What to do if a purchaser finds that the purchased house is affected by latent defects?

The Civil Code of Quebec requires that the purchaser who finds the existence of a latent defect denounces this defect to his seller within a reasonable time limit following the discovery of the defect.

In practice, the purchaser has an interest to act quickly because the defect can aggravate and result in the degradation of the building. The purchaser must know that he will have to assume the costs of the damage which could occur because he neglected to inform the seller in due time about the existence of the latent defect.

The purpose of this notice is to allow the seller to make or have made the necessary repairs. The seller could also offer to the purchaser a reasonable compensation. If the seller neglects to make or have made the necessary repairs or to compensate the purchaser, the purchaser could institute a legal action against the seller.