NPPR Query

We purchased a property in 2015 which we then went on to sell at the end of 2020.

During the sale of the property we were informed that the NPPR was still outstanding for 2009 & 2010.
This wasn't picked up by our solicitor when we purchased the house in 2015. There was never any mention of NPPR even to my recollection.

We tried everything to get an exemption but no such luck, we ended up paying the late fees of almost 4K.
Our current solicitor discovered the house was rented between 2009 & 2010 so was liable for the NPPR charge.

Do we have any redress with the solicitor who handled the purchase in 2015?

I doubt it, unless you are a Barrister!

twisterjitsu said:

We purchased a property in 2015 which we then went on to sell at the end of 2020.

During the sale of the property we were informed that the NPPR was still outstanding for 2009 & 2010.
This wasn't picked up by our solicitor when we purchased the house in 2015. There was never any mention of NPPR even to my recollection.

We tried everything to get an exemption but no such luck, we ended up paying the late fees of almost 4K.
Our current solicitor discovered the house was rented between 2009 & 2010 so was liable for the NPPR charge.

Do we have any redress with the solicitor who handled the purchase in 2015?

Click to expand...

I'd have a chat with your current solicitor. S/he should know from the file what exactly happened in 2015. Did your then solicitor fail to check the NPPR situation? Surprising if that were the case, it's a well known issue and solicitors are well aware of it. Or did the vendor fraudulently claim it was a PPR and perhaps sign a statutory declaration to that effect? And how did your solicitor discover it was actually rented in 2009/10?

The irony is that liability for the NPPR falls away after 12 years, so the 2009 charge is already null and void (councils have even been instructed not to collect it) and the 2010 charge disappears in March 2022.

Even if your solicitor in 2015 was negligent, I wouldn't hold our much hope of redress. Compared to, say, doctors, when was the last time you heard of a solicitor being sued for negligence? There's reasons for that!

You could make a complaint of inadequate service to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority. (these complaints used to be handled by the Law Society) There's a three year limit for bringing complaints but it runs from when you discovered the inadequate service so you should be ok.

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