Vendors not disclosing new neighbours planning application

[Lunalicious]

We have exchanged on a property and are due to complete next week. Our new neighbours have just contacted us to discuss a party wall agreement for their new extension which planning permission was submitted around 3 weeks before exchange. We have confirmation in writing from the new neighbours that the vendors were aware of this "for quite some time". The extension is quite extensive and tbh I don't think we would have purchased the property if we had known about this. We have also lost the chance to object to the application as we weren't aware of it until after the period for comments was over. Obviously we are tied into the house purchase now, and we are going to be reasonable with the new neighbours as this isn't their fault and they have ever right to apply for planning permission and build on their land if approved. What I am wondering is, legally have the vendors done something wrong? If so, what can we do now going forward?

Just because the new neighbours have said the vendors knew, doesn’t mean they actually did. It’ll need to be proved that the vendors absolutely did know about the proposed extension. I would check the planning portal to see when neighbours were notified and provide that to your solicitor and go from there.

@Lunalicious

They want to erect scaffolding on our garden and say they will need to dig down in our garden to lay the foundations and footings for the new party wall. We have had a lot of stuff going on and I really could have done with out this. Was expecting the first summer in our new home for the garden to be out of bound for the kids for month. I know this could have happened anytime in the future but it is all very overwhelming right now so near to completion when we only have 14 says to respond to this party wall thing. I haven't had to deal with a party wall agreement before so am googling furiously to make sure I understand what is going on and what I should be doing.

You don't have to agree to this and can request recompense for loss of amenity if you did. If the extension is significant and no other property has done similar you could argue it is out of keeping and overbearing. You do not have to be living next door to object and it may be enough to prompt a review the plans. If they need your cooperation you could meet ndn and see how you can get concessions which may make it more acceptable. Ask the officer if they are minded to recommend approval or not. If not, you have time to look at any resubmitted plans without needing to object and it would not happen in May.

@Lunalicious

Won't I lose my deposit though? The house was 550k, so 10% depost is fairly substantial -well to me anyway. I guess I need to talk to my conveyancer again on Tuesday, he was quite blasé about it all earlier when we spoke.

Sorry, meant to say only if you can pull out without penalty.

I'm a lawyer in a different country and know nothing about buying houses in England, but would would be very surprised if you didn't have some kind of recourse here. A quick google brought up this:

"If any information changes or new information is received after the form has been completed then you must notify your Conveyancer, so they can pass this on to the buyer's Solicitor before completion takes place."
www.co-oplegalservices.co.uk/media-centre/articles-sept-dec-2018/what-is-a-property-information-form/

Get onto your solicitor and have them clarify the situation first thing on Tuesday.

Pretty sure they don’t have any rights to be able to either erect scaffolding or dig in your garden without your permission.

@Ohmygodyesthatsit i agree with you
Its aounds like theyve kinda colluded to make sure The Buyer can't contest in time
Seller " we dont want to live next to your extension "
Neighbours"cool well when you move, dont mention it and well sneak it through when no one notices."
I wouldnt be worried about your relationship as it sounds like theyve chosen this time to submit the applications

I think you can advise the planners that you would not grant permission for the the building work on your land, you might find the PP is refused.
TBH, my response would be that they can't dig foundations on your land or erect scaffolding now. Their extension will affect your use of your conservatory.
You might flush out previous converations with your vendor.

Planning does not take into account ownership or boundaries, unless it is part of an objection.

You do not have to let anyone on to your land, and you certainly don't have to give them access to dig things up and erect scaffolding. If you do go ahead, insist on the appointment of your own party wall surveyor, your neighbour has to pay the cost of this for you. The RICS website has some good guidance on how party wall awards work. My neighbour put in a planning application showing guttering over our boundary - he got the permission but I made it very clear he could not build over our boundary, and he didn't. We also refused him access to build his wall along the boundary - he had to do it all from his side.

@ClarasZoo

Just don’t respond and it counts as a dissent. Then you get your own surveyor and they have to pay. Just tell your neighbour that you want a surveyor of your own because the vendors didn’t tell you about the application. That’s what I would do anyway…

this

do not engage with new neighbour yet!

You could have looked at your local district council’s online planning portal to do your own search for free, for peace of mind. Would have taken about 5 minutes.

Last time we moved I checked the planning portal and the local plan, even though the solicitor was doing searches.

Buyer beware.

There are three issues...

1. The vendor lying on their disclosure forms, for which they may be liable.

1. Your agreement (or not) to the planning application. It may be too late to submit your views, but it might be worth doing anyway..

1. The party wall agreement. Definitely appoint your own surveyor, or don't reply and one will be appointed for you. This is totally standard and not a case of being awkward or falling out with new neighbours.

You need your own party wall surveyor and the neighbours legally have to pay for this on your behalf.

The timing of all of this is unfortunate and the plans have not been approved yet. You need to discuss with your solicitor on Tuesday.

Realistically when your vendor filled in their property form no planning application had been submitted but just prior to exchange (days) it had. Technically you should have been informed.

But in amongst all of this you need to ask yourself if the extension was already in place would you have purchased the house? I realise you still have the disruptive element if it goes ahead. I think your potential new neighbours are pulling a bit of a fast one as the application hasn’t actually been approved yet.

You can refuse access on your land for what they want. It can all be done from their side. But you must appoint your own party wall surveyor that you don’t pay for. Speak with your solicitor.

You wouldn’t have bought this house if you had known about the neighbours plans, so do not go ahead with the purchase of it! You have done nothing wrong, in all this, so do not feel bad about anything!

The vendors should have told you about the neighbours extension plans (as they definitely knew about them), but didn’t, as they knew it would impact on how much their house sold for. I would get in touch with your solicitors first thing Tuesday morning, and cancel completing on the property, due to the vendor deliberately withholding information. You shouldn’t lose your deposit because of neighbour lying on the SPIF form.

If possible I would go through with selling your house, as another poster suggested, and put you furniture in storage. Do you have anyone you could stay with for a month or two? Good luck and let us know what happens.

@Lunalicious

No, we were not informed until we heard from the new neighbours. Our solicitors are saying it was the vendors responsibility to let us know.

Complete bullshit. Call them on Monday.

Look at Cleaver v Schyde

Pulling out after exchange is fraught difficulties and is likely to be eye wateringly expensive, as damages all down the chain will to be down to you initially. Now, if you’re confident the vendor has mislead you might be in a position to make a case for rescinding the contract you have with your vendor, and avoiding those costs. but I’d be taking very good legal advice, and not from whoever your using for conveyancing, first. So, you don’t have a lot of time :(

Actually I would email the solicitor now and ask them to call you tomorrow. Insist on it.

Can you bring your house insurance and get legal advice over the weekend if your conveyancer is shut?

Planning applications are freely available for all councils on their Web portals.
Your solicitor has been slack and not very diligent so I would be asking for a discount and referring to the ombudsman.
The vendors should have informed you out-of courtesy.

Don’t lose sight of the fact that you stated upthread in reality you would not have objected to the planning application.

In the cold light of day is it more that you are feeling railroaded by this neighbour?

Contesting all of this is quite big and you need to be sure of your motives. Ie are you just shocked and overwhelmed with everything and then being asked to sign a party wall agreement that you don’t understand.? Or are you adamant you would never have purchased the house If the extension was in place and actually built?

Ignore the disruption as you could have been in the new house and next month a planning application could have been submitted and that’s life so to speak.

You need to be really clear on these points as once considered you may feel differently. It may be this isn’t your dream property and more of a compromise which is affecting how you feel.

Whatever. I do think new neighbours are being extremely pushy and exploiting the situation. You don’t actually own the property yet and pushing for decisions on party wall agreement are premature at best.

This may well all work out fine. But the party wall agreement is to protect both neighbour and you. You should ask for your own independent party wall surveyor- most people do and you are not being difficult in insisting on this.

Yes of course the building works will be annoying but would you still have wanted to buy the house if they were completed? Of course you don’t have to agree to the access they are wanting. That’s just making the build cheaper for them. It can all be done on their side even if that means craning things over the top.

Keep calm and consider things logically.

I’m so sorry OP! This sounds really complicated.

If the seller stated on the form that they hadn’t been notified of any planning / legal issues when that was untrue, then that sounds like misrepresentation. In England you can sometimes, but not always terminate a contract for misrepresentation - google this.

I don’t think the legal position is clear 😭 I think the seller has deliberately screwed you over to help their friend next door.

Speak to your conveyancer but they may be way out of their depth, perhaps also a property litigator, first opportunity, also call the Council re the planning application say you know the date to comment may have just passed but there seems to have been deliberate fraud by previous owner and the applicant to prevent you from commenting and is it possible for the Council to use discretion to allow you to comment in this situation.

If you’re very keen to pull out, you Might also want to ask a different solicitor if you can sue your current solicitor for negligence for the cost of any lost deposit. I haven’t read all the detail but don’t understand how they missed the planning application.

If you’re considering legal action be very careful what you say to the neighbour - you don’t want to accidentally agree to it or imply that you’d been told.

Good luck 😔

You can still object to a planning application up to the day a decision is made. Although there is a consultation period with supposed cut off dates, you can still object now.

If the extension is as large as you fear, you can object to it on the grounds of overshadowing and overbearing.
If there are any first floor windows you can cite loss of privacy as well.
Take a look at the local plan on the Council's website and it will show you all the policies in your area that you can quote in your objection.

If it is on the boundary line then make sure they have included room for guttering and downpipes. If this is missed off then it may mean that they would need to be on your land to achieve this. Whilst ownership is not a matter for planners, it is If they haven't drawn the red line of the application to include all the land required. In which case they would have to withdraw the application and resubmit.

If I were you though, I would go and see the neighbours and tell them what changes you would like to the plans and see if you can find an agreement.

Thanks everyone. After sleeping on it I feel a bit less frantic. We are quite a large family with pets so it would be hard for us to be put up while this is all sorted which is adding to the dilemma of the best way to handle it. Going to try and get hold of people today to discuss options but being Good Friday I am unsure how successful I will be.

The property information form asks if the seller is aware of any plans to develop which I find it very hard to believe that they weren’t. You need a property litigator to get you out of the contract.

I wish PP would stop saying that the conveyancer should have searched next door as well. We would advise it if the client expressed concern or said they were mainly buying for a view or similar but it’s not part of the standard search.