The distinction between a pre-purchase inspector’s recommendation to inspect further “pre-purchase” and his recommendation to carry out work “post-purchase”

This post, published on Éditions Yvon Blais’ blog on latent defects on January 19, 2018 (FR), discusses the judgement in Giagnotti v. Anania (Full text | Fiche Quantum), in which the Court of Appeal reminds us that recommendations made by a pre-purchase inspector to carry out certain maintenance work or repair work once the sale is completed constitute “post-purchase” recommendations that do not require any further inspection before the purchase. Therefore, in principle, such post-purchase work recommendations cannot be considered recommendations that should lead buyers to consult an expert before the sale in order to inspect further.

In principle, such recommendations cannot be used as evidence of the defect’s apparent nature, in the absence of the inspector’s recommendations to investigate further or have an expert further analyze the situation before the sale due to the signs of a possible defect.

Therefore, it is important to distinguish between a recommendation to consult a specialist to determine the cause of a potential problem and generic statements or simple usage advice from a pre-purchase inspector, as discussed in a previous publication.

Simple recommendations to carry out maintenance or minor repair work after the sale do not constitute grounds for the buyer to investigate further or have an expert further analyze the situation before the sale, unless it is explicitly recommended that he do so.