Buyer enquiries

wannamakeamil

We have had a number of enquiries regarding the purchase of our property. What is the situation regarding having corgi certification with appliances such as gas fires. It has only become a recent requirement to have your appliances tested. The buyer is asking for certificates. We have never had this done so how do we reply to the purchasers. I was under the impression that after June it will become a legal requirement to provide this information as part of the sellers information packs. Any help on this would be appreciated

Doozergirl

You only need test certificates for rental properties right now. My answer would be "n/a"

I get asked for guarantees on kitchen units and all sorts!

david29dpo

depends on the solicitor. some ask the most silly questions which are irrelevant. doozer is right about the gas. as far as a know so far, this sellers pack will have to have an energy efficiency listing. this MAY include what you mentioned.

courtjester

You don't need to get the gas fires certificated - if the buyer wants them checked, that is at the buyer's expense the same as having a property survey done, it's not your responsibility.

Only if the gas fire has been fitted recently would it be reasonable to expect some kind of guarantee /certificate as provided by the installer, or if you have previously rented out the property where regular inspections are required.

The buyer can ask for any paperwork they like - if you don't have it, your answer is "we don't have certificates".

****

The forthcoming HIP energy certificate will *not* include any CORGI certification - appliances will not be checked as that is something only a qualified engineer can do - energy reports will be prepared by "Home Inspectors" and are a calculation of the home's energy efficiency relating essentially to the construction and insulation of the property.

Example of an Energy Certificate which will be included in the Home Information pack requirements from June 07 can be seen here:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/pub/761/EnergyPerformanceCertificateSample_id1500761.pdf

Richard_Webster

It is exceedingly tedious, but as a conveyancing solicitor I have to ask about whether any work has been carried out to gas appliances since 1st April 2002, because since then a certificate has to be supplied for such work by a CORGI registered engineer. If not, there is a breach of the building regulations and we are supposed to check this to keep lenders happy.

If the seller says that his central heating system was installed in November 2001 and he has lost the relevant papers, we can only assume that this is right. If it isn't right then it might not comply with latest regs but then an appliance fitted years earlier might not comply with the latest regs either and that wouldn't need to meet any standards. You need to be safe (and have advice maybe from a friendly local CORGI engineer about that aspect) but you also need to be sensible!

Please apply your critical faculties when reading the next paragraph!

Of course, if the work was done by a friend more recently but the seller has covered this up and said it was pre April 2002 then the whole weight of the local authority's building control department will descend on the unfortunate house owner. They have unlimited resources and can afford to spend the time speculatively visiting every house in their area checking to see if any gas installations have been made and then gathering evidence of when they were installed in case the required certification does not exist. The lists of the local County Court are full of cases brought by the local authority seeking the mandatory injunctions for the removal of unauthorised works and appliances etc. You believe me don't you?

As a conveyancing solicitor I believe the information given in the post to be useful but I accept no liability except to fee-paying clients.