416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
Hello, I am selling a flat which is in a bad area as we unfortunately get ASB taking place now and again in the communal gardens. They are not neighbours but local homeless people. The management company are aware and said in the recent AGM they are working with the police to try and deter this. Do I need to disclose this information to a buyer?
A seller is not obliged to disclose anything about the property they are proposing to sell if they do not want to. They do not even have to answer questions or complete the standard property information forms if they do not want to. However, the practical effect of this is that a buyer may not be prepared to proceed with the purchase if the seller is not prepared to supply information that the buyer wants to know.
If questions are asked by the buyer which, in answering, it would be necessary to point out the issues that you have, the seller really only has one of two choices. They can either decline to provide and answer or they can answer accurately. We often see cases where a seller has said something which is misleading, in an attempt to paint the facts of the matter in a better light than may otherwise be the case.
I am currently purchasing a house. The seller states there has been no building insurance claim on ta6, section 6.5, but speak to a neighbour I have been given the impression there has been. Is there anyway of checking by making enquirires through the claims and underwriting enquirires CUE, or through my solicitor. Many thanks
We think the best thing that you can do is ask the seller directly. If you have information that is relevant to your decision to proceed with the purchase or not but need to verify this, it is down to you to do this.
We suggest you have a conversation with your solicitor about the contractual clauses you are about to agree and also instruct them to ask the seller the question you want the answer to. Normally, but not always, a seller’s liability to a buyer is expressly limited to representations made in writing between the parties. If the insurance claim issue is a deal breaker for you, it would probably be best to ask the seller to confirm the position in writing and ensure that you can hold them contractually liable for this representation later if it was untrue.
As for “CUE” or the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Database, we do not in fact know the answer to this but believe that it is more of an industry led initiative to prevent fraud, rather than a source of information for persons on your position. Whatever the case, it is always best to ask a seller ALL of the important questions that are likely to have an influence over your decision to purchase. It is also normally sensible to do this in writing. Whilst the seller does not have to answer questions, it is up to the buyer to decide whether or not to risk proceeding based on the information that they have.
Our seller misrepresented the property by answering ‘No’ to the question relating to Japanese Knotweed, which we now know they were clearly aware of. The problem we now face is that they moved onto a canal vessel and refuse to respond to solicitors email and hand delivered letter. We feel that we can’t progress this misrepresentation claim without the previous owners forcing us to have the courts intervene – is there anything else I could do?
In any claim, if matters cannot be resolved between the parties, generally the only other option would be formal action through the Courts. If the proposed defendant in any case does not respond to correspondence, particularly threats of litigation, unwise as this may be, this is their prerogative.
Our surveyor ( level 3) has correctly identified wall tie failures (specialist survey with camera), advised CCTV drain survey (revealed multiple cracked soil pipework and other issues that happened to run adjacent to a room where the concrete floor has dropped 2cm – possibly due to leaking spoil pipes. Am I correct in my understanding, (2008 consumer laws) that if we pull out of the sale that the vendor and estate agent, now that they have been made aware of the issues must by law, highlight these issues to any new buyer?
I think what you are asking is whether or not, in a subsequent sale, the seller must point out these issues to any prospective buyer.
We do not believe that this is the case and most consumer law would not apply for a sale between two private individuals not acting in the course of business.
The basic position is “buyer beware”. It is for the buyer to investigate and satisfy themselves as to matters. This is why it is always advisable for a buyer to ask for a survey to be undertaken.
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Hello, I am selling a flat which is in a bad area as we unfortunately get ASB taking place now and again in the communal gardens. They are not neighbours but local homeless people. The management company are aware and said in the recent AGM they are working with the police to try and deter this. Do I need to disclose this information to a buyer?
Thank you for your comment.
A seller is not obliged to disclose anything about the property they are proposing to sell if they do not want to. They do not even have to answer questions or complete the standard property information forms if they do not want to. However, the practical effect of this is that a buyer may not be prepared to proceed with the purchase if the seller is not prepared to supply information that the buyer wants to know.
If questions are asked by the buyer which, in answering, it would be necessary to point out the issues that you have, the seller really only has one of two choices. They can either decline to provide and answer or they can answer accurately. We often see cases where a seller has said something which is misleading, in an attempt to paint the facts of the matter in a better light than may otherwise be the case.
Hi Mark,
I am currently purchasing a house. The seller states there has been no building insurance claim on ta6, section 6.5, but speak to a neighbour I have been given the impression there has been.
Is there anyway of checking by making enquirires through the claims and underwriting enquirires CUE, or through my solicitor.
Many thanks
Thank you for your comment.
We think the best thing that you can do is ask the seller directly. If you have information that is relevant to your decision to proceed with the purchase or not but need to verify this, it is down to you to do this.
We suggest you have a conversation with your solicitor about the contractual clauses you are about to agree and also instruct them to ask the seller the question you want the answer to. Normally, but not always, a seller’s liability to a buyer is expressly limited to representations made in writing between the parties. If the insurance claim issue is a deal breaker for you, it would probably be best to ask the seller to confirm the position in writing and ensure that you can hold them contractually liable for this representation later if it was untrue.
As for “CUE” or the Claims and Underwriting Exchange Database, we do not in fact know the answer to this but believe that it is more of an industry led initiative to prevent fraud, rather than a source of information for persons on your position. Whatever the case, it is always best to ask a seller ALL of the important questions that are likely to have an influence over your decision to purchase. It is also normally sensible to do this in writing. Whilst the seller does not have to answer questions, it is up to the buyer to decide whether or not to risk proceeding based on the information that they have.
Our seller misrepresented the property by answering ‘No’ to the question relating to Japanese Knotweed, which we now know they were clearly aware of.
The problem we now face is that they moved onto a canal vessel and refuse to respond to solicitors email and hand delivered letter.
We feel that we can’t progress this misrepresentation claim without the previous owners forcing us to have the courts intervene – is there anything else I could do?
Thank you for your comment.
In any claim, if matters cannot be resolved between the parties, generally the only other option would be formal action through the Courts. If the proposed defendant in any case does not respond to correspondence, particularly threats of litigation, unwise as this may be, this is their prerogative.
Our surveyor ( level 3) has correctly identified wall tie failures (specialist survey with camera), advised CCTV drain survey (revealed multiple cracked soil pipework and other issues that happened to run adjacent to a room where the concrete floor has dropped 2cm – possibly due to leaking spoil pipes. Am I correct in my understanding, (2008 consumer laws) that if we pull out of the sale that the vendor and estate agent, now that they have been made aware of the issues must by law, highlight these issues to any new buyer?
Thank you for your comment.
I think what you are asking is whether or not, in a subsequent sale, the seller must point out these issues to any prospective buyer.
We do not believe that this is the case and most consumer law would not apply for a sale between two private individuals not acting in the course of business.
The basic position is “buyer beware”. It is for the buyer to investigate and satisfy themselves as to matters. This is why it is always advisable for a buyer to ask for a survey to be undertaken.