Conveyancing did not identify flood risk

cerish70

Recently bought a ground floor flat, and legal searches confirmed that flood risk was "negligible", and flood risks of all types were "not identified". The solicitor confirmed negligible flood risk in their summary search report too. The property information form completed by the vendor stated that no flooding had ever happened. Unfortunately, within a week of completing the sale, the upstairs neighbour told us that flooding is a regular occurrence, and showed us videos of flooding/fast moving water from the rear garden onto the rear wall of the flat (I think from the river a few 100 metres away). We were aware that the walls needed damp proofing (not unusual for an older property), but not aware that the risk is ongoing. The neighbour described a number of actions that the vendor had done to try to improve things over the years, so he was obviously aware of the flood risk. Any advice welcome, thank you

TheJP

Depending on how you look at the question, if the property has not flooded but a garden did then perhaps the seller has viewed it that way.

The solicitor can only advise on the information provided, did you review the searches report? 

cerish70

Thank you for responding - yes I reviewed the searches report very carefully, and yes I agree that the solicitor simply confirmed what was in the environmental report. To clarify, the flood water enters via the garden, which slopes down towards the flat: the volume and speed of the moving water shown in the video is huge, like a fast moving river that impacts on the rear wall and then goes down the side path and onto the road. We are told that the water flow has eroded the height of the lower garden by about a metre, so it's not insignificant. 

cerish70

Oh forgot to say: the property information form includes the garden in its questions about flooding

TheJP

What is the outcome that you want? Have you contacted the seller and asked them about it?

cerish70

The ideal outcome would be a home that is habitable, i.e. to damp proof the walls (which we had planned for); also flood protection measures, as far as is practicable, in order to prevent recurring damp (we haven't budgeted for this, and I imagine it could be quite costly).  I haven't contacted the seller about this, but I have contacted him asking if he has a forwarding address for some of the post: he didn't reply (a simple "no" would have been okay). He left the place in a mess and we're still taking loads of his rubbish to the tip, so I have the impression that he's not likely to be helpful. However, I think I should follow your advice, there's no harm in asking him about it. 

user1977

I assume any such works would be communal rather than something which either you or the seller could unilaterally arrange anyway.

cerish70

True, and the upstairs neighbour is supportive of any action we want to take even though it doesn't affect his flat. It's more of an inconvenience to him when the paths are flooding 

BikingBud

TheJP said:

Depending on how you look at the question, if the property has not flooded but a garden did then perhaps the seller has viewed it that way.

The solicitor can only advise on the information provided, did you review the searches report? 

Isn't the garden part of the property?

Yes garden/land and building are different but they are all part of the property that has been purchased.

cerish70

yes, the garden is part of the property, hence the seller should have disclosed the history of flooding

TheJP

BikingBud said:

TheJP said:

Depending on how you look at the question, if the property has not flooded but a garden did then perhaps the seller has viewed it that way.

The solicitor can only advise on the information provided, did you review the searches report? 

Isn't the garden part of the property?

Yes garden/land and building are different but they are all part of the property that has been purchased.

I know that, my comment was whether the seller viewed it like that. They may have interpreted that it only relates to the flat and not outside space.