Couple ordered to give back €88,000 over fraudulent sale of property

A Judge has ordered a couple to give back roughly €88,000 to the people they sold a property to after it resulted that the land could not be used as a residence and only had permits to be used as a warehouse.

Kenneth Martin Nolan and his wife Teresa instituted proceedings in the First Hall of the Civil Court against Alfred Scerri and his wife Rita.

It had resulted that back in 2007, the Nolans purchased a property in Naxxar from the Scerris for the price of €79,000, and an additional €9,000 for some fixtures inside the property.

Shortly after acquiring the property, the Nolans received a water and electricity bill which referred to the place as a warehouse and therefore asked the relevant authorities to change the utility rate to that of a residential one.

In 2011, the Nolans decided that they would prefer to live next to the sea, and hired a broker to find a buyer for the property. During this process the broker realised that there were irregularities and asked them to check with the Planning Authority about whether they had all the necessary permits.

Nolan contacted Scerri who told him that everything should be in order, however when he made the necessary verifications with the PA he was informed that the property was scheduled to be used as a warehouse.

In addition to this, the Nolans got to know that the site plan attached to the contract has been tampered with so that it differed to the one approved by the PA. Every reference to the property being used as a warehouse had been removed.

The Nolans found themselves in trouble because every broker that came to help them sell the house lost interest when they realised that the necessary permits were not in place.

Judge Anna Felice ruled in favour of the Nolans because it resulted that the Scerris, despite saying that the former knew the property was a warehouse, had been advertising the same property as a residence which included residential furniture.

She described the actions of the Scerris as fraudulent, and held that the contract between the couples had been proven to be disingenuous, therefore automatically making it null and void. The Scerris were thus ordered to repay the Nolans a sum of €88,000.

The Nolans got to know that the site plan attached to the contract has been tampered with so that it differed to the one approved by the PA. Every reference to the property being used as a warehouse had been removed.