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When you’re buying a property in the UK, you will need to employ a solicitor, or licensed conveyancer, to provide professional services and advice to ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible. Until the sale is complete, plenty could go wrong and there is a significant amount of paperwork to organise and complete, and this is why investors and buyers employ an experienced and qualified team to handle this on their behalf.
However, if you believe that the legal professional whose services you relied upon did not provide a high quality of service or acted in a way in which has caused you financial implications, such as a drop in the value of the property, you may have a conveyancing negligence case and could be due some compensation. Contact us to discuss your situation on 01616 966 229.
Conveyancing negligence occurs when a solicitor or conveyancer fails to competently manage the legal aspects of buying or selling property, such as missing key searches, errors in contracts, or failing to identify title issues, leading to financial loss or legal complications for the client.
The areas where a solicitor or licensed conveyancer might be negligent during the purchase of a house are numerous and can be the source of great anxiety, inconvenience and cost for the unfortunate homeowner.
You might buy a house and want to build either an extension or another building but your solicitor failed to inform you of restrictive covenants preventing that.
If your solicitor has not established the length and terms of a lease, this can create problems such as costly re-negotiation of terms with the freeholder.
If a house is located near a river or other water source, but your solicitor has failed to conduct a proper search or obtained an environmental report, you might end up living on a flood plain and be at greater risk of your home being flooded.
If your solicitor fails to notify you that the previous owner of your property didn't have the correct building compliance certificates for work carried out on the house, it can cost you money to rectify and make it difficult to sell the house on in future.
If your solicitor has not informed you that you don’t have the right of way for a vehicle to deliver fuel to your property via a neighbour’s land, for instance, and your neighbour rejects access, it could cost you significantly finding an alternative solution.
Conveyancing negligence is an extremely complex area of the law, needing specialist legal representation that Stephensons can offer.
Yes, you can sue a conveyancer for negligence if they fail to meet the required standard of care, resulting in financial loss or other harm. Examples include errors in property searches, contract issues, or failing to identify legal restrictions.
To make a conveyancing negligence claim, gather evidence of the conveyancer's duty, breach, and resulting loss. Consult a specialist solicitor to assess your case, then formally file a claim seeking compensation for the damages incurred.
Yes, conveyancers have a duty of care to their clients, requiring them to perform their services with the competence and diligence expected of a reasonable professional, ensuring the client's best interests are protected throughout the property transaction.
To prove conveyancing negligence, you must show that the solicitor owed you a duty of care, breached this duty by failing to meet professional standards, and caused you a financial loss directly resulting from this breach.
To complain about a conveyancing firm, first, address the issue directly with the firm. If unresolved, escalate the complaint to the Legal Ombudsman, providing details and evidence of the service failures and the impact on your transaction.
Where possible, we aim to negotiate a settlement for you before issuing legal proceedings and have access to a variety of alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation. This, or going to court if necessary, is about putting you back where you were financially before incurring a loss through solicitor negligence and ensuring you receive meaningful compensation.
The negligence team at Stephensons has many years’ experience in dealing with such cases and have access to relevant experts in our own conveyancing department. That means we are able to explain clearly the legal issues and provide open, honest and approachable services, plus a wide range of funding options.
Before taking legal action against a negligent solicitor or licensed conveyancer, we strongly suggest you speak to one of our negligence claims team on 01616 966 229.
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