Earlier this year, a couple in west London handed back their luxury house which was infested with moths. And when we say ‘handed back’ we mean a judge agreed that the original seller of the property had to pay the buyers what they paid for, minus an amount for the time they had lived there, plus compensation for damages and lost stamp duty.

It was an expensive house, and the moths add a little weirdness to the whole tale, but this story is unusual for legal reasons too.

It’s rare for home-owners to sue previous owners. New owners have little come-back after purchasing their home.

The principle of “buyer beware” applies to property purchases in the UK. The proper legal term for this is “caveat emptor” which is Latin for the slightly longer phrase “let the buyer beware”.

This means that buyers of the property are responsible for inspecting a property before purchase, and there is little come-back if problems are discovered afterwards.

So, what happened in this case?

First off, it wasn’t really a house, but a mansion worth £32.5 million in London’s expensive Ladbroke Grove. The seller ticked the box stating that he agreed with the statement that “he did not know of any vermin infestation or any other hidden defect in the property”. But with the moth infestation being so comprehensive – the new owners found moths on toothbrushes, in their clothes and in wine glasses – they successfully sued. The judge ruled that the previous owner had made “fraudulent misrepresentations” and had failed “honestly to disclose”.

The moral of the story

There is come-back if you can prove the extent of the problem, prove it was in existence when you bought the house, prove it devalued the house, and prove that the previous owner knew about the problem.

As that’s a lot of proof, we strongly recommend that you do all the checks before you purchase and our previous blog on caveat emptor and also indemnity insurance will help. But if you have a case, then suing previous owners can be done, as long as you raise the issue before 6 years have elapsed from the date of sale.

For more information, please contact Declan Hayes on 01756 692888 or email declan.hayes@awbclaw.co.uk

Further reading:

“Buyer beware” and “safe as houses”… two contradictory phrases.

When you’re in a pickle with your house sale, think indemnity insurance

House surveys (UK): the costs, types and benefits of an RICS Home Survey