Complicated question

Drummer1991

Not disability discrimination - your son is not buying the property, you are. They have no legal obligation to make any reasonable adjustment for your son, he is not the customer. 

user1977

Deleted_User said:

user1977 said:

Deleted_User said:

user1977 said:

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user1977 said:

Deleted_User said:

Is this disability discrimination? 

No, it's being treated in an identical manner to any other buyer.

No developer is going to be daft enough to make enforceable promises about when building will be complete - I can't see that a court would agree it's a "reasonable" adjustment to try to do so merely because a member of a buyer's family is disabled. If you need certainty about whether your new house will be ready, you need to buy one which has already been built.

I’m not sure why none of you seem to be reading my post correctly. 

I requested additional updates on the build which they agreed to. I never asked them for a confirmed completion date as a reasonable adjustment. 

Perhaps the problem is you haven't been clear enough in your post? If they've agreed to the additional updates then I'm not sure where you think any disability discrimination is coming in? 

And yes, a more specific subject line than "complicated question" would be useful! Almost everything on the forum is a question.

And just to clarify again for User1977, this information is already provided, but we requested the additional updates and weren’t provided with them. So the reasonable adjustment weren’t followed. 

What did your contract say about these updates?

The additional updates weren’t on the contract, but I had them agreed via email between myself and the developer, so it is in writing at least. 

Your difficulty is that such informal agreements almost certainly aren't contractual. The "proper" contract probably says explicitly that anything purporting to be a side agreement does not form part of the contract (they don't want arguments about "promises" made in the sales office etc). If you wanted that to be binding then you should have incorporated it into the contract.

Did you discuss all of this with your solicitor at the time?

For the various reasons explained above, I don't think the Equality Act is relevant here.

babyblade41

To answer the OP, you have nothing to gain by trying to pursue  any claim.

Whether I agree with keeping your child in the loop is a different matter having an autistic grand child 

Have you asked why others are ready before yours , if so what was their reply?.  I'm pretty sure they haven't done it on purpose so presume a valid reason is readily available.

It is not up to developers to look after your own personal interests , they want your money as much as you want their house 

SeanG79

There will be a longstop date in the exchange of contracts, has that date passed? If not, I expect you have little chance of getting anywhere except complaining, which it looks like you are doing. 

As for the order in which properties are completed, it looks like you have chosen an end of four, they likely started on the other end and are working towards your property, so you will be last in the block.

Unless they served your solicitor Notice to Complete, it looks like a genuine error on their part. As for updates, you are unhappy with the updates you have received as they have been inaccurate, but a new build site is notoriously dynamic and liable to change regularly. 

Managing your son's expectations is really your responsibility and I suggest not telling him that you will be moving until you get communication via your solicitor that they have received notice to complete. 

House moving is stressful, new build even more so. I am in the process of buying a new build and have an indicative date of mid-September, but I would not be surprised if it dragged out to Nov/Dec or even into the new year. Good luck with your move and purchase

juliedee4663

If your house is the 4th in a block of 4 it is irrelevant what date it was sold, the builder will still work to their schedule and order of completion.

TripleH

When we were buying an incomplete new build (at time of expressing interest) we were given several updates on completion which kept moving the goal post more and more.

I would be surprised if you were given a date for completion in a form that would be considered legally binding on the builder. These guys are more greased than a late night burger van.

Our developer did issue a weekly email update (maybe fortnightly?) but it was a prestige development for them. We pulled out over other issues in the end but I know when the 31 March 2021 stamp duty deadline was extended, the builders stopped rushing to complete the building and it took another month or so.

Mind you there was a development featured on Mantropolis that was due to end 2018 I think that finished 2022 (from observations when travelling by train).

EDIT : we had friends who bought another new build, despite them being one of first to reserve a plot, their neighbours on wither side who reserved after, moved in before them. This was because their help to buy schemes expired on a certain date whilst our friends weren't using a scheme.

Elliott.T123

Deleted_User saiid:

For those who actually would like to offer advice, I would just like to know where I stand when properties sold after mine, and immediately next door, are completed while mine won’t be for weeks, and they’ve offered no updates on this despite agreeing to updates. 

I assume you chose which plot you wanted on the development rather than specifying that you wanted the first available property when you chose?

The developer will have a plan on which order the properties will be built before they are sold, logic states start at one end and work your way down although there may on occasion be another order for some reason.

They haven't chosen to complete next door first because they liked the buyers more or because of any other reason that logistically it makes more sense for the builders to complete that property first.

Unfortunately while it is incredibly annoying for you and even worse for your son even if they have agreed to provide updates unless you have a legal contract for them to do so (which I would be shocked if any company will sign) then unfortunately I suspect they agreed with minimal intention of actually doing so.

Titus_Wadd

In terms of asking for a reasonable adjustment, speaking from experience, it is reasonable to ask for a specific method of contact (in my case via email not by telephone).  Organizations often seem surprised when I ask; to them it doesn't seem a big deal.  But then it doesn't seem a big deal to them either, when someone forgets and tries to ring me.

I suspect the staff in the sales office or on the phone have little experience of handling a reasonable adjustment request, but if you complain you'll get a "we have identified a training need in our organisation" which doesn't help you son.  A reasonable adjustment doesn't have to be written into a contract or conveyance.

You might find more specific help via an ASD charity/or disability support website but unless they liase with the building firm none of it will make a difference for your son's experience.  I have no doubt he will really be suffering at such an enormous upheaval on his horizon (and yours). 

Moving is stressful, but for a child on the autistic spectrum it can be off the scale, three times around the block and off the scale again.  I hope you finally get settled in your new home, and it will all be worth it.  Only you will know what steps might help him manage this; would he feel better to go past the house and see it nearing completion or would that raise anxiety about it being incomplete?  (I only have a limited experience of a friend with two children on the spectrum and each child had completely different predictable reactions and often a few random ones no one could see coming - they are both adults now and would not mind me saying this).

I know you will be trying to anticipate and minimise the stress for your son and as reasonable adjustments go that doesn't seem unreasonable, asking for more regular updates.  Sadly folk often just don't "get" it, and all good intentions can slip.  Until you move in maybe warn them that you will ring for an update once or twice a week; explain that you are not doing it to be a nuisance, or waste their time but having asked for the RA originally hasn't worked out as requested.  Sending you all positive vibes.

With 1 in 4 people having a disability all companies should make their staff aware of the importance of being asked for a RA, not to comply with disability regulations, but because it's the humane thing to do.  Off my soap box. xx