Surveyor and estate negligence claims in decline

28th April 2015 by

Statistics reveal that last year there was a significant decline in the number of professional negligence claims made against chartered surveyors and estate agents.

Those lawyers who specialise in professional negligence claims against chartered surveyors and estate agents believe that this is because the time limit for claims made in relation to the economic crash of 2008 is now drawing in – meaning that only those claims where the loss became clear some time after the event remain to be made.

“Now this period has passed, claims relating to falling house prices incurred during the recession have dropped off,” a partner with London-based commercial law firm RPC told press.

The same firm released figures which show that in 2013 there were 193 negligence claims against surveyors and estate agents but that this fell to 67 in 2014, a decline of 65%.

The vast majority of claims were made by powerful lenders such as Lloyds, Barclays, RBS, Nationwide and Santander. “Lenders with high exposure to sub-prime mortgage lending or high-yield commercial property were heavily impacted during the financial crisis so it is not surprising to see that they were the most aggressive litigators,” commented the partner. “Surveyors who have valued collateral for the loan are often vulnerable to professional negligence claims.”
If you believe that the negligent actions of a chartered surveyor or estate agent have caused you to sustain loss in relation to a property transaction, click here for more information from London and Brighton based professional negligence lawyers Healys LLP.