Home buyers file more claims against sellers, with AI helping to draft them
Real estate experts see a growing number of claims over hidden defects. A claim can reach a property's purchase price; to avoid disputes, all known defects should be listed in the contract.
All years as a table
| Year | Revenue | Profit | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4 112 957 € | 567 345 € | 17 |
| 2024 | 3 129 659 € | 828 851 € | 19 |
| 2023 | 2 928 567 € | 823 309 € | 18 |
| 2022 | 3 492 793 € | 914 673 € | 17 |
| 2021 | 3 889 150 € | 1 330 014 € | 16 |
| 2020 | 2 623 308 € | 1 065 512 € | 13 |
| 2019 | 2 987 280 € | 717 498 € | 13 |
In conversations with ERR, real estate experts say home buyers are filing claims against sellers after the transaction more often than before. There are two reasons: people know their rights better, and drafting a claim no longer requires going straight to a lawyer, because AI can help. Karlis Kolk, a lawyer and board member at the Uus Maa real estate agency, says claims can in some cases even exceed the purchase price.
According to Kolk, typical problems are neighbours' disturbances, such as thin walls and too much noise, and construction faults: subsidence, poor waterproofing and dry rot, common in older wooden houses. Mould is trickier in terms of hidden defects, because it is often impossible to prove when it appeared and whether it existed already at the time of sale.
Marko Sults, head of the Ehituskaitse Büroo, says mould also occurs in new developments, but not always because of the builder. If mould is found at the joints of walls and floors at the end of the typical two-year warranty period, the cause is often use, for example ventilation or underfloor heating switched off to save electricity. According to Sults, that is not the developer's or builder's responsibility.
Sults considers a renovated flat in an unrenovated building the hardest case, because technical solutions may not fit, for example ventilation connected to the wrong shaft. Second most common are buildings renovated in stages over decades without any documentation. The costliest problems involve bathrooms and saunas: a handsome bathroom can hide poor waterproofing or unbalanced heating and ventilation.
Kolk says the seller is liable even for defects they are unaware of, but the sale contract can include a special agreement that the seller is not liable for unknown defects, which buyers do not always accept. To avoid disputes, notaries and the lawyer advise listing every known defect, including a noisy neighbour, relations between apartment association members, or a nearby railway. A pre-purchase survey recording the condition of the building is also possible.
The law sets no cap on the size of a claim. According to Kolk, rot found in a wooden house that means demolishing and rebuilding can lead to a claim reaching or exceeding the purchase price. A court judges the claim on the principle of reasonableness and may reduce it. Malicious hunting for hidden defects to win back part of the price is rare, Kolk and Sults say, because buyers are emotional when choosing a home and technical faults easily go unnoticed. Kolk generally advises against going to court, as it is costly and can take years, and looks for an out-of-court solution where possible.
According to the business register, OÜ Kinnisvarabüroo Uus Maa had revenue of €4.1 million in 2025, a profit of €567,000 and 17 employees.