a seller does not normally have a duty of care to a buyer. However, in some cases, a duty of care can be imposed, particularly if there was an assumption of responsibility on the part of the person making the statement. This is unlikely to be the strongest basis upon which to build a claim but it is a point which we can explore in more detail, as it would be very fact specific.
Please do get in touch with us at https://cunningtons.co.uk/contact/ and we can give you an idea of what steps are likely to be required and the sort of cost involved.
My partner and I purchased a house 7 months ago. We have had major issues with the next door neighbours and their dogs who jump and bark at us at the fence. Left out all day etc. We tried talking to them about it several times but it devolved into nastiness from their end. I have health issues and this stress lead me to be hospitalised. Apparently they were friends with the people who owned the house. I also found out that the same neighbours (with the dogs) had been having ongoing dispute issues with parking with our other neighbours. The people who sold us this house would have known about this too. They also said the boiler had been serviced and it broke in two weeks and had to be replaced.
If we had known that these people were obnoxious and had historically annoyed other neighbours we would have never bought the house. We are looking at selling the house, have put in a new boiler, driveway and brand new bathroom. It has raised the base value. However due the issues we are concerned that we won’t get the money back. The estate agents are confident it will sell and it has increased in value.
Can we go back to the sellers for seller misinterpretation if we can’t sell the property?
Recently the neighbours have calmed down and started controlling their dogs. I’m hoping this will not be an issue when we sell.
Thank you for contacting us. Whilst we can’t give legal advice on this forum, looking at the situation based solely on your comments, it may be that your seller at the time had no particular issue with the neighbours dogs or with parking, and did not feel it warranted mentioning on any legal documentation. If this is the case it would also be difficult to show any intention to misrepresent the situation to you, and as yet you have not suffered any financial loss.
However, if you have difficulty selling or do not achieve the desired (realistic) price then you may potentially have a claim but you’d need to consider carefully the cost of pursuing that against any likelihood of success.
Hi. We purchased a property but found that the kitchen had a bad leak and the floor is rotten. The seller stated a repair was done through insurance but guarantee had expired. We now discover that the repair may have been a DIY job by the seller and no professional repair was done. I have made a small claim through MCOL for the leak repair, vermin, rubbish and unsanitary state house was in but if mediation doesn’t succeed I will apply for a non party disclosure to their insurance company. Plus documents they have sent to the court show leak claim was June 2012 and not as stated on PIF as Sept 2013. Would we potentially have a misrepresentation claim? Many thanks
Thank you for your enquiry.
The first thing to understand is that it would be for you as a Claimant to prove that what was said was a misrepresentation. Expert evidence to prove that the work was not undertaken professionally would probably be important, if this is the thrust of your claim and the basis of the misrepresentation. What is important to show is that there is a link between what you were told and what you relied on when entering into the contract.
You also mention an application for disclosure against the seller’s insurance company. Whilst we obviously cannot advise anyone on a forum such as this, you may want to consider whether or not this is the right application to make. Normally, the third party would be entitled to their costs of dealing with the application. Before you expose yourself to this risk, some thought should be given to asking the seller what insurance documentation they have. Perhaps an application for specific disclosure would be more appropriate.
If you do intend on making an application for third party disclosure, it is very much worthwhile being very specific about the documentation you want. There are cases where the Court has awarded very high costs on the basis that the documentation sought was very wide. Constantin Medien AG v Ecclestone [2013] EWHC 2519 (Ch) provides a good overview of the criteria that the Court takes into consideration: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Ch/2013/2674.html
You do not mention whether or not you have your own buildings insurance. It may be worth checking to see if you have legal expenses cover under this, as well as cover for the repairs.
Mediation is certainly sensible and, if the claim is in the Small Claims Case Management Track (colloquially called the “Small Claims Court”) you might find that making a small financial concession at mediation is a cost-effective outcome.