Sale agreed and accepted , contract signed , builder trying to change terms

[Eve]

HI,

need help with wording on an email.

we are buying a new build from a large building company, we have signed and paid a deposit to reserve and agreed package to move.

The package we agreed states ' we'll pay your removal costs'

The builder had now said this was a mistake and they are no longer paying for removal costs (3 weeks before we move).

I dint think they have a leg to stand on.. but need the appropriate wording to say that. Isn't it covered under English contact offer and acceptance law... or something like that.

Hi - you must have a conveyancing solicitor doing the purchase for you. They should be able to give you the answer. If it is a term incorporated into your contract, you should be fine. If you have only so far paid a deposit to "reserve" and not yet exchanged contracts for sale/purchase, you may find it harder to insist on this still being paid for as basically they can probably pull out of the deal (which I guess that they will threaten to do, and offer to repay your reservation deposit).

Offer and acceptance doesn't work quite the same way with contracts of land because all the terms need to be incorporated into a written contract (hence "exchange of contracts" which a solicitor generally does). You can't, for example, sell your house via an oral contract.

You haven't actually exchanged contracts though?

At this stage anything is up for negotiation and either party can walk away from the deal.

Pretty bad form from a national developer though. They should honour it as a gesture of goodwill.