Blog by Hoogbruin & Company on Presale Misrepresentation and Hidden Defects / Last Updated: September 2026
Closing does not end your right to hold a seller accountable. If a seller knew about a serious problem with the property and hid it or lied about it, you may have a claim for misrepresentation even after the keys have changed hands, and even if you waived your inspection to win the bidding war. Hoogbruin & Company has litigated property disputes across Metro Vancouver since 1987, including collapsed sales, hidden defects, and strata claims, and post-closing discoveries are among the most common calls we take.
Key takeaways
- A buyer in British Columbia can sue a seller after closing where the seller concealed or misrepresented a known material latent defect.
- Caveat emptor, the buyer beware rule, applies in full to patent defects, meaning anything visible or discoverable on a reasonable inspection.
- Waiving a home inspection does not waive a misrepresentation claim. A subject-free offer accepts the risk of discoverable problems, not the risk of being lied to.
- The basic limitation period in BC is two years from the day you discover the problem, so acting early matters.
- A listing agent carries a separate duty to tell buyers about known hidden defects, which means the seller is not always the only party responsible.
If that describes your situation, speak with our property litigation team before you repair anything or sign anything the seller sends you.
What Counts as Misrepresentation by a Seller in BC?
British Columbia real estate runs on the principle of caveat emptor, or buyer beware. Buyers are expected to do their own due diligence, and a seller has no general duty to point out every flaw in the house.
That principle has limits, and this is where misrepresentation claims live. Caveat emptor does not protect a seller who actively conceals a known defect or makes a false statement to get the deal closed. Painting over mould a seller knows is there is not a failure to volunteer information. It is concealment.
BC courts have drawn that line many times. The rule they keep coming back to is that a buyer is responsible for looking the property over properly, and buyer beware applies strictly to anything that a reasonable look would have turned up. The two exceptions are fraud and hidden defects the seller already knew about, and that is where most successful buyer claims live.
The distinction matters because it changes what you have to prove. A seller who simply never mentioned something sits in a different position than a seller who answered “No” on a disclosure form when the truthful answer was “Yes.”
What Are Hidden Defects, and How Are They Different From Visible Ones?
Not every unpleasant discovery counts as a hidden defect in the legal sense. BC law draws a line between problems you could have seen and problems you could not.
| Patent defects | Latent (hidden) defects | |
| What they are | Visible or discoverable on a reasonable inspection | Concealed, and not discoverable even by a competent inspector |
| Examples | Cracked window, peeling paint, visibly aging roof | Mould inside a wall, faulty wiring in the structure, seasonal water infiltration |
| Seller’s duty | None. The buyer is expected to look | Known material defects generally must be disclosed |
| Your position after closing | Usually your own risk | May support a claim, especially where the seller knew |
The operative word on the right-hand column is known. A seller who genuinely had no idea the foundation was failing is in a very different position from one who discovered the problem during a renovation and covered it up before listing. Establishing what the seller knew, and when, is usually the centre of the case.
You can read more about the Latent and Patent Defects here.
Which Hidden Defects Cause the Most Disputes in Metro Vancouver Homes?
Four categories come up repeatedly in this market.
Structural problems. Foundation cracking or settlement staged out of sight behind rugs and furniture. The most expensive discoveries, and they affect your ability to insure or resell.
Mould and water infiltration. In our climate, moisture is constant pressure on older housing stock. A seller motivated to close quickly may treat the symptom rather than the cause, and the evidence of that choice is usually still in the wall cavity.
Title liens and encumbrances. Unpaid contractors, outstanding judgments, and builders liens follow a property from one owner to the next.
Unpermitted work and zoning violations. The basement suite you planned to rent turns out never to have been permitted. You cannot legally rent it, and you may be ordered to bring it to code at your own cost.
Does Waiving an Inspection Cancel a Misrepresentation Claim?
No. Waiving an inspection and waiving your right to honest disclosure are two different things, and sellers sometimes count on buyers confusing them.
Subject-free offers have been close to standard in Metro Vancouver for years. Giving up the inspection means you accepted the risk of problems an inspector would have found. It does not mean you accepted the risk of being lied to. A seller who made a false statement, or who concealed a defect an inspector would never have reached anyway, does not get the benefit of your waiver.
How Long Do You Have to Bring a Misrepresentation Claim in BC?
Two years from the day you discover the problem. Discovery is not simply the day you noticed something wrong. It is the day you knew, or reasonably should have known, that you had suffered a loss, that someone else caused it, who that someone was, and that going to court was a sensible way to deal with it.
That last part is what catches people, because a seller will argue the clock started earlier than you say it did. Where a seller actively hid the problem, the clock can sometimes be pushed back, which is exactly the argument concealment cases turn on.
Two years sounds generous and rarely is. Evidence degrades, contractors move on, and the seller sells again. The sooner you get advice, the more of your position is still intact.
Can Your Agent, Inspector, or Title Insurance Cover Hidden Defects?
The seller is not always the only party at fault, and in some files they are not the one with money to pay a judgment.
Real estate agents have professional duties in BC. A listing agent has to tell buyers about hidden defects the seller is known to be aware of, and an agent whose seller refuses to allow that has to stop acting for them. A buyer’s agent owes you advice about the risks of stripping conditions from an offer. Failures here can support a complaint to the BC Financial Services Authority and, in serious cases, a civil claim.
Home inspectors are licensed professionals. If you paid for an inspection and a competent inspector should have caught the defect, the report itself may be the problem.
Title insurance, which most buyers here purchase through their lawyer or notary at closing, often covers exactly the categories that surface after possession, including undiscovered liens, permit and zoning problems, survey and boundary errors, and fraud in the transaction history. Read your policy and notify the insurer early.
Part of what our lawyers does at the outset is work out which of these routes is actually worth pursuing in your situation, rather than pursuing all of them at once.
Hoogbruin & Company’s Real Estate Litigation Lawyers for Misrepresentation and Hidden Defects in Vancouver
We act for buyers across Metro Vancouver who discover after closing that the property was not what the seller represented it to be. On a post-closing file, that work typically includes:
- Reviewing your contract of purchase and sale and Property Disclosure Statement for actionable misstatements
- Assessing whether the defect is latent or patent, and what the seller can be shown to have known
- Preserving and marshalling evidence before repairs or resale destroy it
- Advancing claims for misrepresentation, breach of contract, and concealment of hidden defects
- Pursuing agents, inspectors, or title insurers where the responsibility extends beyond the seller
- Negotiating settlement, and litigating where settlement is not available on fair terms
The same team handles strata litigation, presale and collapsed sale disputes, and broader property litigation throughout the Lower Mainland, from our office at 1166 Alberni Street in downtown Vancouver.
The seller had professional advice when they drafted that disclosure statement. You should have the same now.
Book your consultation with Hoogbruin & Company or call 604-609-3783.
Misrepresentation and Hidden Defects: Common Questions from BC Buyers
Can I sue the seller after closing in British Columbia?
Yes, in the right circumstances. A completed sale does not extinguish a claim for misrepresentation or for concealment of a known material latent defect. What matters is what the seller knew and what they said.
Does the Property Disclosure Statement form part of my contract?
It often does, depending on how the contract of purchase and sale was drafted. That is one reason a false answer on the disclosure statement can support a claim for breach of contract as well as misrepresentation.
What if the seller says they did not know about the defect?
That is the usual defence, and it is a question of evidence rather than of their word. Renovation permits, contractor invoices, prior insurance claims, and what the neighbours saw can all speak to knowledge.
Do I have a claim if the problem was obvious when I toured the house?
A defect that is visible or discoverable on a reasonable inspection is a patent defect, and the risk of those sits with the buyer under caveat emptor.
What if I bought a presale unit rather than a resale home?
Presale disputes follow a different set of rules, driven by the developer’s disclosure statement and the contract terms rather than a seller’s Property Disclosure Statement. We act on presale disputes as well, and the early advice matters just as much there.
How much does it cost to get an opinion on my situation?
That depends on the complexity of the file. A first consultation is about establishing whether you have a viable claim and what recovering on it would realistically involve.