Estate Agent disclosure of adverse survey report?

[yorkshirejo]

My survey report has come back showing significant damp issues est. £15-20k remedial work, which I intend on using to try negotiate a lower purchase price. Before I enter negotiations though, it would be useful to know if an EA is required to disclose an adverse report to any future/other potential purchasers?

I do want the house, but at a realistic price...also a bit worried about the vendor/EA simply offering to another potential buyer instead.

If EA has to disclose negative findings to any future purchasers on a survey, it would put me in a stronger position when negotiating?

Any help greatly appreciated.

They're meant to but that doesn't mean they will and the vendor could always change EA and not tell them.

@QueenStromba - ah, of course! Yikes, its a mean old business this house buying/selling!

I believe they do if the issue could potentially affect the value if the property, though I bet some will pull the 'they didn't ask so I didn't tell'.

They don’t have to offer it up, but they do have to give an honest answer to a direct question

So if your sale falls through, and a future viewer asks why, they can’t say because you didn’t get a mortgage

I always ask the direct question of ‘has a survey picked up any issues’ for that very reason..!

They do need to tell you - they have to disclose anything that might make a difference to your offer. The law changed in 2013.

hoa.org.uk/2013/10/what-estate-agents-have-to-tell-you-changes-to-the-law/

They have to tell you.

Just to say older especially Victoria properties often have ongoing minor damp issues which a survey will flag as serious as the Surveyor is covering their back. If your house is worth £200 grand I'd be worried if it's worth 600 not so much.

Read up about damp before panicking. Lots of stuff on this forum.
We were quoted similar for this house. Actually cost a lot less. As in about 2 thousand. (though some of the work we did ourselves) We had a proper damp survey done by an old buildings specialist, the work the damp proofing firm had said needed doing
a) didn't need doing
b) wouldn't have worked
c) would have been a disaster for the house structurally

What they said it needed:
Tanking and replastering throughout the downstairs and therefore complete redecoration
New DPC
Various other expensive interventions

What it actually needed:
Better ventilation (easy- open windows occasionally , put in vents when putting in new windows)
Removal of old gas fire (we were doing that anyway)
The bit of amateur tanking there was in one room removing
Gutters repairing (did that when we moved in)
Repointing with lime rather than cement mortar someone had put on
Wallpaper off in favour of breathable paint

Worked fine, the house is now so dry I need eyedrops and the damp wallpaper on a few lower parts of walls has dried on so hard it's now a ** to strip.

(and I haven't even done the repointing yet)