buying off plans- garden smaller than agreed

familyoffour_2

We have bought a house off plans and were under the impression the house had to be built exactly as shown in the plans. We are regularly visiting the site and the garden appears to be a fair bit smaller than shown in the plans.

When we enquired about this- they said it was only a metre smaller and it does say on the plans (in minute writing I might add) that dimensions are approximate.

We believe it is a good 2 to 3 metres smaller but in any case it is still not what was agreed- can they do this and is there anything we can do about it?

Doozergirl

If it's significantly smaller and you have the proof of what you thought you were being sold then you might have them under the Property Misdescriptions Act if you can quantify the difference. Trading Standards would be the people to talk to once you have the evidence. However, I doubt you'll get a bigger garden out of it; you're better seeking some kind of compensation and threatening them with TS.

Hopejack

I would have thought that if there is a disclaimer there then you won't have a leg to stand on. Most developers plans are approximate and there is always that lovely little 'dislaimer' on there so that they can do as they wish!! Or so it seems. Wouldn't hurt talking to TS as suggested but I doubt they'll do anything.

PS - Someone on here somewhere doesn't have a front garden on their newbuild, although it was on the plans - I think they are trying to sue the developer but not getting v far due to the disclaimer.... Might be worth searching for the thread but I honestly can't remember much about it - sorry!

Doozergirl

Hopejack wrote: »

I would have thought that if there is a disclaimer there then you won't have a leg to stand on. Most developers plans are approximate and there is always that lovely little 'dislaimer' on there so that they can do as they wish!! Or so it seems. Wouldn't hurt talking to TS as suggested but I doubt they'll do anything.

PS - Someone on here somewhere doesn't have a front garden on their newbuild, although it was on the plans - I think they are trying to sue the developer but not getting v far due to the disclaimer.... Might be worth searching for the thread but I honestly can't remember much about it - sorry!

Disclaimers do not negate the need to describe a property correctly. That is clear in the PMA - the disclaimer is just to discourage you. I'd agree that there needs to be some room for movement when you're talking about something that doesn't exist yet but if a significant portion of the garden is missing, they should be held to account somewhat.

Also I thought the person without the front garden had received the plans from the solicitors and had simply not checked them properly The PMA I guess would have protected them if they'd spent money based on the nice picture of the house and then discovered during the conveyancing process that it wasn't included and then had to pull out, but they had missed it completely and accepted the title plan which is going to make it much more difficult to complain.

Hopejack

Doozer - I missed that bit on the thread - as I said, I didn't know the whole picture but the initial bit I read did state about the disclaimer etc and as a result they weren't getting anywhere with the developer.

I still don't think they'll get far tbh. Developers are always tight when it comes to legal etc, I'm fairly sure they all state somewhere that all measurements are approx. I think TS, as I and yourself said, would be the first port of call. Anything is worth a try if you've been wronged though.

How much is missing off the garden btw? Did they give you approximate measurements? I've never seen those on site plans before but it's a while since I looked at newbuilds so it could have changed....

Fire_Fox

familyoffour wrote: »

We have bought a house off plans and were under the impression the house had to be built exactly as shown in the plans. We are regularly visiting the site and the garden appears to be a fair bit smaller than shown in the plans.

When we enquired about this- they said it was only a metre smaller and it does say on the plans (in minute writing I might add) that dimensions are approximate.

We believe it is a good 2 to 3 metres smaller but in any case it is still not what was agreed- can they do this and is there anything we can do about it?

Where did the extra metre or three go? Have the developers squeezed in an extra house, is the fence simply in the wrong place? Have you actually measured the garden? Have you spoken to your conveyancing solicitor? Please say you didn't use the one the developers recommended ...

familyoffour_2

Thanks for all your comments- We shopped arround for our own conveyancing solicitor and are just waiting to measure the garden ourselves before we contact him for advice (can't do it at the mo because of the snow). Our garage is at the end of our garden and the footings of the house are now in place so when we parked our car next to where the garden will be (between the house and garage) it is about a bit more than a cars length so definitely not the 8 and a half metres they promised us on the plans.

I think the next port of call then is TS and see where I get from there.

ILW

I still cannot understand why people buy houses that are not built.

familyoffour_2

ILW wrote: »

I still cannot understand why people buy houses that are not built.

Well, there are lots of good reasons and we certainly don't regret it but, as with any product you purchase things can and do go wrong and you don't always get what you ordered. It's just a matter of what can be done to put it right or at least get the appropiate compensation.

As i've not been in this particular situation before any guidance (or constructive crtitcism) is much appreciated.