– which confirmed that sellers who are aware of a latent defect are not protected by the voetstoots clause.The Plaintiff approached the Court for an order granting her a reduction in the R2.3 million selling price of the property she purchased, with an additional order demanding the sellers pay for repairs done to the property.
The Plaintiff said that she had noticed bubbling and peeling of the wall paint, especially in the main bedroom. She approached the sellers directly to enquire about the affected area, who said that there was no waterproofing problem at the property. Upon moving into the property, Plaintiff noticed the true extent of the damp issue, with the discolouration of the carpets and the smell of damp evident.
An expert witness at the trial testified that the defects shown in their report were all caused by incorrect design and construction of the property and that the inherent damp issue manifested itself soon after the first year of rains on the property. The expert witness believed that the sellers knew about the damp problem.