Sellers withheld information

[KnackeredOldWoman]

Hello

I hope someone can advise me please. DH and I bought our house last year. When the sellers filled out the TA6 form ( property info form) there was a question about whether or not there had been any disputes with neighbours. They said No.

When we moved in last year, it took a while to get to know everyone but as soon as I began talking to other neighbours it soon became clear there had been trouble between my sellers and next door. Seems to be because they were doing noisy building work and working late at night. The council & police had to get involved. I think it got nasty & abusive, from what I've been told.

I have a neutral relationship with next door, ( don't know them really, just say hello) but they have told me my sellers got the council involved and I believe some sort of enforcement notice was put on the neighbours to prevent them working late. None of this was declared. If it had been, I probably wouldn't have bought the house - too risky.

I was talking to another neighbour yesterday who still keeps in touch with the sellers and apparently the sellers have been enquiring about how we get on with next door because they were 'bullied out'. I'm really angry that none of the disputes have been declared.

I contacted my local council and did a FOI request to try and find out what went on and whilst they have confirmed that 'we hold the information you require' I can't see it due to Section 40, point 2 of the information act.

What can I do now? I think it's misrepresentation and feel like they have stitched us up by lying on the form.

I understand how annoyed you are, but what do you want them to do about it now? What sort of result are you looking for?

We had very similar when we moved in to our house. We asked our solicitor about it and her view was that unless it was going to impact on us then it wasn't worth perusing. I guess it depends on whether the neighbours start or have already started behaving in a way that negatively impacts on you.

Well they haven't so far but what if they do in the future?

The sellers denied me my right to make an informed decision at the time of purchasing. They lied on the form.

From my point of view I entered into a contract under false pretences and I want to be compensated

Are you having problems with the neighbour?

So you just want some money from them because they lied about a problem you don't have?

They were wrong to lie but I think you would be wasting time and energy perusing it.

Jenny - No but what if I do in the future? With the same issue as the sellers?

Compensation for what though? You've suffered no loss and there is no ongoing dispute.

While I can see how annoying that must be and very underhand of the sellers, I can't see what you would be claiming compensation for. You are getting on ok with the neighbours and have therefore not lost out materially or psychologically by buying the house. They have lied on the form and it feels like there should be consequences for that, given that you've not suffered any fallout though I can't see that compensation would be appropriate. I'm not a solicitor though, hopefully someone who knows more will be along soon.

Bye Bye - it's misrepresentation. I had the right to know about any disputes before purchasing and it would have been a very recent dispute when they put the house on the market.

It was bad enough to make them
Sell up, they felt 'bullied out' but it was ok by them to let my family risk encountering stress & trouble

You're only going to get compensation if you can show that the problems with the neighbours have continued such that your quality of life or property value is affected.

You won't get money just because they should have told you the truth.

It's possible you could get compensation if you can convince a court that you would not have proceeded with the purchase if you'd been told the truth, but since you haven't actually sufferered any losses or issues with the neighbours it's only going to be a nominal amount, not remotely worth going to court for as it would be much less than the legal fees involved.

Problems may develop with the neighbours in the future - if it's more than 6 years you wouldn't be able to claim because the claim would be too old (Google limitation periods for details). I think there are ways to declare that you're not making a claim now but reserving your right to do so, so if you're really worried you could ask a lawyer about this.

I sympathise but including these questions is not really very effective as people will avoid making complaints and just move. They can then claim they didn't have a problem when they lived there. For example a neighbour who was trying to sell their house once complained about where we parked our car. It was parked perfectly legally and outside our house but his wife found it hard to turn into their drive opposite in their big bloody tractor My DH just calmly pointed out that that was fine, go ahead and make a fuss but we were parked legally and they would have to then declare any dispute on their sales paperwork. They didn't take it further. The people living there now are much better drivers and don't seem to have a problem

Spot - yes, I'd like to make the sellers aware, that we know they lied and would sue them if we encounter problems with the neighbours going forward.

Speaking to DH, he says yes we would have pulled out if we had known. We could have easily found another suitable home in this area.

Well it would seem there is written proof of problems as the council hold info. I want to see it, is there any way to challenge their decision?

You could go back via your conveyancer but even a letter will cost you.

I may do that Liz. I have family legal cover with my home insurance and they advised about sending a letter to the sellers, might make them think.

I see why you're annoyed but pushing for compensation is silly, you're not having the same problems. Yes they may arise in the future but someone could move in next door and create other issues in the future, these things happen and you can't plan for them. Just let it go, it's not worth pursuing.

I am surprised at some of the "advice" on this thread.

The seller should have disclosed the neighbour dispute. If the dispute had been disclosed it could have reduced the value of the property. The OP may be entitled to compensation for the difference between the actual value of the property and the price she was misled into paying. There have been cases where substantial compensation has been awarded.

Thanks Prh, I think it's really unfair what they have done. We would not have bought the house if we had known.

Yes the house is fine but if I had known the previous history with the neighbours then I wouldn't have purchased the house. I was denied my right to make an informed decision.

Our sellers lied about everything on that bloody form! Didn't tell us a car had been nicked from the driveway, didn't tell us he'd been in dispute with next door about trees, didn't tell us about the fuck off massive wind farm that was built under a year after we'd moved in (just outside the search radius 🙄). He really was a lying prick.

We got a solicitor involved but he denied everything and the next step was court. I was not convinced we would win and even if we did I wasn't convinced we would be better off financially for it, so we left it. We did try and get the Estate Agent Ombudsman involved as we felt the estate agent had been negligent not to mention the wind farm when we specifically had asked about any developments locally. But the ombudsman ruled that whilst we were correct, it had no impact on the price of our house and so they were closing the case.

We are a few years down the line now. I'm pretty happy here now and I think we were right not to have gone down a legal road. I hope Mr ex vendor will get his cummupance eventually by pissing off the wrong person or something. Karma finds a way.

Sleep- I'm sorry to hear about what you went through but glad you are happy now in your home.

Why was there no proof with regard to the neighbour disputes? Did the council not get involved? In my case, the council were involved in the sellers dispute, they have confirmed they have the info I have requested but will not release it due to Section 40 of the Act. It's frustrating but at least they have confirmed it.