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fault undeclared by vendor of house or survey engineer

alice001 · 2010-02-07 08:42:36

I recently bought an old Council house. It was essentially a private sale but under archaic rules I had to prove to this Council that I was in nned of accommodation. An engineer approved the house but neglected to mention that the cladding on the back kitchen was actually made of asbestos. Do I have some comeback on this ?…

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07-02-2010 9:42am

#1

alice001

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I recently bought an old Council house. It was essentially a private sale but under archaic rules I had to prove to this Council that I was in nned of accommodation. An engineer approved the house but neglected to mention that the cladding on the back kitchen was actually made of asbestos. Do I have some comeback on this ? I refuse to move into the house in the interim as I have two small children.

I would REALLY be grateful for your advice.

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#2 07-02-2010 1:20pm
Miaireland

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I would have thought that it was up to the Engineer hired by you to point that out.

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#3 07-02-2010 1:37pm
Toots

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The vendor may have been totally unaware of it also. It would have been up to your engineer to point this out to you. I'd get back in touch with him/her and ask them what they intend to do about it. They have professional indemnity insurance for just this kind of event (or at least they should, I'm assuming you checked this before you hired them?). Also are you still in touch with the solicitor who did your conveyance? Maybe give them a ring and bounce it off them, see what they have to say.

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#4 07-02-2010 3:07pm
foggy_lad

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are you sure it is made from asbestos? Many types of roofing are made of similar materials and can look very much like the old asbestos roofing. Have you had a professional(not the local handyman) in to determine exactly what it is?

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#5 08-02-2010 1:51am
foggy_lad

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i would agree with posts on the other thread you posted in that this roof should be perfectly safe unless the sheets of asbestos are broken or sawn into peices or sanded as it is the dust from this that is dangerous.

http://wwww.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055777036

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#6 09-02-2010 11:09am
alice001

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Hi all, thanks from your comments abou the roof. I'm waiting for the solicitor to get back to me before I ring the engineer. The engineer was approved by BOI so I presume he's insured for this purpose. I'll post again when I get more news

In the meantime, any idea of good asbestos removal people?. I know they need a licence.

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#7 09-02-2010 11:22am
MunsterCycling

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If this was a council house then they should have removed the asbestos

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#8 09-02-2010 11:57am
No6

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alice001 wrote: »

Hi all, thanks from your comments abou the roof. I'm waiting for the solicitor to get back to me before I ring the engineer. The engineer was approved by BOI so I presume he's insured for this purpose. I'll post again when I get more news

In the meantime, any idea of good asbestos removal people?. I know they need a licence.

So did he do a full inspection or a valuation report for the bank? there is a huge difference. I wouldnt worry hugely about asbestos roofing sheets as long as it is not cut creating dust it is safe. There are a number of specialist companies who can remove it but they do tend to be quite expensive but ring some and get some quotes first. Going down the legal route will end up very expensive and you may find that the level of inspection you paid for particuralry if it was only a valuation will mean the engineer is not liable for anything and you will end up paying everything!!

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#9 10-02-2010 2:27pm
alice001

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I had a valuation report and an engineers' report done by the same engineer - it was a "walk through" report. However, as an engineer, I imagine it's easy to spot an asbestos roof by its thickness even if it is painted black.

What are my chances legally ?

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#10 10-02-2010 3:20pm
Paulw

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alice001 wrote: »

I had a valuation report and an engineers' report done by the same engineer - it was a "walk through" report. However, as an engineer, I imagine it's easy to spot an asbestos roof by its thickness even if it is painted black.

What are my chances legally ?

Go talk to a solicitor. Only a professional legal expert will be able to tell you about your chances. You may not get reliable information here on boards about that.

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#11 10-02-2010 4:45pm
Miaireland

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Talk to your Solicitor but don't fancy your chances if it was a walk through report.

When I bought my place I had two engineers do reports. I hired a guy to do a walkthrough and then my friends brother did a full one. There was problem with the roof which wasn't seen in the walkthrough and my friends brother told me that he would not have picked up on it in a walkthrough.

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#12 13-02-2010 2:00pm
alice001

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I've got legal advice and it won't be worth it to hold the engineer to account. I am able to get someone to remove the sheets safely without creating dust and, in the coming week, I intend to ring around to find out about its removal. Any details on this that might save me a lot of telephone work ? What's the cheapest and most efficient way to have it removed ?

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#13 13-02-2010 2:06pm
dixiefly

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What was the reaction of the engineer?

At the very least the engineer should identify and arrange for the removal considering they missed this in the first place.

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#14 13-02-2010 6:43pm
alice001

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I'm trying to arrange to meet him this week but my solicitor has told me that because of the walkthrough nature of the report, I don't have a great chance of success. Hopefully he'll be decent about it and at least help to remove it but I won't hold my breath, consumer law is weak enough here. In other countries it's a different story. Professionals are delisted quickly if their work is not up to standard.

In the meantime I'll look up the rule re asbestos removal myself so if anyone can recommend websites that will help. I'll start with the County Council and HSA anyway.

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#15 13-02-2010 7:49pm
slimjimmc

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alice001 wrote: »

I'm trying to arrange to meet him this week but my solicitor has told me that because of the walkthrough nature of the report, I don't have a great chance of success. Hopefully he'll be decent about it and at least help to remove it but I won't hold my breath, consumer law is weak enough here. In other countries it's a different story. Professionals are delisted quickly if their work is not up to standard.

In the meantime I'll look up the rule re asbestos removal myself so if anyone can recommend websites that will help. I'll start with the County Council and HSA anyway.

Who hired the engineer, you or the mortgage provider? That would determine who he is responsible to. If it was the mortgage provider then he was probably only employed to check for major structural defects which would signifcantly affect the value of the house, eg faulty foundations or main roof. I think he still should have reported on the asbestos though.

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#16 13-02-2010 7:54pm
Kristopherus

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Removing and disposing of asbestos can cost an arm and a leg. The work must be done by a registeree remover and safely disposed of. The only pace it can be safely removed is to a site in Germany. So be very careful that you do not hire a cowboy.

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#17 14-02-2010 9:49am
alice001

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I did but you have to hire an engineer approved by BOI so he's on their panel. I will have a chat with them this week as well.

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#18 14-02-2010 4:22pm
Toots

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alice001 wrote: »

I did but you have to hire an engineer approved by BOI so he's on their panel. I will have a chat with them this week as well.

You need to hire an engineer approved by BOI for your valuation, but not for your building survey. A BOI engineer did my valuation ie: I'm applying for a mortgage of €330k, this guy values the house to see is it actually worth that. They'll only look at major things like subsidence, structural soundness, is the house on a flood plain, do you have to cross someone else's land to get to it, and do you have access rights etc. Basically things that could affect the resale value, or things that would indicate the house is priced too high.

I hired a completely seperate surveyor to check the house for any problems, this was a full comprehensive report, right down to the sealant around the bath (which he said needed to be replaced). If you got a walk through type report, then they'll probably only check for very major issues, like ones that might mean the house is at risk of falling down around your ears.

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