New house - faults found

gill10ross

I have just moved into the house I just bought. I have since not been able to get the central heating to work, and have also found that the fridge sold with the house operates at a minimum of 10C and therefore is not food safe. I have spoken to my lawyers about this and their answer was that these issues should have been brought up prior to exchange of contract and that I have no case. I am told that my survey should have shown any faults and I should have questioned it. My survey had no faults on it. Surely I should be buying the house with these things in full working order as was described.

Is it really true that I just have to live with this?

Please help

Sphynx

Unless this is a new build I don't think there is much come back for faulty appliances or central heating etc. The survey tends to concentrate on the structure of the house and the electric wiring. Major issues. I think ultimately you will struggle to do anything about this other than replace your boiler and fridge and lesson learned.

tux900

I agree with Sphynx - buyer beware on those items, and the surveyor would not test them (he might comment that the heating was on when visiting).

I would disagree however that you necessarilly need a new boiler - it could be something far more trivial than that! (Even, dare I say, user error!)

Was it indeed a new build? If so, you should be able to get it sorted. If it is not new, does the Property Information Form state that the central heating was working? Of course, it could feasibly break on the day you move in but the chances of that are slim.

What boiler is it? (Make/model ideally)

Mathew

Fire_Fox

What level of survey did you have completed? Did the report not suggest you get the heating and electrics tested separately?

delmar39

Did you check whether or not the heating had recently been serviced? The HIP (unless it was after the new gov sacked them off) should have highlighted this - seller would have had to note this down. That was one of the good things about the HIP if buyers indeed read them and followed them through.

bitsandpieces

I would be amazed if you can get anything back for the fridge (the sellers may not even have known it was broken, as many people use unsafe fridges due to never checking the temperature). In terms of the heating, the vendor is expected to supply things in the condition they were in at exchange (so you're unlikely to have a comeback against them). What type of survey did you have and did the surveyor not recommend you get the boiler checked?

First thing I'd try is digging up a manual for the boiler (a paper copy in the property, or online) so you can make sure you're turning it on correctly. Perhaps if you post the model here, someone can help.

gill10ross

Thanks for the help guys.

It is a back boiler, model 'Glow-worm Majorca 246 N'.

I put the offer of the house in December and the heating was definitely working then. My survey was completed quite soon after. However, the completion didn't happen until recently due to problems up the chain so things may have changed in that time.

I have never used a back boiler before so any help or tips would be appreciated. It does seem to have an easy electronic setting system though, and I have turned the thermostat to the highest setting to try to get it to work.

bitsandpieces

Probably stating the obvious, but have you made sure that the heating is turned on (mine has been off for ages, because of the heat - so changing the thermostat would do nothing).

What type of survey did you have? Valuation or homebuyer's or full structural?

tux900

Ah... the fact that it's a back boiler answers the question regarding whether it's a new build or not - most certainly the latter!

That boiler is old - very old - it could well be coming up to its 30th birthday. That's not to say it shouldn't work, but equally it shouldn't provoke any surprise if it doesn't.

I'm not familiar with that particular model, and indeed the problem could equally lie with any external controls. Is the pilot light lit? If you don't know, or more particularly don't know how to find out, then I would recommend getting a heating engineer in.

In addition to diagnosing the problem he will also be able to show you how to operate it. If it is indeed broken he may also be able to offer his opinion as to when/how it broke. You would be well advised to get it serviced anyway.

I think it unlikely you would have any redress against the buyer, or certainly not one that would be worth persuing. The fridge would definitely be out -if it cools down to 10c then it could have feasibly been sold in good faith as whilst it's little use for keeping perishables it is close enough to not necessarilly be obvious that it wasn't operating within spec (indeed they may only have used to chill the beers!). In either case you certainly have no redress against the surveyor - both are non-tested items.

As others have mentioned it is buyer beware, but don't be too disheartened - you would have been on borrowed time with the boiler anyway given its age/design. Furthermore, look on the bright side - that boiler is about as inefficient as they get hence would be eligible for the Boiler Scrappage Scheme thus a decent discount on a replacement (it can still be pricey, but you'd be getting a relative bargain). Note that you'd likely more than just the boiler replaced (e.g. the fire front and potentially other aspects of the CH/DHW system).

Mathew