Possible misrepresentation?

[Hubris45]

We've just moved in to our new house that we viewed and fell in love with. Within a couple of days we had heavy rain and it became apparent there were a couple of leaks that weren't disclosed, neither verbally or in writing. The leaks were known to the vendor as there are signs they've tried to repair them in the past.

Where do we stand here?

Did you have a survey?

Unfortunately, it is likely that 'buyer beware' will govern this and you are unlikely to get much assistance from the seller.

However, have a chat with your solicitor/ conveyancer in the first instance.

Did they lie (ie were they asked and said "no absolutely no leaks ever") or did they just omit the truth? I think there's probably a difference.

Even if they did lie then I suspect it would cost you so much in legal fees so as not to be worth pursuing.

Unless you specifically asked or if they filled in a property form which specifically asked then all you can do is get your solicitor to ask theirs for compensation (to the cost of repairs) but they don't have to pay it. If you had a survey that you think should have noticed it then you could try getting comp from them, but legally you probably can't do much.

I feel your pain though - we've moved into a house which has patio doors that don't lock. Even if they did the house is still unsecured as the doors can be lifted out of the runners from outside. So that's an unexpected couple of grand 😬

We moved in and shortly after it rained inside. Our survey had said it needed repointing so we had reduced the price for that. We also found the main sewer FULL of waste from the toilet...and overflowing. So they blatantly knew and left it for us.

They didn't lie about it, but weren't ever specifically asked about leaks. They were asked if they'd carried out any big repairs and they mentioned a couple of unrelated things along with generic repairs. But they never said anything about leaks past or present.