has anyone successfully taken the council to court over an ex-council house problems

fairylight_2

Has anyone successfully taken the council to court over a house that has been bought from the council and been found to have structural problems, that they feel they should have been made aware of.

withabix

You did get a full structural survey done when you bought your council house, didn't you?

As with ANY house purchase, it is the buyer's responsibility to get surveys done.

As a rule of thumb I would EXPECT a council house to have potential structural problems and be glad when a survey told me otherwise.

jackomdj

But surely that is why you have surveys before buying a property. Once you have bought it is your problem, unless it is something they lied to you about

jackomdj

withabix wrote: »

You did get a full structural survey done when you bought your council house, didn't you?

As with ANY house purchase, it is the buyer's responsibility to get surveys done.

As a rule of thumb I would EXPECT a council house to have structural problems, because they were generally built cheaply.

Snap, posted at the same time

catfish50

fairylight wrote: »

Has anyone successfully taken the council to court over a house that has been bought from the council and been found to have structural problems, that they feel they should have been made aware of.

How long ago did you buy it?

Maybe you could try to find out if the council has had to have structural work done on the property in the past. If so, that would prove they were aware of the problems and should have informed you.

ILW

Were the vendors asked if there were any structural problems?

poppysarah

Buyer beware.

Unless they refused you the right to have an independent survey then NO

BitterAndTwisted

Structural problems should be identified when a full structural survey is undertaken. If they're not, then there are remedies available to the buyer against the surveyor.

Anyone who buys a property without paying for a structural survey only has themselves to blame.

davilown

fairylight wrote: »

Has anyone successfully taken the council to court over a house that has been bought from the council and been found to have structural problems, that they feel they should have been made aware of.

You liked the house,
You paid for the survey,
You bought the house based on the survey.

What on earth has your decision to buy a house based on your instructed surveyors report got to do with the council?

I assume you got a full structural survey and not the cheaper options?

If you didnt, you only have yourself to blame. If you did, perhaps you claim is really with the surveyor and not the council

mufi

catfish50 wrote: »

How long ago did you buy it?

that would prove they were aware of the problems and should have informed you.

Unless councils have a greater duty of care than private individuals, not unless the purchaser asked the right question. This is a common myth perpetuated on here - the seller has no legal obligation to point out defects, but does have a legal obligation to tell the truth if asked, and is on shaky ground if defects have been deliberately covered up.

Did the OP buy the property from the council or from a private vendor?

catfish50

mufi wrote: »

Unless councils have a greater duty of care than private individuals, not unless the purchaser asked the right question. This is a common myth perpetuated on here - the seller has no legal obligation to point out defects, but does have a legal obligation to tell the truth if asked, and is on shaky ground if defects have been deliberately covered up.

According to a document at http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/138178.pdf the landlord should tell the would-be purchaser of any structural defects the landlord knows about.

Not too sure who they mean by "the landlord" but maybe it's the Council.