Undersökningsplikten. Säljarens, köparens och mäklarens roll vid köp av fast egendom

Sammanfattning: A property transaction is for most people an important deal, and the impact can therefore also be great, both for buyers and sellers. One of the issues of a purchase is the division of responsibilities for errors between the buyer and the seller, and there are many court cases over the years where the buyer's duty to investigate the purchase of property is tried in Swedish courts. According to the Swedish property act 4 § 19 the liability for defects lies largely on the buyer. Even though the legislators speaks of an obligation for the buyer to investigate the property he is in the process of buying, there is no explicit law of the intent that the purchaser would be required to conduct an investigation. There is not a statutory obligation for the buyer to examine the property, but instead it is a way to delegate the responsibilities between the buyer and the seller. A buyer can not invoke an error that should have been noticed if he explored the property in sufficient detail after having considered all other matters before the purchase. He cannot claim that the property has any errors if it is appropriate for the age of the property, the condition and the circumstances, moreover, should have been able to realize the possibilities that the property would possess these negative characteristics. It appears from practice that the buyer's duty is normally relatively far-reaching. All available spaces should be carefully examined. It has been shown that people often set very high standards for a buyer so that he shall have fulfilled his duty to investigate. Even if you say that there should simply be a "normal versed and experienced buyers" and what he will be able to discover and understand. The seller's responsibility is his duty to inform of possible errors is more controversial in Swedish law and there is no clear legal provision stating that that is the case. After studying both the doctrine and practice, the legal situation is somewhat unclear in terms of a general duty of disclosure to the purchaser. Since the vast majority of property transactions in Sweden today is mediated through a real estate agent, it is also interesting to look at the responsibility and the role the real estate agent has in the process.