Who is Liable For Faulty Roof Repairs?

Question:  We owned our home in Queen Creek for eight years. A year ago, we had a significant roof leak. We got three estimates for roof repairs, and we paid a roofing contractor almost $5,000 to make the roof repairs. Almost six months ago, we sold our home. After the recent monsoon, we received an e-mail from the buyer saying that the roof repairs that we had made were bad, and that the roof now needs to be repaired properly for $8,000 to $10,000. The buyer wants the name of the roofing contractor that made the repairs. Do we have any liability if roof repairs are now necessary? Does the buyer have a claim against our roofing contractor if the roof repairs were not properly done?

Answer:  If you did not know of the defective roof repairs, your only obligation was to disclose to the buyer in the Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement that roof repairs had been made. Although your roofing contractor did not have any contractual relationship with the buyer, under Arizona law the roofing contractor warranted the roof repairs for up to eight years to both you and subsequent buyers of your home. Therefore, your roofing contractor should be liable to the buyer for any defective roof repairs.