Right to compensation for fault in a recently bought apartment
Hello,
Less than 4 week ago I have bought an apartment in Stockholm. The deal was made via Notar. Then, last week I had a person from the company managing the buldings in the area coming to my flat and he informed me that the sink is installed in a wrong way - blocking access to the safety water valve. He said that in case of flooding I will be responsible and insurance will not cover any demage.
The person from administration evaluated the change for SEK10,000 and said I need to contact the seller to cover this amount.
I contacted the seller about this issue, but he said to contact Notar.
I concated Notar and they said there is nothing they can do and I need to contact the seller...
Can you please advise what can I do in this case? And is it seller or estate agency that is responsible?
Thank you,
Lawline svarar
Hi
Thank you for your question!
Responsibility for faults
It is the seller that is responsible for the faults you mentioned, which is why he has to cover that amount (see 36 § köplagen, english: The Sales of Goods Act, link in swedish here). However, you have to prove that this is a fault that gives you a right to get compensation.
Responsibility to examine
You have a responsibility to examine the apartment before buying it. If it is considered a fault that you should have seen during an ordinary examination, then the seller will not be responsible for the fault (20 § The Sales of Goods Act).
You should contact the administration or the estate agency and ask help to get a qualified examination of the fault in your apartment. After the qualified examination, you can use the reports as proof to support your compensation claim. The qualified examination can also tell if it is a fault that you should have noticed before buying it.
From my perspective however, a wrongly installed sink from previous owner is a fault that should not have been seen during an ordinary examination of the apartment, unless the fault in the sink is completely obvious for a normal buyer.
Legal help
Home insurances usually helps out with legal fees in circumstances like this. You can book a meeting with our lawyers at 08 - 533 300 04 (monday to friday 10-16) for further assistance.
Hope this answers your question!
With regards
