Can I recover insulation costs from the seller?

Questioner

We bought a new-build home last year. The brochure stated that the garage was insulated. We replaced the garage door with a frame and had all the walls (including the walls where only bricks were visible) plastered. Now, almost a year later, we have mold in 2 places. It turns out that the wall by the garage door is not insulated and there is 1 small wall that is not insulated. These were bricks and then it is not insulated, we were told. There was still a piece of brick, but because that part of the garage is against the house, that part is insulated. We do not know anything about it and have assumed the sales brochure. Because it is plastered (we had it done after purchase), the moisture from a single brick wall cannot escape and mold develops. The sellers now say, you could have seen that it was not insulated. To solve the mold problem, we are now having the other 2 walls insulated. Can I recover these costs from the seller?

Lawyer

The legal situation when purchasing a home (also for a new-build home) is that the home must have the properties that are necessary for normal use and the presence of which the buyer did not have to doubt (Article 7:17 of the Civil Code). If the seller has indicated that the garage was insulated but this turns out not to be the case, it is possible that the seller has breached his duty to provide information. In this case, the seller could in principle be liable. But on the other hand, as a buyer you also have a duty to investigate. This means that you should have investigated certain properties yourself or asked about their presence. In this case, as a buyer you could have investigated whether the insulation was adequate before having the plasterwork applied. The question is to what extent your duty to investigate weighs against the duty to inform of the seller. The content of the purchase contract also plays a role, what has been agreed there about defects and the liability for them. It is advisable to contact a lawyer or attorney in your situation to assess, based on all circumstances and the contract inspected, whether costs can be recovered. Please note: This advice is for orientation purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. ---------------- Stichting Rechtswinkel.nl is a national organization with students and volunteers. The above advice is based on limited information and may be incomplete or even incorrect for your situation. Always consult a lawyer or attorney for your further steps. Read disclaimer: https://rechtswinkel.nl/disclaimer I would like to invite you to rate the above answer so that we can learn from your response.