Surveyor did not spot faults in two roofs!

PeteW

Whoops wrong forum! Please move to the house buying forum! Sorry!

Short version:

Surveyor didn't spot that flat roof was a bodge job and conservatory roof leaked and was not structurally sound. Two years later, do they have any liability? What is likely to happen if we complain?

Detailed version

Hiya, we bought our house in 2008 and had a survey done to make sure there weren't any major problems.

The day we moved in, we noticed the conservatory roof leaked, and we tried patching it up with sealant for the next year or so, but it never worked for very long and the roof just got worse and worse.

So eventually we got a couple people to come round and quote us for repairing it. They both said that it was irreparable as the design was never going to work and it needed a whole new roof.

They also both commented that the kitchen roof was knackered and needed replacing.

They were quite strong with their words calling the roofs "a bodge job", "an abomination", and "the worst work he'd ever seen".

Of course I realise that tradesmen can be a bit dishonest and may have been exaggerating so they'd get a nice job, so I was a bit skeptical.
I spoke to a friend whose husband is a roofer to take a look, knowing that I could trust him, and he said the same as the first two.

He also felt that these issues should have been picked up in the surveyor's report. Here are some quotes from his email:

Conservatory roof:
"With regards to the surveyors report, the conservatory roof should have been picked up on the report as it is structurally unsafe, I have never seen a conservatory roof which has two pieces of glass joined in the middle over such a large span without any form of support. It my eyes this roof is dangerous."

Kitchen roof:
"If the flat roof system is the original system from 08, I would say that this should have been picked up by a surveyor as you can clearly see the it was not carried out by a roofing contractor and just from looking at the system you can see it is not watertight because of the poor workmanship."

So, is there anyway we can get some compensation from the surveyor? Either having them pay for (or contribute towards) the repairs or refunding the cost of the survey (approx £1000 I think).

Any ideas on what the best way to take this forward would be?

Thanks for any help!

Pete

EDIT - Here's what the survey said with regard to the roofs:

"There is a small flat felted roof to the single storey rear extension, the condition of which seems reasonable, although we must emphasize that coverings of this type have a limited life-span of some 10 to 15 years and are notoriously prone to leakage sometimes even when new"

"There is a UPVC double glazed conservatory which appears to be in good condition. We are unaware as to its age and recommend that any relevant documentation, such as guarantee certificate or receipts be made available for your inspection."

[Deleted User]

What kind of survery did you pay for? Doesn't sound like a structural survey to me.

PeteW

Good question - and I'm not entirely sure of the answer! It was arranged through Abbey when we got the mortgage. From memory I think we paid close to a grand for it, so it's certainly more than a valuation survey.

The report itself doesn't explicitly state what kind of survey it is, but does begin with - "This is a report on the construction and condition of the above property…".

annie123

PeteW wrote: »

EDIT - Here's what the survey said with regard to the roofs:

"There is a small flat felted roof to the single storey rear extension, the condition of which seems reasonable, although we must emphasize that coverings of this type have a limited life-span of some 10 to 15 years and are notoriously prone to leakage sometimes even when new"

This means find out how old it is, and if need be get someone in to check it.

"There is a UPVC double glazed conservatory which appears to be in good condition. We are unaware as to its age and recommend that any relevant documentation, such as guarantee certificate or receipts be made available for your inspection."

This means it looks OK, ask how old, any guarantees?

You had a home buyers report done.
I spent 25 years reading surveys:eek:

TBH I don't see that he did anything wrong.
There is no way that he would have known the conservatory leaked unless it was raining when he visited and they do not inspect flat roofs unless it can been seen without going up ladders as a rule etc, (you would have needed to pay for a full building survey to get that)
If the flat roof was not water tight then there would have been signs of leakage at some point during your sale, and when you first moved in

The fact that it was new should have had your solicitor asking for guarantees. Look back at the legal paperwork and the estate agents details, did they say new roof? in which case they should have had a copy of the bill and or guarantee on their files.
They will still have your file and be able to check for you.