Latent defects to a property are those defects that cannot be seen with the naked eye or ascertained by conducting a reasonable inspection of the property. Examples of latent defects can include faulty pool pumps and geysers, rusted internal pipes, leaking roofs (except where strain marks make the leak obvious) and defects that have been concealed such as dampness behind a cabinet.
Latent defects are defects which only an expert could discover or defects which cannot be discovered by an ordinary person during a reasonably thorough inspection, for example, rising damp in a house. It comes down to defects that are not immediately obvious and which are hidden from view. The test is what could not normally be seen on inspection