Non-refundable reservation fee

kbm271186

I reserved a new build apartment and was asked to put a non-refundable reservation deposit of £500 down that was paid direct to the developer, Claremont Property Group. Unfortunately I now can!!!8217;t get the mortgage for the property.

The reservation form states it is non-refundable, but the memorandum of sale doesn!!!8217;t mention it being non-refundable.

Am I covered by the Consumer Code for Home Builders? I understand I may lose some money for admin fees etc, but £500 seems steep as the reservation form was only signed on 28 March 18.

Thanks

Mermaid89

I assumed you signed and thus agreed to the terms on the reservation form? When I reserved my new build the £500 fee reduced each week by £100 should I have pulled out, and is stated on the form as such. If yours states its not refundable then its not refundable, not sure why you'd think otherwise

AnotherJoe

Where in the consumer code does it mention non refundable deposits being refundable ?
Or, that non refundable deposits aren't allowed?
If that's in there somewhere I'd say you have a chance.

eddddy

AnotherJoe wrote: »

Where in the consumer code does it mention non refundable deposits being refundable ?
Or, that non refundable deposits aren't allowed?
If that's in there somewhere I'd say you have a chance.

It says....

CONSUMER CODE FOR HOME BUILDERS

2.6 Reservation
...
The Reservation fee must be reimbursed if the Reservation agreement is cancelled. The Home Buyer must be told of any deductions that may be made.

Link: http://www.consumercode.co.uk/downloads/fourth-edition-2017/

kbm271186 wrote: »

I reserved a new build apartment and was asked to put a non-refundable reservation deposit of £500 down that was paid direct to the developer, Claremont Property Group. Unfortunately I now can!!!8217;t get the mortgage for the property.

The reservation form states it is non-refundable, but the memorandum of sale doesn't mention it being non-refundable.

Am I covered by the Consumer Code for Home Builders? I understand I may lose some money for admin fees etc, but £500 seems steep as the reservation form was only signed on 28 March 18.

Thanks

Has your builder signed up to the code? (All the larger builders have.)

I think the intention of the code is that reservation fees should be refundable, less an admin fee - but that admin fee should be stated in the reservation agreement.

It's worth challenging with the builder. (Maybe they will argue that they had £500 worth of admin costs.)

FWIW, the memorandum of sale isn't relevant (unless they showed it to you before you signed the reservation agreement).

kingstreet

£500 seems a low reservation fee. Is this a HTB case?

If it is, the developer signs up to refunding the fee if the purchase can't proceed.

kbm271186

kingstreet wrote: »

£500 seems a low reservation fee. Is this a HTB case?

If it is, the developer signs up to refunding the fee if the purchase can't proceed.

Thank you for your reply.

Yes, it was a HTB case. I have been looking for HTB developer T&Cs , but can't seem to find them. Any ideas? Thank you

kingstreet

It's part of the terms and conditions the developer signs-up to when they join the HTB scheme. Phone your local HTB Agent and ask them.

https://www.helptobuy.gov.uk/equity-loan/find-helptobuy-agent/

tzzt123

Sorry for missing that question out. Have a look at my previous post and see who Claremont really are. (a pain)

Have you reserved the property as Help To Buy? there are certain limitations as to what they can charge and the conditions they can apply.

The property we were going to buy was part of an apartment building they were selling, and there have been quite a few Help to Buy who were overcharged and provided nothing - no communication, delays in delivery, wrong description, and a lot of money was lost as a result.

2. Claremont may not be signed with the consumer code (why adhere to good standards when you know you don't want to, if you're right - they are signed up with the property ombudsman, (tpos.co.uk) which would happily take a complaint.

Have a look at their conditions first, and if you believe you're right, you'll have to formally raise a complaint with Claremont, give them some time to answer and then take it to the Ombudsman.