Have you just bought a new house and discovered something that was not disclosed during the home buying process? Maybe you find out that there is radon in the basement and the prior owner never told you. These kinds of hidden defects can be dangerous for you and your family.

Most people try to avoid these issues by hiring a home inspector during their house hunt. However, a home inspector might miss something. Worst case scenario, you may be stuck in court fighting about massive repairs. Regardless of the reason, you may be entitled to file a lawsuit if you are stuck in a fight with the prior home owner of something they did not disclose or lied about.

What kinds of things is the prior owner required to disclose? There are a lot of moving pieces and documentation in a home purchase. When you went to closing you had probably signed a purchase contract and a deed. A purchase contract usually outlines the responsibilities of the prior owner with respect to disclosures.

There are a lot of things that a normal person would not be able to find just by looking around the house. Because these kinds of issues can be hidden, the Virginia General Assembly passed the Virginia Residential Property Disclosures Act. Now that this law has been passed, homeowners have to make clear either that they are making disclosures of the existence of certain problems or that they make no representations. If you see in your purchase contract that the homeowner “makes no disclosures” then you need to be extremely careful about your due diligence and have thorough inspections performed prior to closing.

Some of the things that have to be listed in the purchase contract include:

1. Condition of the property or any necessary improvements;

2. Zoning for neighboring properties;

3. Historic district status;

4. Whether the property is in a resource protection area;

5. Registered sex offenders in the area;

6. Whether there is a risk of dam breaking nearby;

7. Waste water systems;

8. Solar energy systems;

9. Flood zone areas;

10. Easements and conservations;

11. Community development authorities;

12. Marine clay;

13. Radon gas zones;

14. Defective drywall;

15. Lead pips.

If you do not receive these required disclosures at the time everyone signs the contract there is a brief period of time that you can potentially rescind the purchase agreement prior to closing. If you do not address these issues prior to closing you run into much bigger problems.

What happens if the prior owner lied in the disclosures and mislead you? Although it rarely comes up because most homeowners elect to list the property without statements as to these conditions, occasionally you have cases where the prior owner straight up lied and you don’t find out until much later. For example, the home owner may have known about radon gas problems and covered the issue up.

There are many different theories that you could pursue a lawsuit against such a seller. For example, the Virginia Residential Property Disclosures Act allows you to file lawsuit for the difference in value of the property you thought you were getting versus the price you paid. If the property is worth far less with the new defect you could recover the difference from the old seller.

There are other laws such as the Virginia Consumer Protection Act that may allow you to triple those damages in court if you can prove that the owner intentionally lied or covered up the defect. For example, if the homeowner interfered with radon testing knowing there was a prior radon test and never disclosed it by leaving doors and windows open during your test that could result in a claim under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act.

How long do I have to file a lawsuit? Virginia law allows for a one (1) year period of time to bring a lawsuit from when you buy the house. You need to make sure that if you discover something is wrong you need to immediately contact a real estate lawyer to discuss your rights.