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Nick We have consulted an advocat and he advises that as this is our 2nd home we have no legal rights to compensation for not having use of our apartmrnt, he told my husdand that as we know we have a problem we should not travel to France until this is resolved and we must continue to pay our service charges etc. We at at our wits end. pate

In July 2006 we bought a small apartment in Nice . This apartment was part of a 1st floor renovation project carried out in an older building. One year on our dreams have turned into a nightmare. We can no longer stay in the apartment (from September 2007) as the shower is completely blocked and sewage is coming up through both the shower and the toilet and the stench is horrendous. An insurance expert has found that the builder is liable but he does not agree and the developer is now taking a case against the builder through the French courts. Meanwhile we are liable for service charges and are unable to use our apartment, it is a total health hazard. We have had to cancel numerous flights from the UK but still need to check our apartment so on our last 2 visits (October and February) we have had the added expense of staying in a hotel. To make matters worse after consulting a French lawyer we are told that we cannot claim any form of compensation as this is a second home, legally we must pay our service charges and he informs us that the action could take up to 2 years to resolve. I have just read the legal opinion advising that the seller must ensure that there are no defects (hidden or otherwise) when a property is sold otherwise the sale may be declared void. We are told that the plumbing has been put in totally wrong. This was an initial complaint we had on the snagging list and has always been a problem but became much worse from July 2007. Surely the developer had a duty to ensure that the plumbing was installed correctly? Do we have absolutely no legal rights where this is concerned?