Whether it was a solicitor, surveyor, accountant, or financial adviser — we help you understand whether you have a claim and what to do next in Birmingham.
Select the profession to get targeted guidance for your negligence claim.
Missed deadlines or poor advice
Learn moreMissed serious property defects
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Learn moreUnderstand professional negligence principles, organise your evidence, and get clear next steps.
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Birmingham has a significant professional services sector serving the city's diverse economy: property and construction, manufacturing and logistics, retail and hospitality, and a growing tech sector. The city's large property market — spanning Victorian terraces, 1930s suburbs, new developments, and major regeneration projects — generates regular conveyancing and surveying negligence claims. The West Midlands manufacturing base also creates accountancy and financial advice claims, while the city's major infrastructure projects generate construction professional negligence.
Birmingham's property market is one of the largest outside London, with extensive new development around the city centre (the Big City Plan), major residential areas across the West Midlands conurbation, and significant commercial and industrial property. The ongoing HS2 programme has introduced specific professional negligence risks around land acquisition, compulsory purchase, and property valuation. The city's manufacturing and logistics sector — including the Jaguar Land Rover operations and extensive SME manufacturing — generates regular accountancy, tax, and business advice claims. The professional services community around Colmore Row and the city centre serves a wide range of commercial clients.
A surveyor undertaking a building survey on an Edgbaston Victorian property failed to identify significant structural movement that was affecting the rear elevation. The buyer faced £35,000 in unexpected structural repair costs.
An accountant incorrectly advised a Birmingham tech firm that certain development costs qualified for R&D tax relief. HMRC subsequently denied the relief and imposed penalties, which the accountant had not warned were a risk.
A commercial property solicitor failed to identify a tenant break clause restriction in a Jewellery Quarter workshop lease. The tenant was unable to exercise the break and remained liable for three additional years of rent.
Birmingham's key industries include manufacturing (automotive, engineering, and precision manufacturing), logistics and distribution, property and construction (including HS2), professional services (Colmore Row and the city centre), and tech and digital (the Innovation Birmingham campus).
Yes, if the movement was visible and significant. A building survey should identify structural issues that affect the property's value or require repair. If cracks were visible on external walls, if doors or windows showed signs of sticking, or if there was evidence of past structural repairs, the surveyor should have identified and reported the issue. The claim would be for the cost of unexpected repairs and any reduction in the property's value. The surveyor's defence that the movement was "historical" is challengeable if the signs indicated active or progressive movement.
Yes, if the advice was negligent. Accountants giving R&D tax advice must ensure the costs genuinely qualify under the relevant legislation (the Research and Development Expenditure Credit scheme or the SME R&D scheme). If the accountant failed to properly assess whether the work met the statutory definition of R&D, or if they incorrectly classified non-qualifying costs, and you incurred HMRC penalties as a result, you can claim for the disallowed relief, the penalties, interest, and the cost of remedial advice.
The loss is typically the additional rent and costs you incurred because you were unable to exercise the break. This can be substantial if the lease has several years remaining. The solicitor had a duty to review the lease, identify all operative clauses, and advise you on their implications. If they missed a restriction on the break clause — such as a notice period, compliance condition, or payment requirement — and you failed to exercise the break as a result, they are liable for the foreseeable loss. Documentary evidence of what the solicitor reported (or failed to report) is crucial.
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