416 thoughts on “My Seller Lied To Me! When Is It Property Misrepresentation?”
Hello – we purchased a property last year and got the keys in early November 2019, the property form that was filled out contained an awful lot of “not that we are aware of” rather than “yes” or “no” when it came to history sections including any water issues/leaking/damp etc.
On the day we got the keys, we did the usual walk around the inside of the property and discovered that there was water coming down the inside wall of the box room, this is still leaking as we are struggling to identify how the water is getting in however we have stripped some wall paper back and some of the liner on the ceiling and it is very evident that this has been an ongoing issue that they have put lining paper over and painted. Can we do anything about this?
Also, when cleaning the en-suite for the first time I realised water was coming through the ceiling into the kitchen, a plumber had to cut a hole in the ceiling and said it had been leaking before/had been cut out before as he could see the special tape they use to put a cut ceiling back in place.
Along with this, (over time) there was also a small leak in the spare bedroom, a leak by the en suite window, leaks everywhere up the stairs to the roof which have all become apparent over the 4 months we have been in the property and most recently, water coming through either side of the patio doors.
The whole house had been recently decorated with, it seems, lining paper then paint in most areas and it has led me to think that the sellers really knew about all of this. Do we have any options here?
Thank you for your post. This sounds horrible and you must be so disappointed.
First and foremost, you should check to see if you are covered by your buildings insurance.
However, from what you have said, it sounds to us that you do in fact have quite a reasonable claim.
It sounds as though there has been a deliberate concealment of issues. This in itself would not necessarily give rise to a claim, as it is the buyer’s responsibility to check what they are buying by instructing a surveyor. However, the vast majority of surveyors will include in their terms and conditions caveats which state that they will not open up walls, look behind furniture, under carpets or remove wallpaper and the like. To an extent, this is understandable, a seller would not want to be left with a wall stripped of wallpaper if the transaction did not proceed. However, it is still for the buyer to insist upon whatever checks they want and make a decision to accept the risk or walk away if this request is refused.
The reason why you probably have a reasonable claim is because of case called William Sindall plc v Cambridgeshire County Council [1993] EWCA Civ 14.
In this case, the seller stated in the property information form “Not so far as the vendor is aware” in response to the enquiries made. The Court treated this as an implied representation that the seller had taken steps to investigate and answer. In short, the seller should not have answered the question at all if they did not know the answer to it. In fact, the standard TA6 form (this is the property information form) published by the Law Society and used in countless transactions warns the seller to specifically say so if they do not know the answer to a question.
Please feel free to get in touch and we would be happy to elaborate and provide some options for you.
We bought a property in April 2017 which had been built by the seller 4 years previously. The seller stated in the property survey (as part of the single survey in scotland) that no alterations had taken place to the property in the time that they had owned the property. We subsequently sold the property in June 2019 as during conveyancing of our sale the new buyers’ conveyancer picked up on ‘missing consents’ for a permanent staircase from the upstairs of the property to a converted attic space. Long story short but the work was ‘non-compliant’. After lots of back and forth the buyers agreed to a reduction in price and a title indemnity to proceed with the sale. As we had a new build we were about to lose out on we went for this option despite it leaving us £4k out of pocket from the agreed sale price. I also did this on the advice of my conveyancer who advised we would have a claim against the surveyor who carried out the original single survey for our purchase in 2017. Long story short, I have exhausted the complaints procedure with the surveyors and they are not accepting liability (stating that the guidance for the conveyancer was the same in the single survey at the time of our purchase as it was at the time of our sale) therefore, they pointed to professional negligence on the part of my conveyancer. I have now started a process through the formal complaints procedure for the conveyancer to try and recover my material loss of £4k but they in turn are pointing the finger at SELLER MISREPRESENTATION at the time of the original purchase in 2017! All I know is that I’m £4k out of pocket and no-one seems liable – what are my options to go after the seller? I also read that it might be time barred also? Cheers.
We fully appreciate the frustration. You haven’t done anything wrong but have been stung with a bill of £4,000.
We would need to have a look at the correspondence to work out exactly what has happened, who said what and who is at fault.
Surveyors and solicitors are both professionals and the retainer with them and their terms and conditions will be the first thing to consider when deciding whether or not there is a professional negligence claim. Certainly not spotting a lack of a building regulation final certificate would potentially be negligent for a solicitor, but the obvious question which seems to have arisen is whether or not the solicitor had any reason to suspect that this was the case when you purchased. As for misrepresentation, this will turn on precisely what you were told in writing leading up to exchange and completion.
What we do note from your post is that you mention a single survey. Our understanding of this is that it is something prevalent in Scotland, rather than England and Wales. Scotland has its own legal system and we are only able to advise on the law of England and Wales. If the property isn’t based in England and Wales, it is unlikely we will be able to assist, you would need a lawyer that specialises in Scots law.
If we don’t hear from you, we wish you every success.
Bought an apartment in grade II listed mansion house with four leasehold apartments. Seller stated no issues with neighbours. I since found out that they had complained to the management company about him letting out his property to Air bnb. Lease does not allow subletting. I’ve been there seven weeks and have had malicious communications from the other leaseholders trying to demand I cannot have door mats outside my front door in the communal area and I can’t have net curtains in my windows as no becoming of a grade 11 listed building. I also have my own garden and they are demanding that I manicure it so that it doesn’t look bad when they look outside their windows!! Can I claim misrep when these people complained about the previous owner?
We are sorry to hear about this. It isn’t that uncommon that sellers might seek to suppress information about previous disputes with neighbours. Nobody wants to purchase a house where there is an ongoing dispute. Boundary disputes are a regular example of this.
A failure to mention historical disputes may very well amount to a misrepresentation. However, for any claim to be pursued, there has to be both a causal connection with the false statement of fact and the loss suffered. For example, if you were misled about the condition of the roof, it would not really be open to say that there was a misrepresentation in relation to, for example, the condition of the windows.
It would not be unusual for a freeholder to complain about the property being sub-let as an Air-bnb. This again is reasonably common. However, I am hesitant to suggest that the failure to disclose this particular issue would be actionable when the disputes which you are now subject to differ, unless what you are saying is that the other neighbours raised the same issues with the seller previously as they are raising with you now.
Whilst we could provide some advice on your rights and liabilities under the terms of the lease, we are not certain that there would be much more we would be able to assist you with.
Having said this, we are an approachable firm and you are more than welcome to contact us to discuss the problems and see if we can add some cost effective benefit to the situation for you.
Supporting Farleigh Hospice | Limited Places Available We’re delighted to announce that Cunningtons is once again partnering with Farleigh Hospice for the annual Make a Will charity campaign this September! What We’re Offering ✅ Completely FREE Will preparation by our qualified solicitors;✅ Professional legal advice and guidance on making your Will; and of course,✅ Support […]
Planning for the future as we get older is a vital part of life – that’s why many of us provide for ourselves with pensions and Wills. However, one of the most important tools available to us is often neglected: Lasting Powers of Attorney. According to CanadaLife UK, 78% of UK adults don’t have a […]
Cunningtons help with "Your Legal Journey Through Life". We cover key areas: your first home, your relationships and family law, then growing families, employment matters, dispute resolutions, property investments, and planning your estate. We focus on continuity, trust, understanding clients, and personal service by offering the same legal team throughout life.
Hello – we purchased a property last year and got the keys in early November 2019, the property form that was filled out contained an awful lot of “not that we are aware of” rather than “yes” or “no” when it came to history sections including any water issues/leaking/damp etc.
On the day we got the keys, we did the usual walk around the inside of the property and discovered that there was water coming down the inside wall of the box room, this is still leaking as we are struggling to identify how the water is getting in however we have stripped some wall paper back and some of the liner on the ceiling and it is very evident that this has been an ongoing issue that they have put lining paper over and painted. Can we do anything about this?
Also, when cleaning the en-suite for the first time I realised water was coming through the ceiling into the kitchen, a plumber had to cut a hole in the ceiling and said it had been leaking before/had been cut out before as he could see the special tape they use to put a cut ceiling back in place.
Along with this, (over time) there was also a small leak in the spare bedroom, a leak by the en suite window, leaks everywhere up the stairs to the roof which have all become apparent over the 4 months we have been in the property and most recently, water coming through either side of the patio doors.
The whole house had been recently decorated with, it seems, lining paper then paint in most areas and it has led me to think that the sellers really knew about all of this. Do we have any options here?
Thanks so much
Lucy
Hello Lucy.
Thank you for your post. This sounds horrible and you must be so disappointed.
First and foremost, you should check to see if you are covered by your buildings insurance.
However, from what you have said, it sounds to us that you do in fact have quite a reasonable claim.
It sounds as though there has been a deliberate concealment of issues. This in itself would not necessarily give rise to a claim, as it is the buyer’s responsibility to check what they are buying by instructing a surveyor. However, the vast majority of surveyors will include in their terms and conditions caveats which state that they will not open up walls, look behind furniture, under carpets or remove wallpaper and the like. To an extent, this is understandable, a seller would not want to be left with a wall stripped of wallpaper if the transaction did not proceed. However, it is still for the buyer to insist upon whatever checks they want and make a decision to accept the risk or walk away if this request is refused.
The reason why you probably have a reasonable claim is because of case called William Sindall plc v Cambridgeshire County Council [1993] EWCA Civ 14.
In this case, the seller stated in the property information form “Not so far as the vendor is aware” in response to the enquiries made. The Court treated this as an implied representation that the seller had taken steps to investigate and answer. In short, the seller should not have answered the question at all if they did not know the answer to it. In fact, the standard TA6 form (this is the property information form) published by the Law Society and used in countless transactions warns the seller to specifically say so if they do not know the answer to a question.
Please feel free to get in touch and we would be happy to elaborate and provide some options for you.
We bought a property in April 2017 which had been built by the seller 4 years previously. The seller stated in the property survey (as part of the single survey in scotland) that no alterations had taken place to the property in the time that they had owned the property. We subsequently sold the property in June 2019 as during conveyancing of our sale the new buyers’ conveyancer picked up on ‘missing consents’ for a permanent staircase from the upstairs of the property to a converted attic space. Long story short but the work was ‘non-compliant’. After lots of back and forth the buyers agreed to a reduction in price and a title indemnity to proceed with the sale. As we had a new build we were about to lose out on we went for this option despite it leaving us £4k out of pocket from the agreed sale price. I also did this on the advice of my conveyancer who advised we would have a claim against the surveyor who carried out the original single survey for our purchase in 2017. Long story short, I have exhausted the complaints procedure with the surveyors and they are not accepting liability (stating that the guidance for the conveyancer was the same in the single survey at the time of our purchase as it was at the time of our sale) therefore, they pointed to professional negligence on the part of my conveyancer. I have now started a process through the formal complaints procedure for the conveyancer to try and recover my material loss of £4k but they in turn are pointing the finger at SELLER MISREPRESENTATION at the time of the original purchase in 2017! All I know is that I’m £4k out of pocket and no-one seems liable – what are my options to go after the seller? I also read that it might be time barred also? Cheers.
Hi Del. Thank you for your post.
We fully appreciate the frustration. You haven’t done anything wrong but have been stung with a bill of £4,000.
We would need to have a look at the correspondence to work out exactly what has happened, who said what and who is at fault.
Surveyors and solicitors are both professionals and the retainer with them and their terms and conditions will be the first thing to consider when deciding whether or not there is a professional negligence claim. Certainly not spotting a lack of a building regulation final certificate would potentially be negligent for a solicitor, but the obvious question which seems to have arisen is whether or not the solicitor had any reason to suspect that this was the case when you purchased. As for misrepresentation, this will turn on precisely what you were told in writing leading up to exchange and completion.
What we do note from your post is that you mention a single survey. Our understanding of this is that it is something prevalent in Scotland, rather than England and Wales. Scotland has its own legal system and we are only able to advise on the law of England and Wales. If the property isn’t based in England and Wales, it is unlikely we will be able to assist, you would need a lawyer that specialises in Scots law.
If we don’t hear from you, we wish you every success.
Bought an apartment in grade II listed mansion house with four leasehold apartments. Seller stated no issues with neighbours. I since found out that they had complained to the management company about him letting out his property to Air bnb. Lease does not allow subletting. I’ve been there seven weeks and have had malicious communications from the other leaseholders trying to demand I cannot have door mats outside my front door in the communal area and I can’t have net curtains in my windows as no becoming of a grade 11 listed building. I also have my own garden and they are demanding that I manicure it so that it doesn’t look bad when they look outside their windows!! Can I claim misrep when these people complained about the previous owner?
Thanks for your post, Amanda.
We are sorry to hear about this. It isn’t that uncommon that sellers might seek to suppress information about previous disputes with neighbours. Nobody wants to purchase a house where there is an ongoing dispute. Boundary disputes are a regular example of this.
A failure to mention historical disputes may very well amount to a misrepresentation. However, for any claim to be pursued, there has to be both a causal connection with the false statement of fact and the loss suffered. For example, if you were misled about the condition of the roof, it would not really be open to say that there was a misrepresentation in relation to, for example, the condition of the windows.
It would not be unusual for a freeholder to complain about the property being sub-let as an Air-bnb. This again is reasonably common. However, I am hesitant to suggest that the failure to disclose this particular issue would be actionable when the disputes which you are now subject to differ, unless what you are saying is that the other neighbours raised the same issues with the seller previously as they are raising with you now.
Whilst we could provide some advice on your rights and liabilities under the terms of the lease, we are not certain that there would be much more we would be able to assist you with.
Having said this, we are an approachable firm and you are more than welcome to contact us to discuss the problems and see if we can add some cost effective benefit to the situation for you.