We thought we’d bought the perfect family home to raise our young child. But the house’s old owner was hiding a grim secret…

The seller of a water-damaged home has been ordered to pay nearly $1 million to the young couple he defrauded.

Davinder Singh Rahal and his company First Trust Ltd were this week found liable by the High Court for damages and repairs after the property was sold to Ameet Bhargav and his wife Renu in March 2020.

Judge Anne Hinton said Rahal, a Recipient of the Queen’s Service Medal New Zealand authorized cosmetic repairs to cover up the significant water damage and deliberately did not disclose the defect during the sale.

Rahal could now face the revocation of the medal awarded for his services to the Indian community – and could also lose his warrant as a justice of the peace, reports the New Zealand herald.

The case had already been to court once in 2022, where a similar ruling was made, but returned to court after Rahal disputed the amount of compensation and he was aware of the water damage.

A court found that Rahal ordered cosmetic repairs to ‘cover up’ the mold and wood rot

An estate agent who sold the property to Rahal in 2019 told the court he clearly told potential buyers there were “weatherproofing issues” and that there were “obvious signs of leakage and damage” in the house.

The officer said Rahal told him “this wasn’t a problem, he would fix it” and that he had made similar repairs to other homes.

An elderly prospective buyer who viewed the property when it was for sale told the court it was clear ‘it was a leaky house’.

The problems with the properties included rainwater leaking into the structure and causing mold and wood rot.

The young couple who bought the house lived in the moldy property for four years, with a young child, while they fought Rahal in court, racking up about $400,000 in legal fees.

The couple was awarded repair costs of $750,000 plus another $250,000 for damages.

They are concerned that they will not see any money despite the ruling, as Rahal’s bathroom company was recently liquidated with $1.8 million in unpaid debts.

‘We always feel stressed. We are crying every day and we are still not sure whether we will get our money back or not,” Mr. Bhargav said.

He added that Rahal’s behavior was “shameful to the Indian community.”

Ameet Bhargav and his wife Renu bought the house in 2020 and have been fighting Rahal in court ever since

Rahal argued he was never told about the problems, despite the property smelling “damp and moldy.”

“If I ever heard the word ‘leaking,’ I would run from that house… I would never have gotten any further.”

But Judge Hinton said in her ruling that this was ‘implausible’.

“I am confident that Mr. Rahal was well aware of, and even approved of, the ‘cover-up’ work carried out after the purchase,” she wrote.

A real estate agent who worked on the sale and a building inspection company that certified the home as watertight settled claims against them last year for undisclosed amounts.

Rahal made a statement after the court ruling.

“I strongly disagree with the court’s decision as it was never my intention to mislead or defraud anyone,” he said.

“I also disagree with the amount of money awarded to both First Trust Limited and myself personally.

‘First Trust Limited and I therefore both intend to appeal the judgment to the Court of Appeal.’