If a house is sold with a covered terrace and rainwater penetrates through the terrace roof, this constitutes a material defect. This was decided by the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) (AZ: V ZR 43/23). The BGH is of the opinion that this is not just a symptom, but that the leakage of the patio roof itself constitutes the defect.
The seller acts fraudulently if he does not inform the buyer about such water ingress, even if he does not know the exact causes. This means that the agreed exclusion of liability for material defects does not apply if the seller knows about the defects and conceals them.
The ruling clarifies that in such cases of leakage, the seller is liable and the buyer is entitled to compensation.source: AZ: V ZR 43/23/juris.bundesgerichtshof.de
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