selling a property with a known issue

munchmunchmunch

I am in the process of selling my bungalow.

Hypothetically if i knew a wall had a damp problem and I were to clean it up and give it a coat of paint, could I be sued by the new owners of the property in the future?

theartfullodger

Let me guess: You know fine well there is a wall with a damp issue.

Yes, of course you could be sued: As no doubt you knew...

Why not adhere to the good old British traditions of decency, honesty & fair play? Just a thought....

david1951

Given that we are approaching winter and a house sale can take 4-6+ months, the likelihood of you patching it up and the buyer (or a competent surveyor) failing to notice is slim.

And yes, you could be sued.

Davesnave

A hypothetical coat of paint is no defence against damp.

I'd suggest remedying the problem rather than rely on finding someone as naive as yourself. It could well work out cheaper in the long run.

eddddy

You can only really be sued if you give misleading answers to pre-contract enquiries.

So if you are asked "Are you aware of any damp?" and you say "No" - the buyer could potentially have a case for a claim.


This is why many buyers have surveys. Surveyors are very aware that people often try to hide problems like damp, and will be good at spotting where this has been done.

munchmunchmunch

Let me guess: You know fine well there is a wall with a damp issue.

Yes, of course you could be sued: As no doubt you knew..

You can only really be sued if you give misleading answers to pre-contract enquiries.

So if you are asked "Are you aware of any damp?" and you say "No" - the buyer could potentially have a case for a claim.

These are two slightly different answers. Can some clarification be given?

Doozergirl

Damp is usually solved quite quickly and for little to no money if you go and look for the source. It often has nothing to do with a failed damp proof course, which is what almost every 'damp specialist' will say.

What is on the other side of the wall?
Put some pics up on the In my Home board and let's see if we can do the right thing by everyone.

Ithaca

On the TA6 form (which is the standard form many solicitors will use for a house move) there is nothing that asks about damp, either explicitly ("Does your house suffer from damp?") or implicitly ("Are you aware of any defects with the property the buyer should know about?".

As a rule you are not legally obliged to draw your buyers' attention to defects in the house (for a start, where would you draw the line... one person's defect is another person's quirky feature).

The only related question in the TA6 is around warranties for damp proofing, but if you are re-plastering and re-painting this will not apply.

So it does come down to caveat emptor from a legal point of view (morally it might be different, but this is a business transaction at the end of the day). People on this board will have their view on your proposed course of action (it's one I share, to be honest) but your buyer will have the opportunity to survey the property and if they find you've tried to cover it up it could sour the rest of the sale process.

No house is perfect and there will always been things "wrong" with it, which is why we have the survey industry.

Guest101

Are you saying their surveyor will be stumped by a coat of paint?....

munchmunchmunch

Thanks for the replies, I have one more question. If I were to leave the damp (not touch it in anyway) am I obliged to tell any viewers of the property about the defect? IANAL I read about latent defects

Guest101

munchmunchmunch wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, I have one more question. If I were to leave the damp (not touch it in anyway) am I obliged to tell any viewers of the property about the defect? IANAL I read about latent defects

No, but you couldn't lie either.


If asked you could choose not to answer, but ultimately not answering will have the same effect