Broken - New build

NinjaD

Hi all,

I'm new to this site, but was hoping for some advice as to where I stand. I have recently climbed onto the property ladder via the shared ownership scheme. I own 40% of the property & the remaining 60% is owned by a housing association which I will pay rent to. I've been saving & waiting for the past 18 months to be able to get my own place instead of sharing with others. Finally the day came last week where I took hold of my shiny new keys, the sales guy took the meter readings and then left. I managed to switch the water supply on and found out that the toilet was broken, also the brand new fridge freezer is still warm, it's been set on the maximum setting the for the past four days. I've read the user manual cover to cover a few times, so it's definitely not working. I called the organisation I bought the flat from and they say it's no longer their responsibility but they will see what they can do. I called them a few times and was basically left without a toilet or fridge freezer over the weekend. I managed with a friend to repair the toilet. But I wont be able to repair the the fridge-freezer without paying for an expert or replacing it.

Anyway, my question is where do I stand legally? Apparently all the white goods in the flat were installed over a year ago and the 1 year manufacture guarantee is no longer valid. Would it have been my responsibility to have asked them to switch on the water supply & fridge freezer etc to make sure everything was working when I looked at the flat? Surely this is not practical as it was a new build. Or is the responsibility with them as they sold me a flat where lots of bits are broken. (a few smaller things. e.g. the heater in the heating cupboard doesn't work. The twisty plug in the sink in the bathroom doesn't close).

Thanks for any advice.

Fire_Fox

Welcome! With new builds many appliance manufacturers will allow you to register your appliances online for the warranty starting on day of completion - you use the documents of sale as your 'proof of purchase'. With new builds it's many people pay a professional to do 'snagging' (run an advanced search) but you might contact your conveyancer for advice and/ or write a letter of complaint to the organisation you purchased the flat from.

Lastly given it is shared ownership check your contracts to see who is liable for repairs and maintenance because often these are organised by the landlord and you pay a service charge. If so another port of call is Environmental Health at the local council for any issues related to heating, hot water, toilets and such basic services. However before speaking to EH you should have made reasonable efforts to resolve the issues with your landlord.