My solicitor provided false information - please help.

agrinnall

AbsoluteZero wrote: »

She did send us the documents eventually, however this was after sending them onto the mortgage company.

But presumably you didn't read them, because it sounds like the error would have been pretty obvious to you if you had. While the solicitor should have been aware of it (and the mortgage company, although I wouldn't hold your breath to get them to take any share of responsibility) you have to take some of the blame yourself.

System

eddddy wrote: »

Buildings insurance would not provide cover for damage to personal items. (That would be contents insurance, which a landlord/ freeholder would not provide under any circumstances.)

Also, what was the excess on the landlord's policy that was provided? Often it's £500.

In that case, if the cost of repairs is less than £500, they'd be nothing to claim.

You're quite right, when I had a leak I just made a claim to my insurance company and they covered everything. My building and contents was a single policy which tends to be the cheapest.

parkrunner

AbsoluteZero wrote: »

It was our solicitor that told us that the landlord was responsible for the buildings insurance, and they were the ones that requested the documents from the landlord and passed them onto the mortgage company. She did send us the documents eventually, however this was after sending them onto the mortgage company.

Maybe the solicitor asked for the insurance documents relating to your exact address and the landlord gave the wrong information. Having said that it would appear that the solicitor didn't study the lease, just thinking out loud.

Tom99

In terms of buying a leasehold property this is such basic stuff that you have to wonder what else the solicitor might have missed.

AbsoluteZero

Was this before or after the water damage happened?

It does sound as though this is something which ypur solicitor should have noticed, but it sounds as though neither they, nr the lender, did, and that you either didn't read the documents yourself or didn't notice it either.

They sent me the documents during the purchase of the property (before the water damage appeared). I don't think the solicitor realised that the policy did not cover the houses, and I'm not sure where she got that information from. I was sent all the documents and read them all to the best of my ability, but as I'm sure you can appreciate, this was my first experience with buying a house and there is a lot of jagon that is almost impossible to decipher and it's easy to miss things. I know that I am partly responsible for this, but I feel like you should be able to trust a solicitor to not provide this kind of false information.

... which suggests you think it's a building defect. Where is the damp coming from?

We are still in the process of getting the issue solved. No one can work out where it is coming from and everyone is quick to dismiss it as not their problem.

Have you checked, and followed, the solicitor's complainst process? It appears not. Do so.

No, you are correct I have not followed their official complaints process. I have now had a read of their policy and composed a letter to make a formal complaint to the solicitors.

In terms of buying a leasehold property this is such basic stuff that you have to wonder what else the solicitor might have missed.

This is exactly what I was thinking. To put this into perspective, we were originally told the property was freehold and only later down the line discovered it was leasehold.




Thanks to everyone for all your help. It's been extremely useful to get a broad overview of what I should be doing and how they might be liable.