Glossary

Latent defect

A latent defect is a defect that could not have been discovered by a reasonable inspection at completion, usually because it is hidden inside the work. Its opposite is a patent defect, one a reasonable inspection would find.

CONSTRUCTION DEFECT GLOSSARY·UPDATED OCTOBER 2026
Where the word is used

Used the same way in Australia, the UK, Ireland and North America, in contracts, insurance policies and limitation law. Patent is the less common word for the opposite; most people just say a visible defect.

On site

A latent defect shows up after everyone has left: a stain on a ceiling in month nineteen, a fire collar found missing when a riser is opened years on. The claim is argued from when it was, or could have been, discovered, and it is won or lost on what was recorded when the hidden work was still visible.

On the record

How IssuesId holds it

IssuesId keeps the record a latent-defect claim asks for. Inspections run during the build are answered with a name, a time and a photo, so the membrane before tiling is on file. After completion the same register takes the new item as a Warranty record against the room, next to everything that room has had since the frame inspection.

Asked alongside

Two questions people ask

What is a latent defect?
A defect that a reasonable inspection at completion could not have found, usually because it is hidden inside the work: a membrane under tiles, a missing fire collar above a ceiling. Its opposite is a patent defect, like a chipped tile, which a reasonable inspection would find.
What is the difference between a latent and a patent defect?
Whether a reasonable inspection would have found it. A patent defect is visible on the walk and belongs on the pre-completion list; a latent defect is hidden until it shows itself, often after the defects liability period, so the time to claim is usually argued from discovery rather than from completion.
Related terms
Major defect →Defects liability period (DLP) →Defect →Hold point →

Definitions describe common usage and the usual shape of standard-form contracts. Your contract and your jurisdiction’s building law set the terms that apply to your job. The whole list is at the glossary.

IssuesId