Lying estate agents & seller

project_c

We had an offer accepted on a flat many months ago. The flat was advertised with a brand new lease (the advert is still online). I sold my property to make funds available for this place, I paid money for a mortgage broker, I paid money for the survey to be carried out, I am paying loads of money to rent a place while we wait to move, and I am in the process of amassing a large bill from my solicitor because of all this.

However, a couple of days ago it was revealed to us that the flat only has 66 years on the lease, and the vendor has no intention of renewing. Turns out the estate agents lied about the flat coming with a new lease, and if that's not enough, when we approached them about this, a further email from them states that the "vendor has agreed to renew the lease", something which the vendor's solicitor apparently knows nothing about.

So we now either have to fork out another 20K to renew a dodgy lease (not a chance), or forget the whole thing. We will pull out, however I want some compensation for all this wasted time and money which was a result of lying agents, or a dishonest vendor - is there anything i can do?

mrginge

Link to the advert please

moneyistooshorttomention

Hopefully you've taken a screenshot of the advert? Don't know if you are going to be able to have any comeback at them for this - but its certain you need to quickly secure that proof of what they said in order to have any chance...

phill99

The EA will only repeat what he is told by the vendor.

This is about due diligence which wyou have to undertake and which has raised the lease issue.

However, don't rxpect compensation - it doesn't work that way in England and Wales.

eddddy

If you feel strongly enough, you can complain to the Property Ombudsman (after complaining to the EA) and/or Trading Standards.

• The Property Ombudsman can order the EA to pay you damages.
  
• Trading Standards can prosecute the EA for mis-describing the property.

But here's two different cases where EAs mis-described the size/extent of a garden (which maybe is similar to mis-describibg a lease) :

• The Property Ombudsman essentially said the EA can rely on what the seller says, so no award was payable to the buyer.
  See: https://www.tpos.co.uk/news-media-and-press-releases/case-studies/item/no-man-s-land
  
  
• The High Court ruled that 3 EAs that overstated the size of a garden should be prosecuted - even though they relied on what the seller told them.
  See: http://www.machins.co.uk/news/estate-agents-face-prosecution-over-misleading-information.html

But even if there is a criminal prosecution, it doesn't necessarily mean you will get any compensation. And the details of the cases above may be very different from yours.

project_c

Many thanks for the replies.

- Mr Ginge, I have sent you the advert via PM, I do not want to share it publicly.

- moneyistooshorttomention: yes, I have screenshots and an email in which they categorically lie

- phill99: if this is the case, can I sue the vendor for misrepresentation?

- eddddy: thank you for this advice, very useful. Even if there is no compensation, it sounds like it's worth at least trying.

mrginge

I wont link to the advert as reqested, however it does very clearly state -

The property is finished to a very high standard and will be sold with a new lease.

I would certainly be making an official complaint. At the very least the advert should be pulled.

societys_child

Turns out the estate agents lied about the flat coming with a new lease, and if that's not enough, when we approached them about this, a further email from them states that the "vendor has agreed to renew the lease"

Doesn't sound like the EA lied, sounds more likely the EA was lied to.

nidO

There only seems to be half a story here.

You keep repeating that the estate agent are lying. Nothing you've said covers how you know they're lying, just that you think they're wrong, and being wrong and lying are very different things.
Estate agent has said the property comes with a new lease, you've found out it doesn't, you've found out the vendor has no intention of renewing it. How? Directly from the vendor, or via their solicitor who the vendor also might not have given the full picture to?
You've told the estate agent it only has a 66 year lease, they've said the vendor intends to get it renewed. Have you then told them that you've spoken directly to the vendor (have you?) and that they have directly said they aren't planning to renew it? If so what did the agent say to that?
What did the vendor say when you asked them about the lease, they said they weren't renewing it, and you said "your ad clearly says you are"?

kinger101

^^
The last two comments make very good points. I'd be surprised if it were the agent lying.

I'd be getting my solicitor to contact their solicitor (possibly copying in the agent) stating that your offer was based on the property with a renewed lease as per the property particulars, and you'd like to proceed with the sale on that basis.

Although the agents would be easier to pursue if it was clear they misrepresented the property, I don't think you'd have a case if the vendor lied to them.

If you don't make any progress, you might then write a letter before action to the vendors in an attempt to recover abortive legal costs (though not rent). You don't necessary have to follow this up through the courts if they don't pay. It's all a matter of deciding whether the hassle is worth it.

project_c

nidO wrote: »

There only seems to be half a story here.

You keep repeating that the estate agent are lying. Nothing you've said covers how you know they're lying, just that you think they're wrong, and being wrong and lying are very different things.
Estate agent has said the property comes with a new lease, you've found out it doesn't, you've found out the vendor has no intention of renewing it. How? Directly from the vendor, or via their solicitor who the vendor also might not have given the full picture to?
You've told the estate agent it only has a 66 year lease, they've said the vendor intends to get it renewed. Have you then told them that you've spoken directly to the vendor (have you?) and that they have directly said they aren't planning to renew it? If so what did the agent say to that?
What did the vendor say when you asked them about the lease, they said they weren't renewing it, and you said "your ad clearly says you are"?

kinger101 wrote: »

^^
The last two comments make very good points. I'd be surprised if it were the agent lying.

I'd be getting my solicitor to contact their solicitor (possibly copying in the agent) stating that your offer was based on the property with a renewed lease as per the property particulars, and you'd like to proceed with the sale on that basis.

Although the agents would be easier to pursue if it was clear they misrepresented the property, I don't think you'd have a case if the vendor lied to them.

If you don't make any progress, you might then write a letter before action to the vendors in an attempt to recover abortive legal costs (though not rent). You don't necessary have to follow this up through the courts if they don't pay. It's all a matter of deciding whether the hassle is worth it.

Thanks again for the replies. Here's the deal in a nutshell: estate agents first advertise property as "will be supplied with brand new lease". We double check this with agent, we make an offer and it is accepted. Then my solicitor starts conducting searches, finds only 66 years on lease. Both I and my solicitor assume this is just because vendor is in process of renewing - no problem! We contact solicitor of seller - no response. We contact agent, who replies with an email to say "vendor has agreed to extend, deal directly with their solicitor from here on". We pester the seller's solicitor, who eventually comes back to say they have received no instructions to extend any lease, and the price of the property reflects the number of years left on the lease. We've been trying to contact them since, they take ages responding and don't seem very interested. I have no contact details for the vendor, I can't talk to him directly.

So: somebody is lying somewhere. It's either the agent, trying to push a sale through without any evidence of a lease. OR it's the vendor, who has changed his mind since advertising the flat, and accepting my offer - in which case, surely I can take legal action against him based on loss of funds due to misrepresentation? I don't see how you can allow a buyer to start forking out all that money for solicitors and surveys and THEN change the fundamental terms of the purchase. Makes no sense.

OR I guess it's the seller's solicitors, who can't be @rsed to pick up a phone to talk to their client about any of this, and it's all miscommunication, but I doubt it's that.

Any thoughts guys?