New House - What Are My Rights??

[Mcvj]

Good morning all, and Happy New Year!

I have recently purchased my first house and we have now been settled in for the past month.

The house had been abandoned for around 20 years, the vendor had bought it at auction and then taken 3 years to restore it. When we had the second viewing we were quite concerned to see some signs of damp on the back wall from the bathroom and moving down in to the kitchen, as a result we insisted that we would only offer the amount stated if the sale was accomponied with a damp certificate.

The vendor insisted that what we saw was not damp and that it was instead salt in the plaster. He did however cough up for a certificate and we were satisfied to move in after the results of the certificate showed no damp in the property.

We have now been in the house for 1 month and there was water coming in from the bathroom wall that we originally registered concern with. After calling in a roofer it would appear that the roof was a botch job and water has been coming in and running down to the kitchen - as a result we now have significant damp in the bathroom and kitchen which will hopefully dry once we have the roof fixed.

Seperately there are two corners of the living room which are displaing signs of rising damp. We are an end terrace house and both corners are the cold walls.

Additionally there is damp around some of the windows which look as though they may not have been fitted correctly despite being new. Again, I have the certificate to accompany this job.

We are in the process of arranging an appointment with the CAB because I don't have a clue where we stand in being able to fight this. I feel thoroughly ripped off and annoyed especially because we did delay the process to obtain the relevant certificates.

What do the certificates actually mean for us? Can we demand that someone from the company take a look/resolve the matter? If I do go ahead and have these issues resolved can I claim back from them through their own insurance? I've been reluctant to pick up the phone to anyone yet as I hate not knowing where I stand and facing the possibility of being ripped off again!

Thanks in advance,
Mel

[Zacs-Master]

Are the companies who did the survey part of a national body / organisation? If so you should contact them.

[The Builder]

I can't say that I've ever heard of a "Damp" certificate, Mcvj. I can't imagine how even a registered Surveyor could ever discharge any property as being "damp-free", given the circumstances you outline.
You know, of course, that you buy a property "as seen". That includes defects.

It does sound a terrible bodge. Unless the terms of the contract have been broken, there's little or nothing that can be demanded of the sellers now.

You really do need good legal advice (CAB should help here.) I'd love to know who came up with the damp certificate. A damp-proofing company would usually use this as an opportunity to emphasise a damp problem to get the remedial business.

Whoever provided the certificate should be liable via their insurers. Can you be sure they even have insurance. So much of this boils down to simple "matter of opinion".

On the positive side, I'll bet that, once the roof is fixed, the "damp" problems will likely disappear with normal heating and ventilation. Even badly fitted windows etc can usually be put right fairly simply.

Good luck

[Mcvj]

Thanks for getting back to me both.

Unfortunately these are not National bodies, but rather companies based locally to us.

The damp certificate is from a company and it states that all walls (which were not blocked by timber) were checked and show no sign of rising or penetrative damp. Although we did see what we suspected was damp we were reasssured by the vendor that it was not damp and which was then verified by the cert. I can understand that this is now our problem to deal with but more than anything, I cant get over the brass neck of the company!

Thanks again - hopefully I'll have an update once my other half gets back from Citizens Advice!

[factor-fiction]

I hope I'm wrong but I wonder whether the certificate is meaningless. Did the 'guarantee' include any information on what the guarantees were and what the claim processes and remedies were? It sounds to me as if he may have just got a mate in the trade to provide a certificate.
What sort of survey was done at the time of purchase and did it identify any damp issues?

[The Builder]

Let us know how you get on :o)

[woofgang]

Well if it's a roof leak and poor window installation, then the damp is neither rising nor penetrative. Is there a damp proof course? Dud you get a full structural survey done?

[The Builder]

Exactly what I was thinking Factor.

[Mcvj]

No Factor, no claim information included - I think its meaningless although I will wait until I hear back from CBA.

The survey was a basic one and from what I can understand through reading other posts, a basic survey will only pick up major structural issues rather than minor ones.

Woofgang - the roof and windows are not rising. Although the two patches which I mentioned on the two cold walls are rising. Unfortuantely I am new to all of this and don't really understand the differences in the two. Apparently it looks like the outside wall has been rendered (?) but that a proper job hasn't been done.

Thanks for your help guys - i think the consensus is that this is my issue and that I should have been more thorough when purchasing the property. Oh well, live and learn!

Thanks,
Mel

[The Builder]

Out of interest Mel ......... what age is the house?

[Mcvj]

I think it was built roughly 1900. I was after that information for insurance purposes but was unable to obtain an official date. I can't be certain though, unfortunately!

[The Builder]

Ok ........ sounds like a solid wall construction (not a cavity). It should have a tar or slate DPC. These can fail in time, but not as often as you would think.
If the rendering (external plaster) is suspect, then there may be a touch of penetrating going on. Low down in corners of cold walls ........ condensation will settle there inevitably.

Nothing much there that can't easily be sorted. The roofwork is the one to get right first :o)

[Mcvj]

Thanks for all of your help!

I know that it looks scarier than it is, its just that we've just come from a damp house where all of our clothes/bedding were ruined. I was terrified that we were going to be returning to a similar situation and I hate the feeling that I may have been ripped off.

Roof has been booked for early January - that is our priority. After that we'll have to have those walls looked at, hopefully it wont cost too much as we're already shelling out for a new roof! Oh the joys of buying a house....

Thanks again all x