Could I be sued over this?

Save_It_2

Just looking for a bit of advice, I sold my house in January 2009 and everything went fine. The people who bought the house are now complaining that we did not disclose to them that a new house build had been granted planning permission . This new house build is only just now being built now and lies on another street at the very edge of the back garden.

To be honest I totally forgot about the proposed new house build as the plans had been summated a year earlier and no work had ever started. The documents I had to sign from their solicitor never mentioned anything about proposed new house builds in the area because if they did I would have mentioned it.

Could I be sued over this?

bryanb

That's what their solicitor does searches for. Not your problem

googler

Seconded. Unless you signed something to say that there were no neighbour notifications of planning apps (such as the question that now appears in the Property Questionnaire attached to a Scottish Home Report), then it's up to the buyers and their agents.

Personally, I'd look up the local council's planning website myself before buying anything.

pinkshoes

I would direct them back to their solicitor who should have picked this up in the searches. Unless you specifically didn't answer any questions asked regarding this, then you did nothing wrong.

They'll probably try and claim you deliberately didn't mention it and that your reason for moving is because of the new build!

sunshinetours

If the information is in the public domain (ie planning permission) I can't see that they could rely on you even if you had said you didn't think there was surely. Things like that are absolutely down to the buyer and their solicitor.

Anyway surely they would have to prove a loss of some sort regardless of any liability issue?

ciano125

sunshinetours wrote: »

Anyway surely they would have to prove a loss of some sort regardless of any liability issue?

Perhaps so, but that would still be of no concern to the OP. As others have said, its for their solicitor to find these things out, not the OP. Tell 'em to sod off and stop bothering you. Idiots.

vet8

When we put our house on the market our solicitor sent us a huge pack of papers to fill in and one asked us if there were any planning applications in the area. Personally I think that is a right cheek!

What do I pay the proffessional solicitor for? He has indemnity insurance to cover any errors. I don't. If I say there are no applications in the offing and I am wrong because I did not know, can I be sued?

This all strikes me as being symptomatic of the way house selling has gone downhill, you pay more and get less service from the proffessionals who are supposed to do the work.

RX-78

Wont they have to prove you knew about the built but deliverately denied it (as oppose to simply didn't know)? Surely they cannot sue you for ignorance as they cannot expect you to know/remember all of the local applications?

pinkshoes

RX-78 wrote: »

Wont they have to prove you knew about the built but deliverately denied it (as oppose to simply didn't know)? Surely they cannot sue you for ignorance as they cannot expect you to know/remember all of the local applications?

A house being built at the end of your back garden would be very memorable!

Sammy85_2

pinkshoes wrote: »

A house being built at the end of your back garden would be very memorable!

My thoughts exactly. You might not know about a development down the street but you would most definately know about one at the end of the garden.

Doozergirl

Sammy85 wrote: »

My thoughts exactly. You might not know about a development down the street but you would most definately know about one at the end of the garden.

Regardless, this is something which searches will reveal and it is the buyer's responsibilty to check these things, not for a vendor to tell them.

Who have these people complained to, exactly?