New house value £0

[Bananacloud]

Aibu to think HOW ON EARTH THIS HAPPENED!!!
So it turns out the developers of the new build I’m currently living in, totally disregarded council opposing them to build on the land they actually built on.
So now, it turns out our houses (13 in total) have £0 value due to being on a former dumping ground (I think) also there’s been some mention of gases (really don’t know what that’s about)! Whatever it is, it’s bad!!
So now I’m wondering, where we stand with

1. The mortgage lenders
2. The original conveyancer (who ticked the building off as acceptable)
3. The developers and our lawyers who dealt with the house purchase?

Any idea what will happen???

Have you tried contacting the council planning department for clarification?

A lot of councils now have an online search facility for planning applications on their websites, so you might not even need to speak to someone, OP.

Hi
A local town near us residents have A very similar issue and it has been going on for some years. You may be able to get some advice from those people

Here is a newspaper report for you
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/timeline-for-the-old-hancock-tip-in-boothstown-867421

Also if your on Facebook and search for a group Boothstown Residents Association and type is methane gas. A few conversations will pop up.
And they may be able to offer you some good advice.
Although be warned they have been through hell with it all
Good luck

Jesus acegod the shitvyou speak. Typed that twaddle in an eager rush, did you? Legal aid? Haha, excellent!

Doesn’t matter if developer goes bust, the. Lake will be against solicitor for failing to pick up on the problem.

Claim, not lake

All sounds unlikely. I am a chartered planner. It wouldn't get consent even at appeal if the ground is contaminated (without remediation being conditioned). If it's built w/o consent then endorcement action/demolition may take pkace. If your solicitor didn't pick this up they are liable. They're covered by liability insurance which will pay out if they're in the wrong. Feel free to message me.

Forgive my ignorance but if the town council said no, who are the developers appealing to that grants permission, the courts?

Town and parish councils are only consultees for planning matters, the actual consent is a matter for borough/district council/metropolitan authority etc.

Applicants can appeal against refusal to the planning inspectorate.

it seems you need to sue just about everyone

Our buyers solicitor asked for the planning permission prior to exchange (we were selling a new build 8 yrs old). Why on earth did your solicitor proceed without it? Did you not have to sign an indemnity or anything. Lots of new estates are built on landfill, they have to mention ‘potential issues’ from that but you’re just as likely have a sinkhole develop outside your 1970s build

LadyFlumpalot Ariela The airfield estate is built on the airfield - I remember the airfield before it was built. I also remember the landfill site, conveniently situated on Tippings Lane, which was a bit of a give away, but that's now Ashenbury Park. They were separate sites next to one another.

it seems some people are trusting too much in their developers and going with their “recommended solicitor”. All sorts of issues there...... this could be where it has all gone wrong. Wonder where that solicitor is now?

You may want to do a search on council portal, using the name of the land BEFORE it was a housing estate. Our estate was called for instance, but the land sold to developers was called *** Farm. A search on the new build postcode gave nothing, but a search on the original land name got the pp in about 3 seconds.

Developers get planning permission for whole estate, not one house at a time

Report the solicitor to the Law Society. He/she has failed to do their job. Hopefully they run some sort of indemnity scheme. Get together with the other people affected by this debacle and present a united from to the Law Society - no matter if you used different solicitors.

Yes - contact the papers, as well as legal advice.

OP had told us that she already knows the details of the planning permission, though; the problem is not that there wasn’t permission but that it has now emerged that the conditions attached to that permission were not complied with by the developer.

The solicetors you employed seems like the best bet as the developers have wound up their company and relaunched it knew exactly what they were doing (they have done that so they are now untouchable shitty UK law that you can wind down your company and launch it again under a different name very quickly and easily and contiune making money while at the same time shedding all the legal stuff aka you can no longer sue them since that company "no longer" exists).

If one of the OP’s professional advisors has been negligent here, and something is clearly wrong, then they will have Professional Indemnity insurance so that compensation can be paid, if negligence is proven.

I’ve had some involvement in development, and part of the planning process would involve environmental surveys, remediation works etc. Any competent solicitor or licensed conveyancer/FCILEX should have asked for all this stuff. I don’t under how this could have happened.

All new build properties are covered by NHBC for 10 years, best to check with them first

Notbeforecoffee - NHBC warranties aren't compulsory. There are some other building guarantee schemes, but developers don't have to offer anything

All new build properties are covered by NHBC for 10 years, best to check with them first

This is incorrect. There are two warranty companies, NHBC AND Zurich. It’s not compulsory to have either. Requirements are stringent, and not all developers’ builds will meet the standard set, and therefore they do not sell with the benefit of a new build warranty.

Those of you who say builders wouldn't build without planning permission - well at then end of my road a development of 13 houses started being built in Oct 2017. They have put up 9 houses so far. The sales office opened in August. People have put down deposits. They were only granted planning permission last month! Someone I know told me a relative had put down a deposit on one of the properties and didn't know they didn't have planning permission. My advice was to tell them to check the Planning portal to see what was happening with the PP, get themselves an independent solicitor (and not use the builder's solicitor) and not hand over another penny until the PP had come through.
When the development started, local residents complained to the Council about it happening without PP. The Council (LA) said there was nothing they could do!

Report the solicitor to the Law Society. He/she has failed to do their job. Hopefully they run some sort of indemnity scheme. Get together with the other people affected by this debacle and present a united from to the Law Society - no matter if you used different solicitors.

It won’t be the law society. It will be the SRA. Who will refer op back to her conveyancing solicitors, because complaints have a protocol which begins with complaining to the conveyancer in writing. If unresolved, to senior partner. And then if necessary, the SRA. The solicitors practice will put their insurers on notice. All forms have indemnity insurance; not allowed to practice without it.

The hysteria is unnecessary, it really is. Talk of going to the papers, equally ridiculous. Just deal with the matter as you’re supposed to. Going to the press will achiever nothing and benefit no one. It won’t negate the need to abide by the complaints procedure and you’ll look ridiculous standing there with your arms folded in front of you and a sad face.

There really is a lot of nonsense and hysteria on here. Please pm me OP if you want advice. A lot of the comments are completely wrong and extremely misleading.

bigbluebus no info is held about planning permission on the planning portal so this doesn't make any sense. The planning portal is a forum for applying for consent only. What you have written is completely incorrect - if the development was without consent the council has to take enforcement action. It was probably just a non-material condition that was missing.

As a former conveyancer - your conveyancer tcould be sued by you and the mortgage lender for negligence by not obtaining copies of the planning permission but more importantly the NHBC or building regulation completion certificate!

Get a specialist survey done first.
Then please don’t hesitate to seek advice. My advice is to check the planning permission carefully to see the details. Also consider taking action against everyone including irresponsible council workers.
Do you still have a copy of the original valuation for your property or not? You will also require a copy of the valuation for the mortgage as well.
Which builders did you use? Did you do a land search or not? Get the media interested in your story. They are always interested in human rights articles and stories.
Don’t hesitate to ask questions. Make sure that you know where you stand legally in regards to all of this. Listen to any advice given to you too. Rally your neighbors.