Caveat Emptor

    The question of whether a seller can be sued for misinformation in the conveyancing process has hit the press. The question was raised last week in the Daily Mail article: ‘Banker sues couple who sold him £1.9million Thames home 'because river floods his...

  The Law Society’s consultation paper has discussed whether the doctrine of ‘caveat emptor’ in residential conveyancing transactions should be modified by the principle of ‘seller disclosure’. The issues here are: a) How this could improve the conveyancing...

Caveat emptor is a Latin term that means ‘let the buyer beware’. The legal principle that dates back centuries is still relied on today in the conveyancing process and it places the onus on the buyer to find out if there are any physical defects in the property or legal issues relating...

Next Monday, a new piece of legislation will creep onto the statute book. Largely unnoticed, but with huge implications for the UK’s beleaguered residential housing market, the mandatory Property Information Questionnaire to be included in a HIP will abolish the long-held principle of caveat...