developer's solicitors refuse to give answers/documents

serena86ve

I paid 1000£ as reservation fee to start the process and brand new flat from developer Crest Nicholson.

I must say that the developer proposed me 3 different solicitors to choose from to carry out the conveyancing however I decided to use an independent solicitor who does not have any relationship with the developer and it turned out to be a good decision considering the situation we are now.

The Environmental Search failed and was referred to an opinion from a professional. This suggested FURTHER ACTION as the property may be in a contaminated land and in an area affected by radon gas.

From the documents my solicitor found out that the planning permissions were granted after an appeal and subject to a list of conditions including contamination assessment and remedial work.
The conditions mention a series of reports that must be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority, otherwise no development shall take place.

Also the developer states that these New Homes are covered by the NHBC Buildmark. However no documentation was sent to us and they only provide it after exchange of contract...

My solicitor raised many enquiries regarding the possible contamination issue and their solicitor refused to answer any questions. The claim that the documentation give is enough for the Buyer's need.

Since our environmental search failed twice, it is clear that we must see what they have done to deal with the contamination problem as a whole , before exchanging
contracts!

my question is , it is legal that a solicitor refuses to reply to enquires raised by another solicitor? What do you think of this whole situation? I can see us not making any progress if they refuse to give us answers and documents. Of course if i withdrawn , i will lose the 1000£ reservation fee and I will also have to pay my solicitor fee! In addition I may not find another property within the stamp duty exemption deadline that is end of March!

This situation is crazy and I am very concerned and the dream of my first flat is fading away...

G_M

serena86ve wrote: »

...
I must say that the developer proposed me 3 different solicitors to choose from to carry out the conveyancing however I decided to use an independent solicitor Good for you. Well done!


my question is , it is legal that a solicitor refuses to reply to enquires raised by another solicitor? Yes, but see below

What do you think of this whole situation? My guess is the developers and/or their solicitor are embarrassed to be caught out and have no satisfactory answer to the questions asked. So are choosing to give NO answer. I can see us not making any progress if they refuse to give us answers and documents.I agree Of course if i withdrawn , i will lose the 1000£ reservation fee Maybe.....and I will also have to pay my solicitor fee! Yes. But well worth the cost! In addition I may not find another property within the stamp duty exemption deadline that is end of March! Certainly true, but...

This situation is crazy and I am very concerned and the dream of my first flat is fading away...

I would get your solicitor to suggest to the developers solicitor:

a) He cannot advise you to progress to Exchange without satisfactory replies
b) he cannot recommend to your lender (are you getting a mortgage?) that they lend on the property without satisfactory replies
c) Failure to progress to Exchange will constititute withdrawal from the sale by THEM, not you
d) Because of their failure to Exchange as agreed in the Reservation fee documentation (he'll need to read/review this), they should now refund your fee in full, together with all your costs to date (mortgage application; survey/valuation fee, legal fees etc) and compensation for th fact that you will lose out on Stamp Duty exemption.

Please note I am not a conveyancing solicitor though!

I doubt you will receive all of d) but by asking for everything, you may reach a compromise and get some/most of it.

If they refuse point blank, discuss with your solicitor taking them to court.

A lot will depend I suspect on the terms of the reservation fee.

david29dpo

Seconded, excellent reply. My other half (a coneyancing solicitor) agrees too.

anselld

.... and if it does all fall through, consider informing the planning authority of the full situation so that they can take any appropriate enforcement action.

getmore4less

Local paper would love a story.

"Developer builds on contaminated land".

Check With the locla planning if they have recieved the necessary written notifications.

CHeck with building control.

NHBC is only an insurance company that makes inspections, they may be inheriting liabilitities so ask the NHBC if they are covering the site and are they aware of the potential contamintion ask have their inspectors satisfied themselves the necessary inspections and cleanup have been done.

http://www.nhbc.co.uk/Builders/Technicaladviceandsupport/Publications/ContaminatedLandDevelopment/

these guys might be interested

http://www.claire.co.uk/index.php?Itemid=28&id=98&option=com_content&task=view

WHat about the envoronment agency.

Google might uncover others.

serena86ve

thank you all!! Since the developer's solicitors advised they won't answers any questions, he will now contact directly the developer and see if they can provide documents and give answers.

Of course if they won't take responsibilities will then consider asking the Local Planning Authority directly.

Certain is that if I loose any money I won't be staying silent and for sure report these people!!

billybear1

That is terrible! I agree with the above as it sees in this case it's not whether you choose to walkaway from this one, it seems you will have to! Keep us updated and I hope you come out on top!

pauletruth

i would be running away as ast as i could. if there lawyer is refusing to answer the quetions then you know there is something wrong. you wuld be mad to go ahead even if you could. yes go for your costs and claim something for your lost time and effort.

Richard_Webster

Generally there will be conditions requiring reports to be submitted and their recommendations implemented before any or a certain number of houses have been constructed. Therefore if the conditions have not been compiled with the Council could serve a breach of condition notice on the developer. Would the developer want that?

Therefore OP's solicitor should write to the Council seeking confirmation that the conditions have been complied with and suggesting enforcement action if they have not. That way either it will be OK because there has been compliance or the developer will be pressured into doing something to prove compliance.