The seller of a property warrants against hidden defects that make it unfit for its use, or that reduce that use so much that the buyer would not have bought, or would have paid less, had they known. Four cumulative conditions decide everything.
The four conditions
- The defect is serious. A creaking door is not a hidden defect. Roof timbers attacked by dry rot, a collapsing floor, structural water ingress are.
- It is hidden. Invisible on a normal examination by an attentive buyer. A damp stain on the wall of a bedroom you visited is apparent: it is not covered.
- It pre-dates the sale. The seed of the problem existed before signing, even if it only appeared afterwards.
- The buyer did not know. A defect mentioned in the preliminary agreement or pointed out during viewings can no longer be invoked.
The exclusion clause: very common, not all-powerful
Most preliminary agreements contain a clause along the lines of « the property is sold in the state in which it stands, without warranty for hidden defects ». Between private individuals, that clause is valid and in principle excludes the warranty.
It falls away in two cases:
- The seller knew about the defect and said nothing. Bad faith neutralises the exclusion, and that is where most disputes are decided.
- The seller is a professional in property or construction: they are presumed to know the defects of what they sell.
This clause explains why awkward questions are better asked in writing before signing: a written answer from the seller becomes a guarantee that no boilerplate clause erases.
The deadline: promptly after discovery
The claim must be brought promptly after discovering the defect — not after the sale. The law puts no number on it: the court assesses it according to the nature of the defect and the parties' conduct. In practice, waiting several months after noticing the problem seriously weakens the case.
Have the defect recorded by an expert as soon as it is discovered, and write to the seller without delay, by registered post.
What you can claim
Two routes: rescission of the sale with refund of the price, or a price reduction matching the cost of repair. Where the seller's bad faith is established, damages are added.
What falls under something else
Some problems are not hidden defects but separate breaches, often easier to establish: missing energy certificate, undeclared planning infringement, floor area far below what was advertised, non-compliant electrical inspection not disclosed. These breaches have their own regimes and their own deadlines, generally more favourable to the buyer.