Misrepresentation Claims

We advise clients on claims of misrepresentation in property and land transactions and help them to achieve a practical and cost-efficient resolution as quickly as possible.

If you feel that your property transaction was based on misrepresented information, or if someone has accused you of misrepresentation over a property that you have sold, we can help.

A misrepresentation claim may be made when a person enters into a contract based on information or statements – written or oral – that turn out not to be true, and they subsequently suffer a loss. Typically, these cases focus on information provided in pre-contract enquiries, usually made through a Property Information form or TA6/TA7, which are designed to provide purchasers with information on which they can rely.

In cases of misrepresentation, it may be possible to force the seller to rescind the contract – which means to overturn it – and either take the property back or compensate you for your loss.

There are three types of misrepresentation:

• Fraudulent misrepresentation – when the person making the statement knew they were not being honest or being reckless as to its truth.
• Negligent misrepresentation – where the person making the statement was careless when making the statement or did not have reasonable grounds for believing in its truth
• Innocent misrepresentation – where the person making the statement can show that they had reasonable grounds to believe their statement was true, even though it turned out not be.

You may be able to claim rescission of the contract for all three types of misrepresentation, although for innocent misrepresentation the court has the discretion to award damages in lieu of rescission. For fraudulent and negligent misrepresentation claims the injured person can also look to bring a claim for damages.

We can advise you on every step of the process and, if instructed, robustly argue your case at every level of court. We will always start with an assessment of the strength of the case and the likely costs of proceeding. We will also look at whether there are grounds for a separate breach of contract claim.

It is important to note that statements of opinion, or statements that were not relied upon when making the decision are not grounds for a misrepresentation claim. Any statement that was made and relied on has to have been made before the contract was signed.