New obligation to disclose defects & problems when selling

davidmcn

googler wrote: »

Google 'repeal of property misdescriptions act' or 'repeal PMA', perhaps along with 'consumer protection regulations' or 'CPR'.

PMA was repealed 1 Oct 2013, making the CPRs apply by default, as I read it.

No, the regulations come into force on 13 June, hence why everyone's writing about it just now:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134/pdfs/uksi_20133134_en.pdf

moneyistooshorttomention

Can I ask a very specific question on the obligation to disclose:

- Is an estate agent marketing a property for sale obliged to disclose to potential buyers a dispute with a neighbour if they know about it once this legislation comes into force on Friday?

Leo2020

The Consumer Protection Regulations from Unfair Trading came into force on 26th May 2008.

I recommend reading the PDF I linked to. But as a neighbour dispute would likely have effected your decision to purchase the property then they way I read the regulations the EA would have to disclose the information to you.

moneyistooshorttomention

Leo2020 wrote: »

The Consumer Protection Regulations from Unfair Trading came into force on 26th May 2008.

I recommend reading the PDF I linked to. But as a neighbour dispute would likely have effected your decision to purchase the property then they way I read the regulations the EA would have to disclose the information to you.

As regards my recent purchase of my house, I would imagine the EA concerned genuinely didn't know about a couple of matters the vendor should have disclosed, but didn't:mad:

I'm talking about a neighbour dispute that could occur in the future and that the EA concerned would quite definitely know about (as the other party concerned would have told them to be sure they do know about it). At that point in time this, most recent, piece of legislation will have been in force for a while.

Leo2020

If the EA you choose to use (I assuming you're on about selling your current house in the future and your neighbours are going to sing to the rooftops to anybody about your current dispute of land) knows about the dispute then yes they would have to tell anyone interested in purchasing. But then again so would you as you would have to declare it on the seller's form.

However, if you resolve the dispute then this will look better when selling. So you can write something like "we had a dispute over the boundary/land but we came to an agreement x amount of years ago and there have been no problems since".

If however, you can't come to an agreement with the neighbour then this can and probably will scupper any future sale as most people run a mile from boundary disputes.

moneyistooshorttomention

Leo2020 wrote: »

If the EA you choose to use (I assuming you're on about selling your current house in the future and your neighbours are going to sing to the rooftops to anybody about your current dispute of land) knows about the dispute then yes they would have to tell anyone interested in purchasing. But then again so would you as you would have to declare it on the seller's form.

However, if you resolve the dispute then this will look better when selling. So you can write something like "we had a dispute over the boundary/land but we came to an agreement x amount of years ago and there have been no problems since".

If however, you can't come to an agreement with the neighbour then this can and probably will scupper any future sale as most people run a mile from boundary disputes.

Right idea. Wrong way round though. The EA concerned would have been told by me "Just in case you have been told a bit of my garden belong to the house you are selling...that isn't actually the case at all and the facts are as follows". I would be the one to tell the EA about the dispute in fact, if the dispute hadn't been resolved by then.

So, the question has been answered, ie that if neighbour is still disputing, then neighbour would have likely scuppered their own house sale. I have no intention of selling (until I'm dead in however-many-years-time that is and my executor sells it on for me). I'm not unduly concerned with what happens after I'm dead personally.