Can we sue lying seller?

pob100

We have just pulled out of a deal to buy a flat, after it turned out that the seller lied about the length of lease to the estate agent.

He said that the lease was 87 years, turned out to be 77 years. Seller only had the flat for 3 years, so I can't believe he could have made such a huge error by mistake.

We have wasted a lot of time and money on the survey, solicitors fees etc before he finally got his solicitors to send the lease which revealed the lie about the length of lease. (BTW advice to all buyers, don't do what we did. In future we'll insist on such paperwork before doing surveys. We're learning the hard way).

Question is can we take action against seller for cash lost? We have a document from estate agent which says "vendor has advised us that the length of the lease is 87 years."

Any legal types here that could advise us, thanks in advance.

RiskAdverse100

I think that you would find it impossible to prove that the Seller had lied.

In any event, it is no longer a problem to check on information such as this at a very early stage by checking Land Registry records online.

Any half-decent solicitor would consider this to be one of the first things that they would have to do as very few Sellers know exactly how long their leases are - even when they bought the property very recently.

The other problem is that all this happened before contracts were exchanged. As no contractual relationship exists before exchange takes place the seller can tell as many lies as they like. It is only if, on the basis of what they tell you you decide to exchange contracts, and then find out about the lies (and can prove very easily that lies were told) is legal action normally possible.

I know that this won't make you feel any better about the money you have lost. There is certainly nothing wrong in writing to the Seller setting out details of the costs you have incurred and asking them to voluntarily contribute towards these.

RiskAdverse100

Doozergirl

Instead of pulling out and losing everything, couldn't you try to get them to pay the extra it would cost to renew the lease by knocking it off the asking price?

You just need to get the to contact the freeholder and get a price. you don't even have to renew it if you don't want to yet.

meanmachine_2

Yes, if you like the place find out how much the lease renewal back up to 99 years will be then work out the cost for those ten years you've "lost".

Shouldn't be more than 5K I wouldn't have thought. Then you knock that off the price.

If the vendor refuses THEN you tell them to shove it.

theGrinch

there is a formula called "marriage contract" for lease renewal. however, I think you need a minimum of 2 years ownership for qualification.

I would be tempted to reduce your offer to reflect the error.