NSW Property Law - Vendor Withholding Information on Property?

[Percy24]

Hello,

I had recently bought an apartment. At the time of sale, neither the vendor nor the vendor's agent had made any mention of the fact that there is a proposed construction of Sydney Metro project on the street across the apartment block.

There were no sign boards around the construction area which would make it conspicuous to a potential buyer that the area is going to be a construction site in the near future. However, it has been brought to my notice that there were communications to the residents about the proposed construction so they were clearly aware of it and probably the proposed construction would have been one of the reasons for sale.

The Sydney metro website mentions about the project and the affected areas but a reasonable web search of the property/ area from a buyer's perspective who is unaware of the metro project does not give results which would alert of such constructions.

The title of the property and other things mentioned in the advertised brochure etc. is all fine.

My question is - should the vendor/ vendor’s agent have explicitly informed us that as existing residents they had received communications from Sydney metro about the proposed construction under Property Law?

Thanks

 

[Rod]

Possibly yes if it negatively affects the value of your property.

Are you living in the property or renting it out? If renting it out, did you mention that to the vendor's agent?

Keep in mind a court will consider temporary construction work to be just that - temporary, and therefore unlikely to affect the long term value of your property.

A court/defendant will also ask that if a potential nearby development is undesirable to you, why didn't you ask the local council about development plans in the area. ie You can find out for yourself. This may reduce or even eliminate any potential liability of the vendor/vendor's agent.

You would need to spend money getting independent expert advice about the value of your property and legal advice to follow up any rights you may have. There is insufficient information to give something better than a 'maybe you have case'. Plus courts are notoriously fickle in how much weight they give to which pieces of evidence in cases like this.

 

[Percy24]

Possibly yes if it negatively affects the value of your property.

Are you living in the property or renting it out? If renting it out, did you mention that to the vendor's agent?

Keep in mind a court will consider temporary construction work to be just that - temporary, and therefore unlikely to affect the long term value of your property.

A court/defendant will also ask that if a potential nearby development is undesirable to you, why didn't you ask the local council about development plans in the area. ie You can find out for yourself. This may reduce or even eliminate any potential liability of the vendor/vendor's agent.

You would need to spend money getting independent expert advice about the value of your property and legal advice to follow up any rights you may have. There is insufficient information to give something better than a 'maybe you have case'. Plus courts are notoriously fickle in how much weight they give to which pieces of evidence in cases like this.

Thanks Rod.

The property is self-occupied and the construction period will be at least 5 years starting in 2017. I agree with your comments on verification with local council and I probably should have done that.

I also believe that the valuation may be impacted marginally in the construction phase but should be alright in the long run.

Your feedbacks are helpful. Thanks again.