Seller lied on TA6 Form, now lack of enjoyment, what next?

davidmcn

amyr said:

(Remember, if you lodge any formal complaints then choose to sell you'd also be obligated to declare them.)

Like I said above, there doesn't need to be anything formal about your complaints before you're obliged to declare them.

fackers_2

amyr said:

I really feel for you. We've experienced this type of situation and know the immense impact on mental wellbeing. You almost end up waiting for it to happen, which can be soul destroying. 

In my experience, addressing the root cause is the best point of call - speak to the neighbours or their landlord. It's positive they seem to be on their way anyway, and I hope the process of their eviction goes quickly for you. 

(Remember, if you lodge any formal complaints then choose to sell you'd also be obligated to declare them.)

It’s like clockwork and as much as I’ve spoke with them many times they are full of promises until the next day. It bothers me a lot more than it does my parter. I hate that the seller, being in the legal world decided to act like this. And that they somewhat trapped us into this situation while they got out freely without consequence. 

We are waiting it out to see if they do leave with the eviction expired next month, if not, I think I will get in touch with a litigator to seek our options. In regards to compensation, we want a fair outcome to compensate us for such distress and lack of enjoyment because of the noise. I hate how easily sellers can get away with stuff like this! 

gagahouse

amyr said:

I really feel for you. We've experienced this type of situation and know the immense impact on mental wellbeing. You almost end up waiting for it to happen, which can be soul destroying. 

In my experience, addressing the root cause is the best point of call - speak to the neighbours or their landlord. It's positive they seem to be on their way anyway, and I hope the process of their eviction goes quickly for you. 

(Remember, if you lodge any formal complaints then choose to sell you'd also be obligated to declare them.)

Good advice in the circumstances where you have decent people as neighbours. I recently moved into a new build semi. A few months later a family with a young child moved in next door. I could hear their child jumping up and down in their room and up and down the stairs. I couldn't hear anything else as the soundproofing is quite good. But these impact type of sounds cannot be contained by soundproofing and after a few weeks I got annoyed at the noise and vibrations.
So I went next door and asked them if they hear me making any noise at all. This prompted them to ask me the same question and I said yes but only when your son is stomping about the house. They were mortified and to their credit had a word with their son and since then it happens very rarely rather than every day.
Of course this depends on what kind of neighbours you have and I was fortunate that they are decent people and responded well to the way I framed the question by asking if I was disturbing them first.
I feel for the OP because the last thing you want upon moving into a new home is to find yourself stuck with a nightmare neighbour who probably isn't amenable to a quite polite word by the sounds of it.

steampowered

fackers_2 said:

We asked explicitly about neighbours and was told they are both very quiet “you never hear from them” and on the TA6 form the seller said in bold “NO” to both questions asking about any trouble with noise / neighbours, and could there be any bother for the buyers from neighbours.

If you can prove that the statements made by the seller in the TA6 were untrue, then you will have a legal claim against the seller for what is known as "misrepresentation". 

If a misrepresentation claim is successful, it is likely that you would be awarded damages to compensate you. For example, if you now decided to sell the house for less than you bought it for, because you have to disclose the noise to your buyer, it might be that you could claim the difference from the sellers.

The difficulty with misrepresentation claims is that:
1) They are difficult to prove - you'd have to prove the seller knew there was an issue.
2) You will probably need a lawyer - the seller isn't going to just pay up unless they are threatened with court action, or ordered by a court to pay up.

I would start by gathering all of the evidence - such as recordings of the noise over a period of time. You would need to prove that the noise is so severe that the sellers must have known about it, and deliberately did not disclose it.

What the neighbours are telling you is not much use, unless your neighbours would be willing to give a formal court witness statement under oath. 

Is it possible to confirm with the council or police whether any previous noise complaints have been made about the property - perhaps in an email? If you can prove that the seller made complaints, that will be solid evidence that there was a big issue they deliberately didn't disclose.

juliedee4663

davidmcn said:

juliedee4663 said:

You need to speak to a Property Lawyer, rather than a Conveyancer

A conveyancer is a property lawyer. They want to speak to a litigator.

No they they are not, a property lawyer is more qualified:

What can a Property Lawyer do?

A Property Lawyer is a more general legal practitioner. They may have qualifications in other areas of laws but they will definitely be qualified to conduct your conveyancing. Property Lawyers have experience in property law in addition to the specialist knowledge required to handle a property transfer. 

When it comes to what a Property Lawyer can do for you there is a main point of difference when it comes to legal advice and representation. A Property Lawyer can provide you with legal advice on the wider implications of your property purchase. Property Lawyers can also provide you with legal representation if any aspect of your property transaction ends up in court. A Conveyancer is not permitted to do either of these things. 

davidmcn

juliedee4663 said:

davidmcn said:

juliedee4663 said:

You need to speak to a Property Lawyer, rather than a Conveyancer

A conveyancer is a property lawyer. They want to speak to a litigator.

No they they are not, a property lawyer is more qualified:

What can a Property Lawyer do?

A Property Lawyer is a more general legal practitioner. They may have qualifications in other areas of laws but they will definitely be qualified to conduct your conveyancing. Property Lawyers have experience in property law in addition to the specialist knowledge required to handle a property transfer. 

When it comes to what a Property Lawyer can do for you there is a main point of difference when it comes to legal advice and representation. A Property Lawyer can provide you with legal advice on the wider implications of your property purchase. Property Lawyers can also provide you with legal representation if any aspect of your property transaction ends up in court. A Conveyancer is not permitted to do either of these things. 

I'm not sure what you're quoting from, but as somebody who can be legitimately described both as a property lawyer and a conveyancer, I'm pretty sure I know what they are! While you do get court lawyers who specialise in property matters, you wouldn't generally refer to them as "property lawyers".

NameUnavailable

Interesting thread. Questions about what to disclose on the forms comes up from time to time and the advice is to be truthful as one could face penalties if something isn't disclosed.

Now we have someone with a problem that wasn't disclosed and the advice is just move, nothing you can do about it etc.

So, what exactly is the point of the form in the first place?

Vectis

fackers_2 said:
It bothers me a lot more than it does my parter.

Which goes to show how subjective these things are. Not much use thinking of going down the legal route if your partner is going to say 'Actually, it doesn't bother me too much.' Or would you expect them to lie/bend the truth a bit? But that would be exactly what you are complaining about the vendor doing, isn't it?

Have you gone to the Council about it? Might be a better route than expensive lawyers. Or keep going back to the LL and keep nagging them.

I do find it interesting though that your partner isn't so bothered by it. Is it possible you're getting it out of perspective, otherwise why are they not so bothered but you are?

Marvel1

If I was asked those questions, my answer would be no, because it's true BUT I have hearing trouble.

goldfinches

Have you considered paying the really noisy neighbours to go away?
I know you shouldn't have to and that this suggestion probably rubs you up the wrong way but I'm suggesting that a contribution to their relocation expenses could be very cost effective for you. 
You could make it contingent upon having left the property provided they move on/by a certain date and so on. If you really wanted to be mean you could shop them to the taxman afterwards too!