Incorrect HIP/EPC - discovered after moving in

johnson293

If the house is rendered, it could have already been insulated externally.

timmyt

jamestap wrote: »

Hi All,

I purchased and moved into a new property a couple of months ago - everything pretty much fine and I'm enjoying living in the new place.

One issue has arisen though. The EPC in the HIP states that the property has walls of the type "Cavity wall, as built, no insulation (assumed)" and then goes on to recommend that I have Cavity Wall insulation installed as it would save me ~£106 a year and increase the efficiency of my house, obviously being good for the environment and making it more attractive when I sell it on in the future.

Anyway, I've had a company round to give me a quote for cavity wall insulation and apparently my walls are solid brick with no cavity. Obviously this means I can't have them insulated, save any money on my bills, be kinder to the environment or make my house more efficient and therefore more attractive to future purchasers.

I took the 'assumed' bit from the HIP to mean the insulation status was assumed, not the type of wall.

Do I have any claim against either the seller or the HIP provider?

Thanks,

James

the HIP will have been done by someone cheap no doubt.

anyway, what 'loss' have you actually suffered? by the sound of it, none, so that is your answer. why would you throw legal fees away chasing something that is likely to pay out nil, or next to nothing.

enjoy your home

Wickedkitten

jamestap wrote: »

The cost of cavity wall insulation is only £99 as my energy supplier do a subsidized deal. I only had a basic valuation done as the house is in immaculate condition so didn't have a survey to read!

Thanks,

James

So what you are saying is that you bought a house that was built 75 years ago and didn't have a proper survey done because it was decorated nicely?

Oh dear, I wonder what other horrors could be lurking.

RabbitMad

Wickedkitten wrote: »

So what you are saying is that you bought a house that was built 75 years ago and didn't have a proper survey done because it was decorated nicely?

Oh dear, I wonder what other horrors could be lurking.

Good point - I wondered if any one would pick that up.

Still polyfiller is a wonderful thing.

ILW

Any extra heating costs could be dwarfed by the cost of having to replace cavity ties in the future.

Hermann

Reading the OPs post it seems clear that the method of construction was clearly stated as "assumed". There is therefore little to complain about with regard to the EPC.

The surveyor however should have accurately established the construction method. The OP should check what the surveyor said and follow up on that if its incorrect.

silvercar

jamestap wrote: »

Hi ,

Two losses I can think of:

1) Annual cost of heating the property which will be greater because I can't insulate it

2) The fact I've paid for something that I haven't got. I thought I'd paid for a house with cavity walls whereas I've bought a house with solid walls which, I believe, are generally considered inferior

I'm not necessarily interested in pursuing a claim because of the costs involved and the risk of failure, but I am interested in people's opinions from a technical perspective.

It's annoying that as a buyer/seller you have to pay for numerous surveys/searches if - as it appears may be the case here - they aren't worth the paper they're written on!

Thanks,

James

1) you can insulate it, it just costs more. You will then have a higher insulation than cavity wall insulated.

2) I agree, but quantifying the difference in value between an indentical house one with cavity walls and one with solids ones will be v. difficult. Solid walls are generally found on older properties, which can fetch a premium due to period features, more land etc

Evee2000

Hermann wrote: »

Reading the OPs post it seems clear that the method of construction was clearly stated as "assumed". There is therefore little to complain about with regard to the EPC.

The surveyor however should have accurately established the construction method. The OP should check what the surveyor said and follow up on that if its incorrect.

Its is the insulation that is assumed (due to building regs at the time the property was built) not the build type! The assessor should really have been able to identify the construction type from brick bond or wall depth measurement.

I would not be happy if this was wrong. I would not be happy if I had TRVs/room stat and the report said I had none and I would not be happy if I had solid stone walls and the report said unfilled cavity.

Please get in touch with the energy assessor (the details are on the EPC) and query it. If you get no joy from the assessor, escalate it to their accredition body (I have done this on many occassions - and I am a HIP provider and assessor myself).

smithdown

Sorry, I can see this thread is a bit old, but I have the exact same problem as the OP and would like some advice.

I had a homebuyer's survey on my 1930s semi when I bought it in July. The survey clearly states the walls are of cavity construction, and recommends getting cavity wall insulation. The brickwork is exposed externally so the surveyor would have been able to see the pattern.

With the recent cold snap I had a guy recommended by the EnergySavingsTrust round to see about cavity wall insulation, and he instantly said "but you don't have cavity walls!", which shocked me. He showed me how you can tell (bricks end on, not just sideways) and yep, solid walls.

So now I'm wandering if I have a claim against the surveyor. I see responses on here from people saying "what financial loss have you incurred?", and I would think there are several ways I lost money:
1. Additional heating costs - I've read that insulated cavity walls prevent half your heat loss compared to solid walls, and since you lose 25%of your heat through your walls, that's about 23% of your total heating bills
2. Insulating costs - It costs £95 to insulate cavity walls, whereas it costs about £8-9000 to insulate solid walls internally, and £10-15000 to do it externally. That is quite a difference.
3. Loss of value - As energy costs increase (which they clearly are and shall continue to do so) a house's energy efficiency will become increasingly important to potential buyers. This house has cold walls which leech heat.

So - do I have a claim? I would love some advice because I feel strongly that I would have reconsidered purchasing if I'd known the house was solid wall construction, or at least negotiated a price drop.

Homersimpson

I think that as the original post related to the EPC and as the statement for cavity walls included the word assumed I think the OP was on dicey ground.

If your survey says cavity walls and the surveyor visited the property then he wants sacking as its the most basic thing to tell on a house when its not rendered (As yours doesn't appear to be from what you have said). I would definatly write to the surveyor and raise this point although I doubt they would be able to do much about it i.e. they won't pay for you to have internal or external insulation applied but you might get the surveyors fee refunded.