Claim for damage one year after house purchase?

[ShoreSick]

Hi All , we bought our first house last year. The previous owner had converted the ground floor garage in a sort of lab- not clear what sort of lab, but when we viewed the house there were lots of chemical solvents around and a strong scent- I am thinking perfumes or maybe house detergents. We were asked not to take pictures of that room.
We didn't question that at the time and assume the smell would eventually go away through ventilation, deep cleening etc. However, one year into it, the smell is still there and although it is not too unpleasant, I've read there may be a risk that those substances may be carcinogenic. The room is supposed to be my home office and I haven't been able to use it- working from the kitchen table is driving me mad! We are considering stripping out all the walls, ceiling and some joinery in a desperate attempt to get rid of the smell, which would obviously come at a cost.
Just wondering if anyone knows if there is a chance we could claim some sort of compensation from the previous owners?
Thanks in advance for any tips and advice you may have!

Did any of this come to light with any survey you had done? I would highly doubt you’d have any recourse a year later to be honest as usually it’s once all the contracts have been signed, it is buyer beware.

Caveat emptor - unless you had a survey in which case you might be able to claim on professional indemnity.

Practically, try a skim plaster over walls/ceiling and replacing floor

First up you need to find out what the cause of the smell is, once you know that you can determine whether a survey should have picked it up or whether the vendor should have told you about this.
You should have from your solicitor the list of standard enquiries and responses from the vendor. If they lied on their responses you have some ability to claim back from them. If it was not asked or they didn't lie then no.
Survey would be similar, if it is something that was standard to be noted in the survey then yes you have redress otherwise no.
So.dig out the documentation and take a look

Zero chance. I really wouldn't waste your time.

What have you tried to get rid of the smell? Have you got rid of all soft furnishings including carpet, then sugar soaped and repainted the walls?

If you've done that and the smell persists it seems most likely to me that something has spilled and seeped into floorboards/under existing flooring.

Unfortunately you needed to do a survey on this issue, given it was visible I don't see what claim you have.

Can you get a survey now to find out what it is?

Start by getting back to the vendors and asking what the hell it was. They might not answer, but they might be helpful, and then you'd know where you stood and what the risks might be. Failing that, Googling them might help link their names to a hobby or small business that would explain the situation.

I'm a bit baffled that you didn't ask what the smell was when you bought tbh.

We had a survey. Do you mean we can claim a compensation from the Surveyor company instead of the owners?

you need to document this inc that they told you not to take photos, tell your solicitor and the EA and get in touch asap with the previous seller as be very clear you are concerned about asbestos and carcinogenic products, coax them to tell you what they were doing in there and say you are getting in touch with your solicitor

No, I mean you knew there was a smell, you could have had a specialist survey/some testing done at the time. If you had a basic survey they don't test smells.

Did you ask the previous owners what it was?

@ShoreSick it depends. If the cause of these smells is something that was covered in the survey then yes. You can claim from the surveyor if they failed to point it out to you. However and this is a big but ... it depends on the level of survey you got. The standard one is very light and a smell wouldn't have been anything investigated probably. A full structural survey may have but it depends again on the cause of the smell.
And it would also depend on it not having been written into the survey. So if they wrote "there's a smell " and you still bought the property then that's on you.
Similarly if you never asked your solicitor to query it then it's unlikely you have a claim against the vendor.

You can't claim compensation. Houses are bought as seen. Any negotiations have to be done and agreed before purchase

Thanks all. I have considered asking the vendors exactly what chemicals were used. I am just not sure I can rely on their answers as they may want to minimise the issue?
We have changed all soft furnishing. The source of smell seems to be one particular cabinet, which was closed during the viewing so not so visible really. I need to check what the survey says.
What if their business was illegal, I.e. they couldn't run it from a home? Would it make a difference? I think I've found it online and it's about cosmetics

A cabinet? Can’t you just remove the cabinet?

No you can’t claim any money from previous owners or surveyors. Forget about it. You saw what the garage was used for when you viewed.

It’s like viewing and buying a house with cigarette or dog wee smell inside, and then asking for
compensation a year later when you haven’t been able to successfully get rid of the smell. Ridiculous.

No chance of a claim against seller or surveyor

Did the surveyor make any mention of a chemical smell on their report?

It makes no difference if they engaged in illegal activity. The only point is what was asked and what was answered. If the question was asked and not answered truthfully then you have redress. If the question was not asked you have no redress

Why would wether their business was legal or not matter?

Did you tell them it mattered to you wether it was legal or not?

Are you planning on getting in touch and try to blackmail them?