Families have been left in a state of limbo and hundreds of pounds out of pocket due to major delays in moving to a new housing development. It is understood that 10 families are waiting to move into homes at the Edlogan Wharf estate in Torfaen but can't as a result of an ongoing legal matter related to a specific 'parcel' of land.
The homes affected by the delay are within the Barcud Coch phase of the Taylor Wimpey development. The company confirmed that they own the Edlogan Wharf site, including the land where these homes are built, but they have yet to disclose the legal dispute creating the delay for the families.
One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he and his partner bought their property in September 2021 and have been counting down the days since to move in. He said: "Our home was due to be completed originally between April and May of this year and despite several formal appointments with Taylor Wimpey - between then and April - we were not informed until April about the land dispute.
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"Although Taylor Wimpey have made the passing comment about being able to back out of the contract we have entered, they have provided no formal documentation related to this option. Although this may appear generous from a distance, we feel that we cannot pull out of this now because house prices and interest rates have increased significantly since we bought in September 2021.
"We were told about the land dispute a month before we were to move in - I think if we had been given more notice before the market increased so much, we might have considered moving on and finding something else while we could afford to." The resident also informed us that he's now on his third mortgage offer, which is costing him an extra £210 a month on his original mortgage payment.
The resident shared how he and his partner are currently living with family and have had to store their furniture and appliances within their grandparents' home, had to sell their sofa back to DFS for the second time, while still trying to arrange storage for their flooring which they pre-bought.
He added that it has been a frustrating process and has received no clarity on when they can move into their home. He added: “We have not been in regular contact with Taylor Wimpey regarding this matter - I appreciate that it is a legal dispute but it's directly impacting us and we've heard hardly anything at all”
A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said that they are unable to comment further on the claim regarding formal documentation but added that that they are in regular contact with affected customers and have offered them the option to rescind their contract and receive a full refund of all out-of-pocket costs. Taylor Wimpey also said that customers will be able to move into their new homes as soon as the restriction is lifted, but they do not yet have a confirmed timeline as to when this will be possible.
In relation to the Cwmbran Life article, where one couple disclosed that they were told by Taylor Wimpey that they could not enter their property in January of this year, the resident told WalesOnline that this is when he and his partner had their options appointment to choose different features within their home.
He added: “We completed our options appointment when the person who is being interviewed in the other article was unable to move in and so Taylor Wimpey certainly knew about this issue then. We also gave them another £3,700 upfront for our options during this appointment without any transparency from them.” A spokesperson for Taylor Wimpey said: "The impact of the title restriction was communicated with all affected customers as soon as it was understood."
The spokesperson added: “We sincerely apologise to our customers who are experiencing a delay in moving into their home at Barcud Coch, Edlogan Wharf. Customer satisfaction is our priority and we are in regular contact with everyone affected. We will continue to work positively with all parties concerned to resolve the outstanding issue as soon as possible.”
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