Unable to serve notice to complete?

FirstTime_Buyer

steampowered said:

I don't understand why you might have "lost" your ability to serve a notice to complete.

Your contract will almost certainly be based on the residential standard conditions of sale which do not contain anything suggesting that you lose your ability to serve notice after a particular time period.

I suspect you still have the ability to serve a notice to complete. It would be odd if you couldn't for all the reasons you describe.

A sensible path forward might be to try and agree an alternative workable solution e.g. the sellers moving into rented for a period of time?

Thanks I actually stumbled across this tonight and have sent it over with the paragraph about completion and serving notice to complete.

I’ll hopefully get an update tomorrow and a way forward. I have asked for them to move into rented accommodation but they said no to that. 

I was 29 when I offered to buy this place...i’ll be 31 if goes past September! Ha 

Comms69

Make a complaint to the SRA if the solicitor doesnt pull his/her finger out. 

vitaweat

steampowered said:

I don't understand why you might have "lost" your ability to serve a notice to complete.

Your contract will almost certainly be based on the residential standard conditions of sale (https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/support-services/documents/standard-conditions-of-sale-5th-edition/) which do not contain anything suggesting that you lose your ability to serve notice after a particular time period.

I suspect you still have the ability to serve a notice to complete. It would be odd if you couldn't for all the reasons you describe.

A sensible path forward might be to try and agree an alternative workable solution e.g. the sellers moving into rented for a period of time?

I had a look and it seems that notice to complete is a "Time is of the Essence" point.  Maybe after a certain point in time it becomes hard to argue that time is really of the essence..?   (I'm not a lawyer so just guessing).

princeofpounds

Your solicitor seems to be talking a lot of nonsense, which is concerning. 

I could imagine a situation where their advice might be to hold off on serving a notice to complete, because it can threaten the ultimate performance of the contract - you can repudiate the contract if you are prepared to suffer the penalties (or are forced to by circumstance). Your solicitor may just be trying to ensure you do get the property in the end. Or they may have concerns over your own ability to perform the contract for some reason. Or have concerns about what you will actually get in compensation - it's not remotely straightforward, you have to claim it through legal action. Or they may have concerns a court will not award the specific remedy of completion under Covid - it is discretionary for the court, not as of right (this seems like it may be a strong possibility). Or perhaps they are just lazy or worried about managing the process.

But haven't heard anything about being prohibited from serving either way. You should ask your solicitor to put down their advice on how to complete the contract in writing, and whether to serve a notice to complete, if you haven't already.

Time is only of the essence when you make it so with a notice to complete, so no I don't see that affecting anything.

Some points of interest perhaps: 

https://www.taylorwessing.com/en/insights-and-events/insights/2019/09/a-sellers-prerogative-when-a-seller-refuses-to-complete-a-sale