Hidden defects in sewer and septic tank when purchasing a home

Questioner

My wife and I bought a house in the fall of 2018. The purchase contract stated that there was no septic tank. Around the following New Year's Eve we started to experience odor nuisance. This occurred every time it was extremely humid outside. Around August 2019 we started looking for the cause. After we had dug out the front garden, it turned out that there was a septic tank. It also turned out that the septic tank was not connected to the sewer (we found a crushed pipe that ran towards the old septic tank of the neighbors). We immediately communicated this to the sales agent. The seller states that he has never experienced odor nuisance and that he did not know that there was a septic tank. He also states that the neighbors were working on the front garden in the spring of 2018. The neighbors state that they made their septic tank unusable in the spring of 2018. But that did not mean that they broke a pipe. The sales agent indicates that there are no hidden defects here because the seller could not have known. However, the sales agent wants to compensate €200. To indicate that it is very annoying. Is what the sales agent states correct?

Lawyer

However, it is not a hidden defect because then it is required that you can no longer use the house normally. That will be the case if there is also another drainage. (sewer) Then you must fall back on fraud or error in the sales information, you both assumed the same incorrect facts and data. Otherwise, please contact us because the costs must be divided proportionally in that case.

Lawyer

Dear, the starting point is that the mere presence of a septic tank does not automatically mean that the home does not have the properties required for normal use thereof. The interpretation of the term 'normal use' is based on what is understood by it in common parlance (Supreme Court 23 December 2005, ECLI:NL:HR:AU2414). This means that a home must be able to be lived in in a sufficiently safe manner, with a reasonable degree of sustainability and without the enjoyment of living being significantly affected. From your message I do not clearly understand to what extent the septic tank has been discussed (in the contract). I would certainly advise you to have a lawyer take a good look at this. The costs of removing a septic tank are often considerable, and it would be nice if these costs were (partly) paid by the seller.