Advice Needed Section 106

Ruka

Hi I wonder if anyone can help me with any advice about a current absolute nightmare I'm in! In brief I put a reservation down on a new build some months ago I paid extras and fees on the date I went to exchange o was told I couldnt because there was a section 106 on the house and it had been reserved for affordable housing. I sold my house and have paid over £3000 in legal and other fees to buy the house. The builder is currently embroiled in a court case with the council over it. In the meantime I'm homeless and out of pocket big time! I have asked the builder to refund the costs of my legal fees ect so I can try find another house to buy but they are currently refusing until the case is over. In my opinion if the 106 was in place from the start I should never have been allowed to purchase it as a private buyer? Has this happened to anyone else or can anyone offer me any help. Thanks

ARandomMiser

You might be better posting on the consumer rights board http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173
You are unlikely to get useful help on this matter from the people who frequent this section(apart from this post) .

Hintza

No matter what anyone says on here you are probably going to need proper legal advice.

I can understand why the builder will do nothing until the court case is over.....he might win.

If he doesn't win he could be in severe financial trouble and if he knowingly sold a section 106 then it might shift from a civil case to a criminal case.

I don't think there is much you can do just now except cross your fingers and look at the planning application and conditions (usually online these days) then you will get an idea how it will turn out. One has to hope/assume that this is just a big mix up.

But in the end it will come back to legal advice.

NewShadow

A completely uninformed post:

Rent somewhere in the interim - keep all receipts and those relating to additional expenses (storage unit for your stuff for example) and work to minimise these expenses where reasonable (no staying at the hilton!).

Write to your builder outlining your request to terminate your agreement and note you are building up additional costs as a result of his refusal and reserve the right to bill him for those costs if he continues to refuse - maybe ask if there's another house on the estate you could have in stead or anything else you can think of to demonstrate you're trying to minimise your loss?

Assuming he says no - Wait till the end of the court case and either have your house or have your refund.

If you have your house (and your mortgage is still fine), bill the builder for the extra expenses you've incurred (as it's a new build you should be able to get something knocked of the final price or some 'extras' thrown in) if he doesn't pay up - sue.

If you end up with a refund - buy an alternative comparable house and sue the builder for your expenses (including the second set of lawyers) and the expenses caused by the delay (including the difference if house prices in the area have noticeably increased during the delay) - it's called 'loss of a bargain' or something like that.

As I mentioned - is not a housing lawyer.

ETA - I've asked the mods to move this to the housing forum when they get a chance.

Marisco

NewShadow wrote: »

A completely uninformed post:

Rent somewhere in the interim - keep all receipts and those relating to additional expenses (storage unit for your stuff for example) and work to minimise these expenses where reasonable (no staying at the hilton!).

Write to your builder outlining your request to terminate your agreement and note you are building up additional costs as a result of his refusal and reserve the right to bill him for those costs if he continues to refuse - maybe ask if there's another house on the estate you could have in stead or anything else you can think of to demonstrate you're trying to minimise your loss?

Assuming he says no - Wait till the end of the court case and either have your house or have your refund.

If you have your house (and your mortgage is still fine), bill the builder for the extra expenses you've incurred (as it's a new build you should be able to get something knocked of the final price or some 'extras' thrown in) if he doesn't pay up - sue.

If you end up with a refund - buy an alternative comparable house and sue the builder for your expenses (including the second set of lawyers) and the expenses caused by the delay (including the difference if house prices in the area have noticeably increased during the delay) - it's called 'loss of a bargain' or something like that.

As I mentioned - is not a housing lawyer.

ETA - I've asked the mods to move this to the housing forum when they get a chance.

I thought his name was Bob

parkrunner

ARandomMiser wrote: »

You might be better posting on the consumer rights board http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=173
You are unlikely to get useful help on this matter from the people who frequent this section(apart from this post) .

Also try house buying, renting and selling board http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

steve-L

NewShadow wrote: »

Write to your builder outlining your request to terminate your agreement and note you are building up additional costs as a result of his refusal and reserve the right to bill him for those costs if he continues to refuse

Whatever you do WRITE .... send recorded delivery and keep copies of EVERYTHING.

I'm no expert but this would seem to fall under SOGA as well (given you were sold something not fit for purpose)

You might also want to explore Small claims Court if getting your money back is more important than getting the house if the 106 is resolved. To do this you need to follow the process which starts of the same until you do the third letter with a 3rd and final warning.
(Then you apply for the small claims... from memory I think it's about £50 outlay for £4000 claim)

Based on the builder not wanting to deal with multiple cases they may prefer to just settle.

NewShadow

steve-L wrote: »

Whatever you do WRITE .... send recorded delivery and keep copies of EVERYTHING.

I'm no expert but this would seem to fall under SOGA as well (given you were sold something not fit for purpose)

You might also want to explore Small claims Court if getting your money back is more important than getting the house if the 106 is resolved. To do this you need to follow the process which starts of the same until you do the third letter with a 3rd and final warning.
(Then you apply for the small claims... from memory I think it's about £50 outlay for £4000 claim)

Based on the builder not wanting to deal with multiple cases they may prefer to just settle.

Recorded delivery may not be the best option - given they can refuse to accept.

The courts accept first class delivery with proof of postage, and if in doubt send two copies - as it's judged very unlikely both copies will be 'lost'.

If you're claiming for consequential losses it also is likely to exceed the limits for a small claims case, but you should be able to claim (reasonable) costs if you've done everything you can to mitigate your losses.

At this stage it will be about being 'reasonable'/mitigating your losses and gathering any and all evidence.

As has been stated repeatedly, legal advice will become essential if you cannot come to a quick and satisfactory resolution - this would likely be after the case with the council has been resolved and would depend on if the builder agrees to settle.

It could be, if the builder wins against the council (the council case is found to be without merit) the builder will settle with you and claim against the council for the money he's lost due to their delays.

I'm not familiar with conveyancing, but it's possible the contract you signed (the paper's you received) when you paid your deposit contain some information about this situation/if the builder becomes unable to complete.