Sellers held liable for faults they hide from buyers

It is extremely unwise to hide any problems in your home from prospective buyers, warns Lanice Steward, managing director of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

"Sellers, aware that certain faults have not been reported to buyers, may be tempted to ask buyers to sign agreements to the effect that they absolve the sellers of any blame for defects that have not been revealed at the time of the sale. The practice is not ethical or acceptable," says Steward."

She says the voetstoots clause in any South African sale agreement document makes it clear that, although the buyer has no recourse if latent defects are discovered, if these were likely to have been known to the homeowner, the seller can be sued to have them put right.

Faults such as rotting timbers, a broken alarm system or an inoperative borehole pump would be seen as patent rather than latent defects - the buyer would presumably have known about them.

In a really serious case of hiding faults from a buyer, says Steward, it is conceivable that a court of law could declare the entire sale null and void and impose penalties on the seller. In practice, the voetstoots clause has usually been allowed to stand but suspected non-disclosure can have serious consequences.

Weekend Property supplement (Saturday Argus)

Posted at 10:50AM Nov 16, 2009 by Editor in Residential  |  Comments[3]