Does a seller legally have to declare a leak and be truthful about it?

1122abc

6 months after moving into my flat, I noticed that the wet room was leaking to the floor and water was coming through the ceiling in the corresponding area.

I had no concerns on multiple viewings and did not see any damp patches or recent redecoration in the aforementioned ceiling area. The surveyor did not pick anything up. 

A plumber has since visited and said that the wet room had been fitted incorrectly and it was bound to leak. The plumbers who fit the bathroom have since left the country. 

If I had asked the seller if they had any problems with the wet room leaking, would they have been under any legal obligation to declare this?

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Bonus question: In another room of the flat, there was evidence of an extensive leak on the wall. The seller said they fixed the cause of the leak and when I revisited several times, it did look fixed and the wall was not damp. A few months later the damp appeared again and a leak has been confirmed from around the boiler area. The damp specialist said it was simply painted over. It’s too late now, but could the seller have faced any repercussions for stating that the cause of the leak was fixed, when it had not been?

user1977

1122abc said:

If I had asked the seller if they had any problems with the wet room leaking, would they have been under any legal obligation to declare this?

could the seller have faced any repercussions for stating that the cause of the leak was fixed, when it had not been?

Yes and yes (or rather, they couldn't have given you a misleading answer - they don't need to answer questions if they don't want to). Not sure how that helps you though!

1122abc

user1977 said:

1122abc said:

If I had asked the seller if they had any problems with the wet room leaking, would they have been under any legal obligation to declare this?

could the seller have faced any repercussions for stating that the cause of the leak was fixed, when it had not been?

Yes and yes (or rather, they couldn't have given you a misleading answer - they don't need to answer questions if they don't want to). Not sure how that helps you though!

Thanks. It’s helpful because with my next property, I plan to ask about any leaks from bathrooms, because it is extremely costly to fix. If the seller has to legally declare it, then it would put me at ease!

Mark_d

My understanding is that the seller would have to be truthful in answering your questions.

It's quite possible that the seller had fixed issues and repainted before waiting to see if the fix was a good long term solution.  As no damp was noticed by yourself or your surveyor, perhaps this is likely what happened.

Elliott.T123

Op, if it has taken you 6 months to notice the leak then it is perfectly possible that the vendor never knew and had you asked they would have said no.

Also even if they did know there was a leak and you had asked, if they lied and said no how would you prove it?

Bigphil1474

A seller doesn't have to be honest with you when they answer questions - it would be good if they were, but they don't have to (unless you take a sworn statement from them or video it maybe?). That's why you have a survey done and you have a solicitor for the process. If I told you the bathroom didn't have any leaks, what would you do if it did? Come and find me and say you told me there weren't any leaks? I'd say, no I didn't, you never asked. Meaningless. Only the paperwork matters. 

In this case, it's entirely feasible that the bathroom hadn't leaked before but started now as it was gonna at some point. 

theartfullodger

Morally yes, obviously.  Legally probably not.


Which country (eg NI, Wales..) ?? IIRC it does need declaring in Scotland

user1977

theartfullodger said:

Which country (eg NI, Wales..) ?? IIRC it does need declaring in Scotland

You recall wrongly, there is no such standard query (and nothing "needs" declaring, sellers can simply refuse to answer questions if they want)

user1977

1122abc said:

user1977 said:

1122abc said:

If I had asked the seller if they had any problems with the wet room leaking, would they have been under any legal obligation to declare this?

could the seller have faced any repercussions for stating that the cause of the leak was fixed, when it had not been?

Yes and yes (or rather, they couldn't have given you a misleading answer - they don't need to answer questions if they don't want to). Not sure how that helps you though!

If the seller has to legally declare it, then it would put me at ease!

Bear in mind you'd still have to find the seller, prove they actually knew about it, extract money from them, etc.

user1977

Bigphil1474 said:

A seller doesn't have to be honest with you when they answer questions - it would be good if they were, but they don't have to (unless you take a sworn statement from them or video it maybe?). 

Why do you think it needs to be a sworn statement or video?

AskAsk

They would have to answer honestly but it would be difficult to prove that they did not unless there was evidence there was a leak at the time.  As someone else had said, 6 months is a pretty long time and plumbing issues can happen in 6 months.

Part and parcel of buying properties.  I don't ever remember being asked about leaks in a property, except roof leaks as plumbing leaks tend to be easily repaired, that is, we are not talking about thousands of pounds, which is the sort of money where you start to negotiate the offer price.