Fra 1. januar 2022 er avhendingsloven endret til fordel for kjøperen. Boliger kan  ikke lenger selges “som den er”. Det er også innført ny forskrift til loven for at det blir laget tilstandsrapport i forbindelse med salget.

Forbehold “som den er”

Fram til 1. januar 2022 har det vært vanlig å selge en bolig “som den er”. Det har ført til at skjulte feil og mangler som utgangspunkt har vært et problem for kjøperen, og ikke for selgeren. Der boligen har vært i “vesentlig” dårligere stand enn kjøperen hadde grunn til å regne med ut fra blant annet kjøpesummens størrelse, har kjøperen likevel kunnet rette et krav mot selgeren. Dette har nok bidratt til mange tvister, og er også noe av bakgrunnen for de foreslåtte endringene.

Lovendringen innebærer at selgeren i forbrukerkjøp ikke lenger kan ta forbeholdet om at boligen selges “som den er”. En del av risikoen for skjulte feil og mangler blir flyttet fra kjøperen til selgeren. Endringen betyr også at selgeren får et større insentiv enn tidligere til å opplyse om eiendommens tilstand.

Stricter requirements for the content of condition reports

At the same time, new regulations are being introduced requiring condition reports in connection with the sale. The buyer of a home always has a duty to investigate and cannot make a claim against the seller for defects if the buyer knew or should have known about the circumstances that led to, for example, the defect in the home. The Sale of Goods Act will now clearly state that the buyer is considered to be aware of the conditions that are revealed in the condition report.

When there are strict requirements for an approved condition report, this means that more hidden faults and defects are discovered before the buyer submits a binding offer on the property.

Lovendringen om forbud mot “som det er”-forbehold sammenholdt med de nye forskriftskravene, gir dermed selger en klar oppfordring om å innhente en tilstandsrapport før salget.

The building expert is also obliged to describe obvious legal deficiencies. These may include illegal changes of use, such as the lack of an application for a change of use from a laundry room to a room, or the lack of a legally required escape route.

The regulations also require, among other things, that the building expert inspect rooms and parts of the home that are susceptible to moisture. These may include the foundation, crawl space, wet rooms, etc. The building expert is also required to visually inspect the electrical system if it has been more than five years since an electrical inspection was carried out in the home.

Area deviation indoors

Previously, a discrepancy in area was considered a defect if the area was significantly smaller than what the seller had stated. This has also contributed to a number of disputes in the courts.

The new provision states that the area deviation must now exceed 2% and be at least one square meter. However, it will not be considered a defect if the buyer did not attach importance to this information.

The buyer must cover any defects costing less than NOK 10,000.

The amendments to the law also stipulate that the value of the seller's liability must exceed NOK 10,000. If the value does not exceed NOK 10,000, the buyer must cover this themselves.

Langseth Advokatfirma DA has experience in drafting purchase agreements, assessing claims for defects, complaints, and litigation before the courts.