'Forgot' to mention flooding

Published: Wednesday, 27 January 2010

ADRIAN HOWD and his wife Caroline were pleased to get a Thames side house, even though it cost just under two millions, but not so pleased now.

Part of the property is a well manicured lawn and garden, stretching to the river, which was instrumental in them choosing the house. But when the rains came, the river rose—completely covering the lawn and garden, leaving all kinds of debris and mud when it receded.

Want their money back

So now the pair want there money back, as they have discovered from neighbours that the  the garden, by the river in Teddington, regularly floods, though the seller did not mention the fact.

The pair are now suing the vendors in a unique action in the High Court accusing the previous owners of ‘fraudulently misrepresenting' the truth before they sold the property.

The action is based on the fact that solicitors had asked the question:‘Given its position, please confirm that the property has never suffered from flooding'.  To which the sellers the Console-Vermas' lawyers replied: ‘Our clients confirm that the property has never suffered from flooding during their 14 years occupation'.

Ambiguous

The solicitor insisted that the question was ‘ambiguous' and the Console-Vermas had reasonably taken the view that ‘property' meant ‘bricks and mortar', not the garden.

The court heard that, within a few weeks of moving in, Mrs Howd was ‘crying and in shock' when she telephoned her husband  to tell him that river water was flooding their garden.