A patent defect :
Is a defect that is clearly visible to the naked eye, for example, cracked gutters and tiles or dripping taps. If a purchaser buys a house and afterwards notices that there are certain obvious defects, which would have been revealed by a reasonably careful inspection of the property by the purchaser, then the purchaser has no claim against the seller in respect of these defects.
Latent defects:
On the other hand, are defects that are not clearly visibly to the ordinary person - even if it would be apparent to an expert. These defects may be covered up or concealed. Very often they only become evident sometime after the date of sale or transfer, for example, a leaking pool or a leaking roof after heavy rain.In terms of our law, there is an implied term in a contract of sale (in other words, this position prevails even where the agreement is silent about the topic) that the seller warrants to the purchaser that there are no latent defects in the property. As a result, if it appears after the conclusion of the agreement that a latent defect in a house exists, the seller is liable for those defects whether he or she knew about it or not.Because this implied term (known as the seller’s warranty against latent defects) places such a heavy burden on a seller, most sellers include a clause in the contract to counter this common law provision. This clause typically states that the seller shall NOT be liable for latent defects in the property, and that the purchaser buys the property as is. This clause is commonly known as the voetstoots clause. Voetstoots means, roughly translated, ‘pushed with the foot’. It is almost as if the seller put the thing to be sold on the floor and pushed it with his toes in the direction of the purchaser, saying: “there it is, but remember, you buy it warts and all, whether you can see the warts at first glance or not.”
So, if an agreement contains a voetstoots clause, and if the seller did not know about latent defects in the property, and if latent defects manifested themselves after the sale, the seller will rightfully be able to say to the purchaser: sorry, this is your problem, fix it at your cost; I am protected by the voetstoots clause.