Leak shortly after completion. Help!

Sunsaru

Bonzo99 said:

Hi all I am new to posting hope you can help.

We recently completed on our property sale in England. Unfortunately, shortly after completion the buyer has emailed to say the roof is leaking and they expect the cost to fix it will be several thousand pounds. They are claiming we are contractually obligated to cover the costs as they see it as having been a pre-existing issue. 

We have checked through our disclosure we made no claims about the roof, in fact their surveyor pointed out the flat roof might have issues which they passed on to us. However, we asked what their exact questions were and got no response. We also did not say a warranty for the roof was available. We did not make any representations regarding the roof. They did not ask any questions at all throughout about any work we have done to the roof. On the TA6 form we weren't asked about leaks and answered it truthfully and they never asked us any questions either.

I am sympathetic to the buyers but for a fairly minor leak caused by recent inclement weather they are seeking to claim a cost almost equivalent to replacing a roof. A point to note on the roof, it is flat and we suspect the leak may have happened shortly on or after completion as a lot of snow was melting on the day of completion and the gutters had been blocked with leaves during the heavy winds. The buyers are claiming it happened on the day of completion or prior to. However, their email was only dated 3 days later. 

Our solicitor has advised us to ignore them and if they contact them through their solicitor we will respond that we are not liable.

My worry is the seller says the leak appeared pre completion so it is our fault. We think it must have been the day of completion if not the day after. 

We were considering a goodwill gesture but don't want to open ourselves to ongoing issues, something like covering the excess on their insurance. They are being rather unreasonable and threatening legal action. Grateful for any thoughts.

So they were made aware that the roof 'may' have issues, never followed it up and still completed? They failed to do thier due dilligence I'm afraid.

Legally its no longer your problem.

user1977

Martico said:

I was instructed to get insurance in place by the time I exchanged on my purchase, so I suspect you're right. 

Yes, insurance from exchange is the norm - though insurance is almost certainly irrelevant here, unless the leak was caused by an insured risk (storm damage etc).

ss2020jd

This might be helpful and actually covers leaks. It says the buyer is responsible after exchange and that is always what I understood. 

The buyer should do a check before exchange and solicitors also advise before completion. 

https://www.bowfin.co.uk/who-is-responsible-for-repairs-after-exchange-of-contracts/

We had trouble with gutters and an intermittent leak in extreme rain and although the owners were probably aware we are now responsible for dealing with it. 

As others have said, your solicitor can advise specifically to your situation but I doubt they have any claim on you. 

Martico

user1977 said:

Martico said:

I was instructed to get insurance in place by the time I exchanged on my purchase, so I suspect you're right. 

Yes, insurance from exchange is the norm - though insurance is almost certainly irrelevant here, unless the leak was caused by an insured risk (storm damage etc).

The practice does point towards who has responsibility though

elsien

I wouldn’t be giving them anything as a goodwill gesture. In the circumstances they are likely to take it as some sort of admission, and push for more.

cymruchris

Follow the solicitor's advice....

penners324

Just ignore them. It's irrelevant when the leak happened 

Noneforit999

Same advice as above, follow your solicitors advice.

They are just chancing it in the hope you panic and pay for the repairs. Its unfortunate for them but they are buying a used house, problems arise and its the buyers responsibility now they have completed. 

housebuyer143

My friend just moved into a house and the roof is leaking to the tune of a few thousand. There's no comeback in England for these things so do not worry or do anything. 

doodling

Hi,

Martico said:

user1977 said:

Martico said:

I was instructed to get insurance in place by the time I exchanged on my purchase, so I suspect you're right. 

Yes, insurance from exchange is the norm - though insurance is almost certainly irrelevant here, unless the leak was caused by an insured risk (storm damage etc).

The practice does point towards who has responsibility though

Not really, it points more to the practical reality of what you do if the house you are legally obliged to buy is now a charred shell, and what would happen if the seller hadn't insured it.

My understanding is that at completion the state of the house should be substantially the same as that at exchange.

In this case, the state of the house at exchange was that of one with a dodgy roof (as identified by the buyer) and it seems that you have given them exactly that.

The only argument the buyer might have is that you have actively done something which made the roof worse between exchange and completion. They would of course have to prove that which will, unless your neighbours saw you jumping up and down on the dodgy bit just before completion, be pretty much impossible.