THE HOLE TRUT

摘要

There is an unintended hole in the act of parliament that is supposed to protect house purchasers from defects. Come back with me umpteen years when Mrs Bingham and I bought our first house. The rule then, and for centuries before, was caveat emptor - Latin for: Let the buyer beware. We had no comeback from the seller for defects (an express defects clause being absent), even if the seller was the builder. Eventually there was a fuss about that old law. So in 1972 parliament invented for you and me - and Mrs Bingham - the Defective Premises Act. The very first paragraph puts a duty on anyone taking on work for, or in connection with, the provision of a dwelling, including conversion or enlargement, to see that it is done in a "workmanlike and professional manner" so that the dwelling is fit for habitation when completed. Watch out for the hole not only in the roof or basement, but in the words too.