We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING: Hello Forumites! In order to help keep the Forum a useful, safe and friendly place for our users, discussions around non-MoneySaving matters are not permitted per the Forum rules. While we understand that mentioning house prices may sometimes be relevant to a user's specific MoneySaving situation, we ask that you please avoid veering into broad, general debates about the market, the economy and politics, as these can unfortunately lead to abusive or hateful behaviour. Threads that are found to have derailed into wider discussions may be removed. Users who repeatedly disregard this may have their Forum account banned. Please also avoid posting personally identifiable information, including links to your own online property listing which may reveal your address. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
New House Purchase issues

IcemanUK_2
Posts: 13 Forumite
Hi Guys
The wife and I took possession of our new house last weekend. All was going well until we got up on Sunday morning to find the hot water tank had dumped its contents into the dining room. We managed to get a plumber over that day and he told us the tank has been leaking for some time and finally let go due to corrsosion and we need a new system. He did say you can see dry water stains on the slats in the airing cupboard so.
Do we have any recourse with the sellers or is it totally down to us? We only had a general survey performed on the property which is 15 years old.
Cheers
The wife and I took possession of our new house last weekend. All was going well until we got up on Sunday morning to find the hot water tank had dumped its contents into the dining room. We managed to get a plumber over that day and he told us the tank has been leaking for some time and finally let go due to corrsosion and we need a new system. He did say you can see dry water stains on the slats in the airing cupboard so.
Do we have any recourse with the sellers or is it totally down to us? We only had a general survey performed on the property which is 15 years old.
Cheers
0
Comments
-
It's your house now so it's your problem. I would question whether you actually need a "new system". From the sound of it you just need a new tank.0
-
he told us the tank has been leaking for some time and finally let go due to corrsosion and we need a new system. He did say you can see dry water stains on the slats in the airing cupboard so.
Did your sellers fill in paperwork asking about the house? Was there a catch-all question asking whether they were aware of any problems? If there are water stains in the airing cupboard, they must have know about the leak.0 -
Must have known? Some people are not very observant or just plain stupid, and proving they knew is going to be difficult-to-impossible.0
-
Which survey did you have?
1. Mortgage valuation survey
2. Homebuyers Report
3. Building survey
If 2 or 3, the surveyor should have noticed the current/past leak. If it was only a mortgage valuation, it's unlikely the surveyor even entered the house if it looked sound from the outside.
It's buyer beware, so unless the seller lied on an answer on the Property Information Form or Fixtures and Fittings form, you have no recourse. You may do against your surveyor if you had a Homebuyers Report or Buildings Survey done.
To a previous poster - there's no general "Are you aware of any issues?" question on the Property Information Form, as it wouldn't stand up in court at all. What would you define as an issue? The form asks specific questions, but OP should re-read it to see if any are relevant.0 -
It's perfectly possible to have a leak of this kind without any awareness, as I discovered when preparing a bungalow for sale.
The tank looked fine and there was no problem until I'd finished all the decorating, of course. Good job it was a concrete floored bungalow and I was there when it happened.0 -
Hi Guys
We had a "Mortgage valuation" Survey.
On the form for fixtures and fittings there is not a question "are you aware of any issues.
The plumber said we should switch to a mega flow system as we need a new tank and the old tank you cant get anymore.
Caveat Emptor then
Cheers0 -
even if there had been a previous leak, and the sellers knew, they may have thought it was fixedAll posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)0
-
On the form for fixtures and fittings there is not a question "are you aware of any issues.
The plumber said we should switch to a mega flow system as we need a new tank and the old tank you cant get anymore.
Caveat Emptor then
I thought I'd had a question like that on the form I filled in.
However, I agree with the others that it's best to get the problem sorted out yourself. You could spend money on solicitors that could go on the new water system.
Make sure you get advice and quotes from several plumbers about what needs doing.0 -
-
This is part of owning a house. Just get used to it.
Unless you buy a new built (which comes with some sort of warranty), you have no recourse as houses are sold as seen.
Replacing tank is not a big problem.Happiness is buying an item and then not checking its price after a month to discover it was reduced further.0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 352.1K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.2K Spending & Discounts
- 245.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.8K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 259K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards