Legal advise - Selling property with Damp
 

I'm about to complete on the sale of my property on Monday 6th August.

This last week, I have discovered that there is damp in the Bathroom. It look like over the years, water has gotten in under the bath where the seals have been broken (I didn't know this). It looks like damp has gotten up the wall behind the tiles, and black dots have started appearing on the ceiling where the tiles are. Just a small area.

As I didn't know any of this when I agreed to sell, and hadn't included anything in the paperwork (as I didn't know) where do I stand legally?

They didn't undertake a survey on the property, so I suppose it could be seen as their fault. But can they still take me to court for the expense of ripping the bathroom to bits to make good the damp?

Legally, I don't think they have any comeback, if they didn't have a full survey done then that's their problem.
I take it there was no sign of damp then when they last viewed the house?

No they can't take you to court unless you or your agent have misled them in anyway.

Buyer takes a risk when he buys without a survey. Bad luck on the buyer though but that's life.

Remove the black spots with bleach and don't run any baths :)

dl

Disclaimer: I am not an expert in legal matters.

No. Little Black dots appeared last week. Had a look, and under the bath look prety nasty.

Bleach wipes for the ceiling, put the bath panel back on and buy a nice air freshener. ;)

No comeback for you at all, buyer beware.

Give it a lick of damp proof paint, if you want to make it good. If not, I wouldn't worry about it.


And don't leave a forwarding address ;)

Who would buy a house without a survey ?? Surely the mortgage people wouldn't lend on it without some sort of survey. Unless it's a cash sale :)

I'd keep stumm !

Shaun

ZINSSER is the stuff you need. White Primer/Sealer/Stain Killer

Although I wouldn't make any painting too obvious.

dl

Bleach them away, don't paint anything as it'll be obvious you were trying to cover up the problem.

I suppose you could be terribly old fashioned and be honest about the whole thing!

Les

OP asked if there would be any legal repercussions, not moral ;)

Did it not occur to you that if he was honest about it then there would be no legal repercussions?

Les

There will be no legal repercussions because the Contract terms have not been broken.

dl

A mortgage valuation is purely for judging a properties value and resale prospects. Nothing to do with identifying small problems, it should not be confused as the same thing as many people do.

as above really this is my job buying and selling property we bought one a few months ago and the same hidden under the bath was wood worm in the floor cost us 2500 to repair and treat but basically you are signing a sold as seen contract which means they cant come back to you legal or otherwise even if the have hidden things thats why if you dont know the business get a surveyor and before yous say owt the house we bought and had the same problem in was that cheap we never viewed it lol

just silicone the gap in the bath seal,let the rest dry up and keep it clean and non obvious......chances are theyre gonna rip it out and install their own anyway,most do...nobody want to use someone elses bog n bath

I really wouldn't worry about it, compared to some of the horror storys that housebuyers have discovered I dont think a bit of damp behind the bath is too bad in the scheme of things.

Sure that surveyors aren't allowed to actually remove anythign any way, only inspect so if it is hidden behind the bath then they wouldn't have seen it.

I would fix the problem though, bit of sealant can't hurt, and get in there with some damp killer. What you don't want to do is leave a bad situation to get worse. That is a bit below the belt.

5t.

Like above. sold as seen with no come backs. Personally though I would take the cover off and let it air out. treat the mould everywhere with mould killer (green bottle fantastic product) and then sela the bath - you don't even have to seal it properly if you don't want.

Aye, plus run a dehumidifyer if you can borrow one...or keep the windows open (ideally more than one) to allow fresh air to flow and help dry the room out.

The fact its a bathroom, and knowing that the majority of UK bathrooms (and houses in general) have woefully inadequate fresh air ventilation there's nothing to say the mould or damp is more of a result of the lack of fresh air and build up of humidity.

my brother purchased a really nice 3 bed maisonette in west london last year

on completion his solicitor said to him "did you know the vendor has included the garage in the sale by mistake"

my brother replied, "yes I saw that in the contract, that will be an interesting conversation with his solicitor"

no comeback though, the vendor offered him 15k for it, but my brother would only sell the garage back for 50k, so inevitably negotiations stalled.