The seller must be notified of any defects found in the new apartment.
Making a complaint about an error before the annual inspection
Errors that may appear during the initial phase of living in a new apartment are reported to the seller during the move-in inspection and the annual inspection. In the period between them, there is no need to report small errors that do not affect living. If there are major errors that could damage the building, they must be reported immediately.
Making a complaint during the annual inspection
The purpose of the annual inspection is to identify and correct any errors at once. In this way, possible repairs can be made at once for each company, and the buyers will have as little trouble as possible from the repairs.
During the annual inspection, the buyer must report all detectable errors. After the annual inspection, the buyer can no longer claim as an error a fact that should have been noticed and reported during the annual inspection procedure.
Filing a complaint after the annual inspection
If, after the annual inspection, there are errors in the apartment that are the responsibility of the seller according to the Housing Sales Act, and which were not detected during the annual inspection, the buyer must notify the seller of them within a reasonable time of the discovery of the errors. He must also notify the seller of his claims based on errors.
What is a reasonable time?
Reasonable time is assessed according to when the buyer should have noticed the error and found out its significance. Attention is drawn to when the effects of the error came to the fore and what they were like at that time. However, a fact that the buyer knew before the transaction is never considered a mistake.
After the annual inspection, the seller is only responsible for possible latent defects that were already in the building when the apartments were handed over to the buyers, but that have appeared later.
When is the seller not responsible for an error reported by the buyer?
After the annual inspection, the seller is usually not responsible for a fact reported as a mistake by the buyer, if
- It is about an error that should have been detected at the latest during the annual inspection, and no complaint was made about it then.
- After the annual inspection, an error for which the seller is responsible has been detected or should have been detected, but no complaint has been made about it within a reasonable time.
- The defect or the need for repair has been caused by wear and tear, use of the building, apartment or yard area, or neglect of use and maintenance obligations.
- The service life of the construction part or material/machine or device has expired. Unless the quality has been separately agreed upon, the materials used in the construction must correspond to the usual good quality in terms of their properties.
- It is about an error that was known to the buyer before the transaction.
- It has been 10 years since the handover of the company's administration.