Inspections tied to new insurance policy will give buyers and sellers peace of mind.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) affords home buyers specific protection and rights. Buyers have a right to expect that the properties they buy comply with all relevant legal standards and are without undisclosed defects.
Likewise home sellers and agents have specific responsibilities and liabilities. The traditional “voetstoots” (as is) no longer provides blanket protection for sellers and their agents. The seller is liable for latent and patent defects. The only real protection is for sellers/agents to commission home inspection reports upfront and make them available to potential buyers. Deeds of sale should include declarations by the buyers that they have been informed and are aware of the defects disclosed in the reports.
Even if a home inspection report is made available to the buyer, during a six-month period after the buyer has taken delivery of the property, the buyer can demand redress if previously undisclosed defects are discovered. The sellers must “repair, replace or refund”, with a further 3 month implied warrant after repair. The only potential liability then remaining is for latent defects which could not be seen by home inspectors e.g. faulty plumbing, equipment failure (geyser).
Insurance companies are working to develop an insurance product that will protect sellers and estate agents from liability under the CPA.
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