indemnity insurance re:boiler instalation

calicocat

Hi,

Still in the middle of buying a house and it has now come about that the seller doesn't have a boiler installation certificate (which obviously means some mate/boyfriend put it in).

My solicitor has asked for 'indemnity insurance' due to this and I don't really understand what this is or if this is a problem. We have the last boiler/heating etc test from last December which was fine and done by a proper company it seems.

Do I need to worry if it's been tested since and seems fine?, but main query is what this insurance means exactly for me. Would appreciate advice, thanks.

gazter

as a seller who has no boiler installation certificate... It doesnt necessarily mean the above. Ours was installed by a gas safe registered engineer but didnt register it. Thus no certificate. The indemnity is purely to cover you if building control come round and arent happy, and ask you to put it right. That cost would be covered.

If it has been tested and it works, that's the end of the matter. The presence or otherwise of an installation certificate wont help you if it breaks down in five months time.

G_M

indemnity is a wasteof money as Building Control will notenforceanything after a year has passed. So is the boiler a year+ old?

As forit's safety/reliability, an inspection or maintenance report by a GasSafe engineerwill tell youmore than a 2, 5, whatever-year-old installation report!

whalster

If a certificate on a boiler is a deal breaker on a house then they should be thinking if the house is for them ! maybe they should also be testing layers of paint in the purple painted third bedroom for any lead ,may have implications you know

gazter

whalster wrote: »

If a certificate on a boiler is a deal breaker on a house then they should be thinking if the house is for them ! maybe they should also be testing layers of paint in the purple painted third bedroom for any lead ,may have implications you know

You might be a little bit hard there. People (I didnt/dont) know about these things until they encounter them. It sounds very serious, when the solicitor says they dont have the necessary form from the council....

calicocat

gazter wrote: »

You might be a little bit hard there. People (I didnt/dont) know about these things until they encounter them. It sounds very serious, when the solicitor says they dont have the necessary form from the council....

My solicitor is saying people would most certainly buy a house with this problem but understands my concern, but is also saying obviously we can't turn back time. I think I am right in that it is basically illegal although it is all certified since and working, but guessing I need to make sure i'm covered until I get the boiler removed/changed in the future?

Whalster.....it isn't a deal breaker, but I do want to be safe, how do I know the yearly checks are really done?

I am asking these questions as new to doing this by myself, and am admittedly freaking now at every step as 'this isn't available' etc.

My solicitor seems very thorough as has survey guy, I just though I would post here to get general info from either side. I"m assumimg i'd be pretty stupid not to ask questions.

G_M

calicocat wrote: »

.....it isn't a deal breaker, but I do want to be safe, how do I know the yearly checks are really done?

I.

Either ask the vendor to pass you copiesof the annual maintenance/service reports, or spend £60 or so and send in a GasSafe engineer to do an inspection for you.

AlexMac

It's not 'illegal'. You only need annual checks and certificates if you're renting the property out. A new boiler will cost you £2k at worst. Modern boilers are only designed to last 7-10 years anyway, and every house I bought in the last 20 years had a dodgy boiler, except the one that was 30+ years old. So, if you love it, just buy the house (whether or not you chisel a few quid off the price because of this and the other ten faults you'll inevitably find if you look hard enough), fit a ten quid CO2 detector (as well as a smoke alarm) to make sure no-one dies...

And ten years down the line I bet its still working

calicocat

Thanks for replies guys, gas etc ok. Pretty much got answer in post 2 straight off the belt about what the ins is for I think.


Cheers again for replies.

calicocat

AlexMac wrote: »

It's not 'illegal'. You only need annual checks and certificates if you're renting the property out. A new boiler will cost you £2k at worst. Modern boilers are only designed to last 7-10 years anyway, and every house I bought in the last 20 years had a dodgy boiler, except the one that was 30+ years old. So, if you love it, just buy the house (whether or not you chisel a few quid off the price because of this and the other ten faults you'll inevitably find if you look hard enough), fit a ten quid CO2 detector (as well as a smoke alarm) to make sure no-one dies...

And ten years down the line I bet its still working

No-one will die hopefully. !! I guess I will put batteries in the thing. Hope you are right and is still going strong.

Richard_Webster

More important to make sure it has been checked recently by a competent gas engineer than to get an indemnity policy which will only pay out the very unlikely event of enforcement action by the Council.

Policies do not provide compensation if there is damage caused to the house or to you that can be traced to a failure to comply with the regulations.