Estate Agent Not Responsible for Inaccuracy

In these days of Home Information Packs, you might think that the details you get about a property for sale will be accurate in every particular. It may not be so, however, and if so, is the estate agent liable? A recent case clarifies the issue...

An estate agent who included in a set of property particulars details of land to which the title was in dispute was found not guilty under the Property Misdescriptions Act 1991 because the agent had no reason to doubt that the land was part of the property, nor had she made any representations in the sale particulars regarding the title to the property. 

In this case, the property in question was garden land adjacent to a house. Title to the land was claimed by the owner of the house but was disputed by the local authority.