At an inspection appointment, owners or the real estate agents they have commissioned are obligated to disclose notable defects in the property to prospective buyers, provided these are not obvious. If, on the other hand, the defects are clearly visible, the situation is different.
In the case at hand, the plaintiffs purchased a condominium in the basement, consisting of a guest room and a living room. When they later wanted to apply for a loan for refurbishment measures, they had noticed that this was not a living area - as described in the exposé - but that the rooms were described as a hobby room and basement anteroom in the certificate of seclusion they had requested. The plaintiffs felt that they had been misled or not properly informed and filed a lawsuit against the real estate agent - also because of other defects.
However, the Federal Court of Justice ruled in favor of the real estate agent and thus followed the Regional Court in its judgment, which dismissed the claim. The reason for this is also that the real estate agent should have recognized that the rooms were not living space, but she had a conversation with the plaintiffs about the difficult lighting conditions. From this, the plaintiffs could have deduced that the rooms designated as living space could not have been living space in the sense of public law.
Sources: Federal Court of Justice, Case No. I ZR 194/19; LBS
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