Home Sweet Home?

Not unreasonably, you may have thought you would be entitled to know the history of the dream house you are buying. Not according to a recent Court of Appeal decision which decided that the buyer had no right to know that a gruesome murder had taken place there.Whilst an extreme example, the case highlights the common law principle of ‘caveat emptor’, literally ‘the buyer beware’, which in practical terms means that, excluding such matters as latent title defects, the onus is firmly on the buyer to find out everything he wants or needs to know about his new home.

Sellers complete a property information form answering a list of standard questions.These include practical matters affecting the property such as: boundaries, disputes with neighbours, notices, guarantees, services, rights, alterations and planning. Buyers’ solicitors have to be vigilant in raising appropriate supplemental enquiries designed to cut down the risk of those unexpected surprises. It can also prove invaluable to talk to neighbours to see if there is any local information that may not have surfaced in replies to enquiries. Remember also that sellers have a duty to disclose latent title defects, but not defects in construction or design so an experienced surveyor is a good investment.

For further information please contact:

Susan Freeman
Tel +44 (0)20 7440 7017
susan.freeman@mishcon.com