Buying a house is a dream for many that sometimes becomes complicated, especially if sellers hide crucial information about the surroundings. In these cases, the court may end up ruling in favor of the buyer, even years after the move, having right to compensation As has happened to a French couple who will receive 15,000 euros for the barking of their neighbor’s dogs
According to reports from the French media Figaro Real Estatein 2017, the sellers put their 90 square meter house with a garden up for sale. They promised calm and peace, and the house was sold for 157,000 euros. Everything seemed perfect until the new owners moved in.
The promised tranquility was not so much, since eight white Swiss shepherds lived in the neighboring house, and every time a pedestrian or a car passed by, they would burst into barking, day and night. A court report confirmed the following year that the noise was perfectly audible from inside the house.
A compensation of 15,000 euros for hiding the truth
During visits by potential buyers, the sellers twice asked the neighbor to lock her dogs inside so that no one would suspect anything. The real estate ad made no mention of dogs or nuisances, and the buying couple discovered this too late.
Convinced they had been deceived, they took the case to court. They claimed that they had bought the house looking for peace of mind and that they would never have bought it if they had known about the dog breeder. In addition, they explained that the pressure and problems derived from the “defective property” even led them to separate.
The Court of Appeal has ruled in favor of the buyers. According to the judge, “For fraud to be established, it must be shown that the seller knowingly deceived buyers by intentionally concealing crucial information.”. In this case, hiding the hatchery and manipulating visits was enough for the buyers’ consent to be considered tainted.
The court considered especially relevant the testimony of the neighbor, who acknowledged having brought her dogs inside during visits. “This statement confirms the reality of the disturbance caused by the barking dogs, as the defendants would not have attempted to conceal it if it had not been real and significant.”collects the sentence.
The ruling condemns the former owners to pay 18,000 euros in damages (15,000 for the overprice and 3,000 in legal costs) to the deceived buyers. The real estate company, on the other hand, is acquitted as it cannot be proven that it knew about the problem.