We purchased our house in the Limousin as a holiday home back in 2015.
At the time we were assured by our English speaking estate agent that the property was on mains drainageand water.
When we took possession we found out that the mains water had been disconnected when a new supply was introduced into the street eliminating the existing lead piping. So we refused to sign for the property until the mains were connected by the Mairie at their expense. The previous English owner was not contactable when the new water supply wqas installed so our property was never connected.
After a problem with the drains last year it transpires that we are NOT connected to the mains drainage either which runs down the street immediately in front of our house. We have discovered a small fosse in a rear courtyard, which we paid a small fortune to be emptied.
Apparently when the new mains were put in the road, the English owner was not contactable and so the house was never connected. After checking back with the agent, they say that the reports supplied by the Mairie state that the house was connected and therefore the fault is not theirs.
Our house sits on solid rock so the cost of bringing the mains drainage from the rear of the house to the street in front would be mant thousands of euros to say nothing of the disruption.
My question is do we have any form of redress with anyone?
Usually the buyer accepts the property in the state which it is presented without recourse to the seller,agent or notaire. However, a few years back the ‘vices cachées’ rule came into play which gave buyers two years to contest things icluding non-connection to mains water etc.
Unfortunately if you signed for the property in 2015 then it looks to be too late to contest the affaire.
As Graham said, ask your notaire - that’s his/her job.
Thanks for the information, it is much appreciated.
Unfortunately it was only after retirement we are using the property far more and the problem became apparent.
No worries, the lifestyle here suits us perfectly and life is far too short to let things get to you, so we will stick with the fosse being emptied every couple of years.
Although this is the first time I have posed a question, we regularly visit the site and have learned a tremendous amount from the members.
When did it become necessary to have a fosse inspection at the time of a sale? If that was before 2015 someone has made a big mistake as any inspection would have found a non-confirming fosse that would have had an affect in the property’s value.
We have sold houses here in 2012 and 2017 both of which had a visit from SPANC as part of the obligatory sales package to test the drainage systems. The testa were rigorous and comprehensive.
A house bought in 2015 would have required the same testing so very hard to believe that a buyer could not be aware of the state of the property.
Same goes for water gas and electricity systems and of course lead content in painted surfaces etc.
Could it be that the buyer was not present at the purchase completion or things were lost in translation?
In my mind the situation simply does not add up add the old adage of buyer beware was not adhered to.