Responsibility of Solicitor/Previous Owner in terms of Roof Repair 15 February at 11:13AM in In my home (includes DIY) MoneySaving 2 replies 246 views

Mcnoo

Hi

I bought my house in July 2021 and the home report stated that the roof was a category 2 and stated that:

ROOF SPACE: The roof frame was seen from the eaves cupboard in the bedroom. The roof is of timber rafter and sarking design and a modern type under slate felt is visible. The inspection was restricted by stored personal effects and was restricted to the hatch area.

I noticed, a few weeks ago that the rafters were damp, and so I called out a roofer.  He suggested that this was condensation and that the insulation in the space had been done badly and didn't allow ventilation so I removed some of the insulation that was blocking the vents. Whilst doing so I discovered that many of the sarkings are rotten.  I got the roofer back and he's telling me it's likely to cost around £8k to repair and he is a trusted tradesman.  He also said that it's clearly not  something that just happened in the last 18 months and suggested that it might be worth my while investigating if someone else (surveyor/solicitor/previous owner) would be liable for the costs.

Since there was woodworm also categorised as 2 I had asked my solicitor, prior to purchase, if I should obtain a timber report but they said no, I wouldn't require that.  I have that in an email and wondering if a timber report would've included the roof and so would've caught this. 

If anyone has any experience of this I would be interested to hear your thoughts.  I live in Scotland btw in case that makes any difference to the advice.

Thank you, in advance

SpudGunPaul

Mcnoo said:

Hi

I bought my house in July 2021 and the home report stated that the roof was a category 2 and stated that:

ROOF SPACE: The roof frame was seen from the eaves cupboard in the bedroom. The roof is of timber rafter and sarking design and a modern type under slate felt is visible. The inspection was restricted by stored personal effects and was restricted to the hatch area.

I noticed, a few weeks ago that the rafters were damp, and so I called out a roofer.  He suggested that this was condensation and that the insulation in the space had been done badly and didn't allow ventilation so I removed some of the insulation that was blocking the vents. Whilst doing so I discovered that many of the sarkings are rotten.  I got the roofer back and he's telling me it's likely to cost around £8k to repair and he is a trusted tradesman.  He also said that it's clearly not  something that just happened in the last 18 months and suggested that it might be worth my while investigating if someone else (surveyor/solicitor/previous owner) would be liable for the costs.

Since there was woodworm also categorised as 2 I had asked my solicitor, prior to purchase, if I should obtain a timber report but they said no, I wouldn't require that.  I have that in an email and wondering if a timber report would've included the roof and so would've caught this. 

If anyone has any experience of this I would be interested to hear your thoughts.  I live in Scotland btw in case that makes any difference to the advice.

Thank you, in advance

Nothing to do with the previous owner unless you specifically asked about the problem and you can evidence they lied. 

outtatune

If you asked your solicitor if you needed a timber report you'd have got a legal answer that you aren't legally required to get a timber report. Surely you should have asked a surveyor that question?