Estate agent found guilty after seller lied about work done on French house
Onus on agents to do their homework and check whether the seller's claims are true
Estate agent did not request paperwork to verify works
Lopolo/Shutterstock
It is every buyer's worst nightmare: moving into a dream home only to discover serious defects that the seller failed to disclose.
A recent court case in France has put the onus on estate agents to do their homework and check whether the seller's claims are true.
In a ruling late last year, the Cour de cassation, France’s highest court, found that both the seller and the agent were liable for failing to point out serious issues with a property’s roof to prospective buyers.
The case was brought by a couple named only as Ms M and Mr E, who bought a house from Ms L in spring 2017.
Ms L claimed the roof had been inspected every two years, but upon moving in, the buyers discovered it was in a bad state of repair and would soon need replacing.
They took both the seller and the estate agent, Agence des Sacres, to court seeking compensation for defects they found in the main roof and the living room roof.
The roof did not comply with building standards, owing to an issue with its pitch.
The case was first heard by a lower court in Reims (Marne) and later by the Reims Court of Appeal, which found the estate agent did not have to inspect previous work.
The Cour de cassation, however, took the opposite view, ruling that the estate agent was liable.
It said that when a seller claims to have carried out certain work on a property, it is up to the estate agent to ask for supporting documentation.
The estate agent should have requested paperwork to prove the seller’s claim that the roof had been inspected every two years, and inform the buyers if the seller was unable to provide it.
The court found the estate agent had failed in its “duty to advise”.
It quashed the previous rulings and ordered Ms L and the estate agency to pay the legal costs, and Ms L to pay the buyers €3,000.
It comes after a court in 2023 ruled that sellers who undertake DIY in their home are responsible if defects are later found in that work after the property is sold.
And in another case, a British couple who self-built their home in Dordogne were sued for €140,000 in repairs by the man who bought it from them.
