Do estate agents have to tell buyers about previous convictions?

Comms69

[DELETED USER] said:

swaledale_one said:

If you have a dispute with any neighbours by law you have to disclose this to a potential buyer yet the above doesn't apply??? I'd assume by law the solicitor should have disclosed this as the potential buyers lives could be put at risk and the obvious point is it's  far far far more serious than a neighbour dispute which has to be disclosed.

This was settled in court years ago. A family found that the house they bought was the site of multiple murders with the bodies buried in the back garden and not all the parts found. They moved out immediately and sold at considerably below market value. They sued then and lost.

So given that human body parts in the garden wasn't enough to warrant being disclosed you aren't likely to get very far over paedophilia.

What do you want exactly? To sell the house or get some compensation for something?

Do you happen to have the case name, i know you said it was settled, but be interesting reading

eddddy

[DELETED USER] said:

swaledale_one said:

If you have a dispute with any neighbours by law you have to disclose this to a potential buyer yet the above doesn't apply??? I'd assume by law the solicitor should have disclosed this as the potential buyers lives could be put at risk and the obvious point is it's  far far far more serious than a neighbour dispute which has to be disclosed.

This was settled in court years ago. A family found that the house they bought was the site of multiple murders with the bodies buried in the back garden and not all the parts found. They moved out immediately and sold at considerably below market value. They sued then and lost.

So given that human body parts in the garden wasn't enough to warrant being disclosed you aren't likely to get very far over paedophilia.

Do you mean this case: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/3492936.stm

If so, it happened in 2004. The law has changed since then, and a lot of things are getting muddled up here.

• There is no law against selling a property with body parts in the garden, and there is no law against selling a property owned by a paedophile.

• The court case above is about a buyer claiming damages from a seller for 'misrepresentation' - it was decided based on whether the sellers had been 'honest'. The Judge decided the sellers had been 'honest'. 

• Had the judge decided that the seller had not been 'honest' - then the question of the damages for body parts in the garden would have been considered.

• However, this thread discusses claiming compensation from an Estate Agent via the Property Ombudsman, for potentially making a 'Misleading Omission' . Not claiming damages in court from the seller for 'misrepresentation'.

• The The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 make it an offence for an Estate Agent to make 'Misleading Ommissions' and it breaches the Property Ombudsman's mandatory Code of practice.

Edit to add....
And if you're super interested... http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2004/299.html

zagubov

If a house has a particularly bad reputation, it may end up demolished, as happened with the Cromwell Street of the Wests.
10 Rillington Place and the rest of the street was completely knocked down and built over.
People visiting the Grenfell memorial probably have to pass the former Rillington Place without realising it.

davidmcn

zagubov said:

If a house has a particularly bad reputation, it may end up demolished, as happened with the Cromwell Street of the Wests.
10 Rillington Place and the rest of the street was completely knocked down and built over.

Easier with some properties than others. Dennis Nilsen's flat is still around. I think they've replaced the drains...

unforeseen

Victory Road Derby. Philpotts House demolished. I worked at RR and never realised it was just up the road from where I worked

lincroft1710

The terrace including the house where the Brady and Hindley murdered Edward Evans in Hattersley was also demolished

[Deleted User]

lincroft1710 said:

The terrace including the house where the Brady and Hindley murdered Edward Evans in Hattersley was also demolished

Not knowing the area I once ventured over to see what the new build houses were like. Later I looked up the area online and found links to Brady, Shipman and Dale Cregan.

TripleH

Think of it this way. Everyone in the area who knew about the previous owner and had issues may well be delighted they have gone and as people gossip, word of mouth will get round that there are new people in the house. You may have to endure people telling you about the previous owner for a while, but I suspect you will be seen as a good thing without having to do anything.  

Falafels

If it’s the vendor, who will be moving out, then I don’t see that it affects the property. There are times when houses where murders have taken place are advertised along with a suggestion that prospective buyers research the property’s history, but that relates to the property which will be taken over - not the vendor him/herself. Paedophiles are obliged to disclose their convictions when applying for jobs working with certain vulnerable groups, but not on a property information form. So, no, I don’t see that the estate agents would have been obliged to share that information at all.

Would you have withdrawn from the sale if you’d realised?