Can estate agents misrepresent?

[Rathbones]

We are in the process of buying it rather trying to buy a house. The vendors built an outbuilding with a workshop and offices above. This is how it was advertised in the listing. This building has no planning and no building regs. Surely this is misrepresentation? Can they advertise something that isn't a legal building?

It's not being misrepresented though - it is an out building They'd list a garden shed or greenhouse neither of which would have planning or a bc.

Unless they are saying it's legally habitable accommodation I can't see where the misrepresentation is.

Estate agents have no duty to verify the details of the property the advertise, that's up to your solicitor.

@titchy They did explicitly call it "accommodation". It's not a shed. It has heating/lighting/WiFi wired in/a loo etc.

@DameCelia

Estate agents have no duty to verify the details of the property the advertise, that's up to your solicitor.

Yep. And if you look in the small print, that's exactly what it says on property details. They work for the vendor and go on the information the vendor tells them

And you can find out if a property has got planning permission for any building or extension work for free by checking on the council's website.

Right. So they can just advertise any old thing, completely misrepresent it and it doesn't matter? It beggars belief.

It's not being misrepresented though. It is accommodation. It is an outbuilding. It isn't legally able to be used for overnight accommodation, but they're not saying that are they? They're not saying it has pp or bc? Where's the misrepresentation?

In England the caveat emptor (buyer beware) principle applies. The estate agents acts for the vendor and produces marketing material and helps find a buyer.

The buyer's solicitor and surveyor's job includes checking planning permissions. It's not the estate agent's job.

If there's a planning permission missing, your solicitor can advise on what to do about it.

Estate agents are just middle men between buyer and seller, they aren’t assumed to have either legal expertise or knowledge of the property they’re selling beyond what the seller has told them. That’s why solicitors are involved in the transaction.

@DameCelia

Estate agents have no duty to verify the details of the property the advertise, that's up to your solicitor.

This

Look at the Property Ombudsman website. That will tell you what to expect from an estate agent.

There are rules and a code of practice they have to follow but it’s best to get them from the horse’s mouth

Estate agents are bound by the property misdescriptions act. They can't advertise a 100m garden when it is only 80m, or that it has gas central heating when in fact it's electric, off street parking when there is none, 1km from the station when it is 3 etc. It is up to the conveyancers to check legal titles, party wall disputes, rights of way, common or communal areas, service charges and building permissions.

Most of the above answers are wrong.

The Property Misdescriptions Act mentioned by DillonPanthersTexas was repealed in 2013 and replaced by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which gives stronger protection. Estate agents must disclose fair information to potential buyers. Material information about the property must be clear and unambiguous. They must not withhold information or make deliberately misleading statements. The description must be accurate.

Having said that, I wouldn't expect an estate agent to check that buildings have planning permission or are permitted development. Your solicitor should do that.

Just for clarity, if it is genuinely an outbuilding and not attached to the house, it needs planning permission regardless of whether anyone will use it overnight as it has two storeys, so is clearly not permitted development.

Having reread the thread, I withdraw the first sentence of my last post. Unclear rather than wrong. The estate agent can't completely misrepresent the property they are selling and must disclose any issues of which they are aware, but it isn't their job to check planning permissions, etc.

I stand corrected

@prh47bridge It has no planning permission and no building reg sign off. It's a completely separate two storey structure. I'm not sure where it leaves us really besides very disappointed and out quite a lot of money.

Unless someone told you it had planning permission then I don't think you have a case (not a lawyer).

Fwiw I have a converted attic which doesn't meet building regs. It doesn't bother me as we don't use it as a bedroom. I suspected it and my surveyor agreed.

Did you ask about planning permission etc?

If you've bought the house, it leaves you applying for retrospective planning permission. If you are in the process of buying it, you could ask the seller to provide an indemnity.

[quote Rathbones]@prh47bridge It has no planning permission and no building reg sign off. It's a completely separate two storey structure. I'm not sure where it leaves us really besides very disappointed and out quite a lot of money. [/quote]
Well what does your solicitor suggest? That's what you pay them for.... off the top of my head you could ask them for an indemnity or ask them to apply for retrospective pp, or reduce your offer by an appropriate amount.

Solicitor says the indemnity policy would only cover us if the council made us tear the whole thing down but even then we'd have a fight over the value. If it didn't pass building regs then the cost is all ours to put it right.

Estate agents can misrepresent. When we bought our house it had clearly defined boundaries. It went to sealed bids and we were successful. Halfway through the conveyancing process we got told a neighbour was buying some of the land to extend his driveway! Everyone bid on the property as represented by the Agent.

I told my solicitor to intervene. He did and rang the sellers solicitors who agreed it was the wrong thing to do and matters were reinstated.
However the estate agents were very blase until I told them I had referred it on to what was Trading Standards. They were very interested as, unknown to me, they had recently been prosecuted on another matter.

Caveat emptor, let the buyer beware, stands op. Do you want the hassle? Could you give the council a call to see where they stand on this? I take it you haven't exchanged.

If the outbuilding was constructed more than 4 years ago the time for enforcement action to be taken has passed.

Therefore it may not be a misrepresentation.