water damage to flat after completion

liquidity_2

I'm selling a flat to the tenant who currently lives in it. Contracts have been exchanged. Completion date is 1 week away. Some days ago (after exchange) the tenant notified me of a water leak in the bathroom. I went and repaired the leak (the cistern had a slow leak) and discovered considerable water staining to the bath panels and the skirting board - strong but not conclusive evidence that the leak had been going on for some time but the tenant only notified me before he went off on holiday. There's even some mould growth - that doesn't happen overnight!

I have no issue taking ownership of repairing the leak.

But who is accountable for the replacement of the warped and split bath panel and skirting board? If the sale was not under way we would get into a debate about whether or not the tenant gave timely notification (as required by the tenancy agreement) of the leak in order to minimise consequential damages. I strongly believe he did nothing until it was finally convenient for him to do so but even with the mould growth as evidence I doubt I would ever win that argument completely.

I've read conflicting opinions about where the liability lies after contracts have been exchanged. The Citizen's Advice Bureau states quite clearly that it's the buyer's responsibility (see http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/your_family/housing/problems_with_buying_and_selling_a_home.htm#Problemswiththeproperty ) But other sites suggest it's the seller's responsibility until completion.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Please note: if the buyer had been a model tenant I might feel quite differently but for reasons too numerous to mention here he hasn't been so I'm extremely disinclined to give him 1p more than he legally deserves.

mynameisdave

I'd say it is the buyer. They are supposed to have insurance on the properrty once they have exchanged contract. They have legally committted to buy it after all. And its not as if you have hidden the problems from them - they are in the flat already!

liquidity_2

Having spoken to my solicitor and having carefully read the Standard Conditions of Sale it is the seller's responsibility to ensure the property is in the same condition (fair wear and tear excepted) at the time of completion as it was at the time of exchange. No idea where that above web link gets its point of view.

Chris55_2

This once happened to me in a more extreme form. Between exchange and completion the vendor managed to set fire to the kitchen, completely gutting it. One day I'll post some photos, the melted extractor fan was almost art. We were actually visiting a friends just down the street on the Sunday when this all happened. When we turned up one of the firemen said "Is this your house", "No", we said, "but it will be on Wednesday!".

Anyway - I concur with your advice liquidity that the legal responsibility is with the vendor to ensure that the property is in the same state as when the exchange of contracts occurred. In our case the vendor's insurance had a specific clause covering the eventuality of a problem between exchange and completion - this was not over responsibility (they paid) but allowing the work to be done to our (the buyers) requirements. So their insurance company paid, but we were the clients for the restoration work. It was bad for 6 weeks, but, in the longer term we 'd hated the old kitchen and had a brand new one.

In your particular case the state on exchange was probably already water damaged as you say; but the whole thing is complicated by your previous responsibility as a landlord. Are we talking more than about £50 here though?

liquidity_2

And I've just realised the title of the thread is incorrect - it should be "Water Damage to flat after exchange"!

liquidity_2

Chris55 wrote: »

In your particular case the state on exchange was probably already water damaged as you say; but the whole thing is complicated by your previous responsibility as a landlord. Are we talking more than about £50 here though?

Exchange was back in June (!!) so I'm reasonably certain that even this slob of a tenant didn't leave it leaking for 2 months. Repair cost is estimated at £250.

Chris55_2

Hmmm.... that's the reason why you'd normally want to keep the time between exchange and completion down to a minimum, it gives less time for !!!!!! to happen! Anyway, there's no point in telling you that. Clearly you want this over and done with, any chance of finding someone who could just "bodge" this for a bit less? It only needs to look good enough to get this over the line.

liquidity_2

The tenant/buyer asked for the lengthy period between exchange and completion so that he could raise the necessary cash.

I'm looking into less expensive alternatives but he's likely to dig his heels in and demand an equivalent - I'll probably have to bite the bullet.