Are there any hidden defects in my situation?

Questioner

Dear, I need urgent advice. I bought a house about 7 weeks ago. Within a few days it turned out that all 3 roofs were leaking. I emailed both the seller and his real estate agent about it. The seller states that the building inspection should have stated this. I contacted the agency that did the inspection and they indicate that a passage is included stating that they did not check the roof because it was difficult to reach. I am not making any progress now and the costs are gigantic. The roofer states that all roofs in the street have been replaced except mine and that even the wood has been affected. However, the seller states that she has never had any problems with leakage in the 20 years that she has lived there. However, the next-door neighbours deny this because they also had problems with leakage. Despite having contacted them several times, the sellers do not want to do anything. I received 1 email stating that they have never had any leaks and after that they have not responded to the emails that I sent them to put them in default. I have now requested the energy certificate several times and I have not received it either. Finally, I have now discovered that the heating is leaking in the crawl space and that there are meters of dead pipes. This scares me because of the risk of legionella. All in all a lot of drama and I don't know what to do. Sellers don't feel responsible for anything and now I have to pay for all the costs. What should I do? Are there hidden defects here and should I challenge this legally or do I not stand a chance and do I have to pay all the costs out of my own pocket. Who can advise me on this? BVD.

Lawyer

Hidden defects are when you can no longer use the house in a normal way. That is not likely to happen quickly with the risk of leakage. However, I do think it is a case of error because I strongly get the idea that the seller must have known about the defects. I think that on the one hand you can try to prove that on the other hand you can hold the seller liable for the damage and future damage that arises from the defects that you mention via a formal-legal document. I can possibly draw up such a document for you.