Cases - Lancashire County Council v Buchanan
Record details
- Name
- Lancashire County Council v Buchanan
- Date
- [2007]
- Citation
- EWHC 3194
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Estate agency - Property Misdescriptions Act 1991
- Summary
-
An agent included in the particulars of sale that a property included a side garden. Although the vendor had use of the garden he did not have possessory title to it and was engaged in a dispute over the title with the local authority. The defendant provided written statements to the council showing that the vendor and previous owners had used the garden to exclusion of all others. The council nevertheless prosecuted.
The court held, and was supported on appeal, that the statement was not misleading to a reasonable person in possession of the information provided to the council and aware of the law.
While inferences as to title are made in any advert of a property for sale, there are limits to the nature of that inference. There is no representation or warranty as to title in a set of particulars, which are specifically stated to be 'subject to contract'. Title is something to be resolved at the conveyancing stage.