Misrepresentation in SPIF by Seller

head.hunter_3

We bought our house in June of this year.
The sellers were also the architects who designed and had the house built.
Circa three years after they completed the build of the house we bought it.

In the SPIF it asks in Section 2, subsection 2.1
"Do you know of any disputes or anything which might lead to a dispute about this or any neighbouring property?"

The response is a tick in the box that states no.

And in section 3 Notices, subsection 3.1 and 3.2 it asks
"Have you either sent or recieved any letter or notices which affect your property in any way (for example, from or to neighbours, the council or a government department)?" (3.1)
and
"Have you had any negotiations or discussions with any neighbour or any local or other authority which affect the property in any way?"(3.2)

Again both responses are ticks in the box marked no.

Since we have moved in we have had constant issues with ASB from the local youths, eg. possesion of an illegal firearm (3m from front door), common assault, criminal damage, verbal abuse, intimidation and threats.

Both the ploice and the local council security teams are well versed with the area and it is known to have a history going back several years.

Whilst the youths have been alledgedly quiet in the 6 months prior to the sale of the house, per an email from the sellers solicitor, the sellers felt this allowed them to state no in all 3 sections of the SPIF.

As the evidence suggests otherwise what rights do I have?
Can I sue?
What should I do and who do I complain to?

Many thanks in advance!

silvercar

Problem is that the local youths are not your neighbours, so you haven't actually had disputes with the neighbours I'm guessing. Your not happy with some of the people that hang around the area, but that would be upto you to find by visiting the property during the evening and investigating the area before buying.

Running_Horse

Do you have any evidence they officially complained about the ASB?

head.hunter_3

Yes we do have evidence of ASB existing before we bought, although this was not gained until after the sale had completed.
The evidence is from the police, the local security patrols from the council and from the residents committee for the area.

We were told by the vendors that they had not had any problems.

However the SPIF does quite clearly state the the buyer is enitled to rely upon the information in the the SPIF, incorrect or incomplete info given either in the SPIF or through any other agent (solicitor, estate agent etc) and any verbal ie mentioned to the buyer is also included...

So where do i stand?

Please add any advice or suggestions

many thanks in advance

Debt_Free_Chick

None of the questions you referred to relate to ASB in the neighbourhood.

The questions ONLY relate to official notices and formal disputes about the immediate neighbouring properties/occupants - not the neighbourhood in general.

pinkshoes

The SPIF says:

"Have you either sent or received any letter or notices which affect your property in any way (for example, from or to neighbours, the council or a government department)?" (3.1)

there's no time limit, and nothing about 6 months written there, so the vendor was wrong to tick the 'no' box.

What compensation are you hoping to gain from this?? You can't really get your money back and give the house back to the vendor! You'll need to appoint a solicitor to fight this (££££), and decide what you actually want from this situation i.e. all costs covered to re-sell the house and buy another one, and rent paid during this period so you can live elsewhere??

head.hunter_3

Debt free chick thanks for your reply.
The document makes no distinction as to what is defined by neighbour

The definition of neighbour is "a person who lives (or is located) near another"

there is no caveat that qualifies this or limits it within the SPIF

and the heading of the SPIF quite clearly states at the beginning that it is to be "information in the seller's possession or knowledge"

They quite clearly knew about the situation.
One of the attending police officers was rather surprised that we were living there as he expected to see the previous owners.

He and without exception all other police officers who have attended have all agreed that there has been an obvious history of ASB around the property, so much so, that the previous owners fitted cctv to monitor the youths and attempt to ID them. This they removed prior to us viewing the property.

head.hunter_3

Pink shoes thanks for your reply

I am hoping to get some compensation in so much as the cost of installing a cctv system and some form of compensation to the loss of value from criminal damage and the loss of value to the property based on the history of ASB.

Don't get me wrong we love the house but the circumstances that come with it were never brought to light nor the long history of incidents...

Hence we feel that the sale of the house was wildly misrepresented and the subsequent loss of house valuation would be a massive consideration as the crime statistics for the are will now be disproportionatly higher due to the ASB/criminal behaviours, our insurance costs will go through the roof

I suspect that out consequential losses will be on-going for the next three years in that there is an established pattern of incidents that will take time to be normalised.

However this is based upon the assumption that the youths are taken in hand and the incidents stop over the coming months...

Debt_Free_Chick

head.hunter wrote: »

Debt free chick thanks for your reply.
The document makes no distinction as to what is defined by neighbour

The definition of neighbour is "a person who lives (or is located) near another"

there is no caveat that qualifies this or limits it within the SPIF

and the heading of the SPIF quite clearly states at the beginning that it is to be "information in the seller's possession or knowledge"

They quite clearly knew about the situation.
One of the attending police officers was rather surprised that we were living there as he expected to see the previous owners.

Perhaps I am interpreting it too narrowly - but perhaps you are interpreting it too widely

In the SPIF it asks in Section 2, subsection 2.1
"Do you know of any disputes or anything which might lead to a dispute about this or any neighbouring property?"

ASB does not amount to a dispute about this or a neighbouring property. My understanding is that a dispute, in this sense, is where the seller was in dispute with a neighbour e.g. over access rights, boundary etc. A dispute is a grumble or complaint which has been escalated to a formal level so that the seller and/or the neighbour had instigated formal action (in writing) that, if unresolved, could then lead to legal action.

"Have you either sent or recieved any letter or notices which affect your property in any way (for example, from or to neighbours, the council or a government department)?" (3.1)

This should be relatively straightforward - but I don't see that it relates to ASB in the neighbourhood, generally.

and
"Have you had any negotiations or discussions with any neighbour or any local or other authority which affect the property in any way?"(3.2)

Again, this ought to be relatively straightforward as it relates to matters that affect the property i.e. the one you've bought.

He and without exception all other police officers who have attended have all agreed that there has been an obvious history of ASB around the property, so much so, that the previous owners fitted cctv to monitor the youths and attempt to ID them. This they removed prior to us viewing the property.

My understanding is that the SPIF is intended to forewarn the buyer of matters directly relating to the property they are buying so you can be sure that you are not inheriting a dispute which might need to defend or fight.

I don't think that these questions in the SPIF are intended to cover the general behaviour within the neighbourhood.

They quite clearly knew about the situation.
One of the attending police officers was rather surprised that we were living there as he expected to see the previous owners.

But does their knowledge of "the situation" result in them lying on the SPIF?

Running_Horse

head.hunter wrote: »

Yes we do have evidence of ASB existing before we bought, although this was not gained until after the sale had completed.
The evidence is from the police, the local security patrols from the council and from the residents committee for the area.

Please add any advice or suggestions

I advise and suggest you answer the question put, not the one you want asked. Here it is again:

Do you have any evidence they officially complained about the ASB?

Just about every road in the country has teenagers, some worse than others, some neighbours more tolerant than others. Check with the council or police. If they were smart enough not to make any complaints to the council or police, I doubt you have a leg to stand on.

Sorry, but it was your job to research and decide if you liked the area. You did not do so. If you follow your logic, half the house sales in cities could be overturned or compensated.

loveandlight

How awful for you head.hunter! I would feel exactly as you do! I wouldn't waste anymore time on here asking for advice. I would get yourself some good quality legal advice. Check your building and contents insurance as they usually carry free legal advice by telephone.

You should have been told about any disputes affecting the property as after all, that is what you were/have bought and the dispute has not only affected the value of your property but also your enjoyment of it. Even if you were to sell up now you would have to disclose the problems to any potential buyer. Good luck!