Home buyers from Taylor Wimpey have allegedly been failed by their conveyancing solicitors and are contemplating taking action, according to Leasehold Solutions. This is in regards to a failure of informing house buyers about the housebuilder’s policy to include 10-year doubling ground rents on leasehold properties which are newly-built.
Commenting on the anger of some buyers in believing they had been cheated, was Louie Burns. The Managing Director of Leasehold Solutions commented on the wider nature of the issues for newly-built homes, on a UK wide scale: “The case of Taylor Wimpey highlights an endemic problem with new build property in the UK, as more and more house builders are including onerous ground rent schedules on new build leasehold properties.
“Recent legislation, including the Disclosure Act (2014) and the Consumer Rights Act (2015), gives home owners the opportunity to seek legal redress against solicitors for professional negligence, where they can prove they were not given adequate information to make an informed decision.”
The need for complex financial consequences to be clear is highlighted by the Consumer Rights Act, which warns that clarity is vital.
If information is not appropriately explained or presented to a buyer in the correct way, the financial implications for a firm may be significant, says Burns: “The cost implications can be huge for an errant solicitor (or valuer) but each case is different. In a recent example, home owners won their case by demonstrating the implications of the ground rent increases were not adequately explained, leading to a settlement which imposed an average of £17,000 in costs for each law firm involved. On a more complex case it could be much higher.”
