It is extremely unwise to hide any problems in your home from prospective buyers, warns Lanice Steward, MD of Anne Porter Knight Frank.

“Sellers, aware that certain faults have not been reported to buyers, may be tempted to ask buyers to sign agreements (after signing the sale deal) to the effect that they absolve the sellers of any blame for defects which have not been revealed at the time of the sales. This practice, although occasionally resorted to, is not ethical or acceptable,” says Steward, “and we do not condone it at APKF.”

She says the voetstoots clause in any South African sale agreement document makes it clear that, although the buyer has no recourse if latent defects are discovered, if these were likely to have been known to the homeowner, the seller can be sued to have them put right.

If, for example, certain timbers were rotting, an alarm system did not work or a borehole pump was out of action these would be seen as patent rather than latent defects because the buyer would presumably have known about such problems.

In a really serious case of hiding faults from a buyer, says Steward, it is conceivable that a court of law could declare the entire sale null and void and impose penalties on the seller. In practice, the voetstoots clause has usually been allowed to stand but there are serious consequences when non-disclosure becomes suspected.