Liability for housing defects - Free advice

Questioner

Hello, We bought a house at the beginning of this year. Within two weeks the problems started. The sewer was bubbling and the drain was no longer draining. We had an inspection done and it turned out that there was a working cesspool in the garden with all the associated problems, namely dirty pipes and a seriously disrupted drain. Also, after inspection by the plumber it turned out that the drain from top to bottom had not been installed according to the guidelines. We have a report of this. The buyer installed this himself and this is also stated in black and white. The seller has stated in the purchase contract that there is no cesspool/septic tank. There is a clause that the seller is not responsible for defects unknown to him. The seller now claims that he was unaware of the presence of a cesspool and that he had no sewer problems. We tried to reach an agreement through the real estate agent, but he didn't want to hear about it. We have now had the cesspool filled in and reconnected to the main pipe, but the problems are still not solved. Do we have a chance if we challenge this? Thank you in advance

Lawyer

Yes I think so. It is so unlikely that the seller did not know this that he is liable. Whether it was a known or unknown defect. I would have to read the purchase agreement to be able to judge even better.

Lawyer

I advise you to first have your legal position with respect to the seller assessed primarily on the basis of the content of the purchase agreement. Your lawyer/attorney can then indicate whether it is possible/useful to hold the seller liable. Incidentally, a seller cannot exclude liability in any case, if it concerns serious defects that prevent normal use of the home. This seems to be the case in your case.