Difficult seller - house completed but did he breach contract

PragmaticMoneySaver

Hi,

Newbie here!

Just completed on a new home for the family and the seller has been a bit awkward during the sale where we have bent over to meet his timescale.

Now we come to look at the house after receiving the keys and it appears he's took somewhat more than he should have!

The seller has taken a great deal of the loft insulation for some reason! The loft had 200mm of KingSpan style insulation boards (this is also detailed as 200mm insulation on the EPC attached to the particulars of sale). On a viewing I did check the loft and it was indeed insulated as detailed.

Likewise the seller has has removed insulation from the garage ceiling (again the particulars of sale state "fully insulated garage" and pictures of the garage confirm this.

Finally all of the GU10 downlighters on the ground floor (and there are a fair few of them) have had their decent energy efficient LED lamps removed and replaced with standard Halogen lamps (again the EPC states low energy lamps fitted to 95% of outlets).

I realise it may seem petty to raise this but the loft insulation was the final straw really - there is clear evidence in the loft of where the insulation has been removed.

Where do I stand with this? Has he breached contract even though things like this aren't stated on the fixtures list surely the EPC is a condition of sale and he has took action by removing these that impacts the validity of the EPC.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

harrys_dad

Ask your solicitor, that is what you have paid them for. What did it say about these items on the form the vendors completed to say what was included in the sale?

casper_g

You might struggle to get him on the light bulbs, but I would say insulation was part of the fabric of the property -- that's probably why it isn't listed on the fittings and contents form!

Get quotes for how much it will cost to replace what's been removed. This information will provide a basis for any decision as to whether to take things further or write it off as too much trouble to pursue.

And yes, speak to your solicitor.

PragmaticMoneySaver

Thanks for the reply.

I have queried with the solicitor by email hopefully they'll reply in the morning.

The form doesn't detail loft insulation and the like, and wasn't specific about the 'type' of bulbs whereas the EPC was more specific.

Thanks

G_M

Depends how angry you are!

Yes, he is in breach of contract and you could pursue this. Initially a letter (from you - free, or a solicitor - at cost) requiring the insulation an bulbs be returned/re-fitted, and ultimately a Small Claims court action.

The objective reality is that the costs, time and aggrevation involved Vs the value of the insulation and bulbs simply don't make it worthwhile.

However, if the satisfaction you'd get from winning this (somewhat petty) battle outweigh the effort etc, then go for it!

PragmaticMoneySaver

I completly agree it is somewhat petty! But also there is the principle of it and I feel it is something that at the very least I should raise with my solicitor to in turn raise with his solicitor.

Who knows if I'll get anywhere but I'll see what he says tomorrow.

The costs as a very rough guesstimate are

£150 for the lamps
£400 for insulation maybe

silvercar

I understood the EPC was like a car's MOT, it tells you the condition on the day but does nothing to guarantee that that condition remains.

Running_On_Empty

How did you treat the seller before the sale went through? Did you gazunder him? Did you knock him right down on his asking price? I am not suggesting that any of these things are right or wrong but it 'may' explain his behaviour now.

PragmaticMoneySaver

I would hope I treated him respectfully. Yes I did offer under his asking by 10% to begin with but then increased our offer (after discussing with the bank) and only ended up about 2% under asking price.

He originally offered many inclusions to entice us to increase our offer (which did help) but then come the fixtures list via solicitors these were excluded which was somewhat annoying!

davidmcn

silvercar wrote: »

I understood the EPC was like a car's MOT, it tells you the condition on the day but does nothing to guarantee that that condition remains.

True, it isn't in itself contractual, but it's pretty good evidence of what the state of the insulation, light fittings etc were on the date of the survey should there be a dispute arising from the sale contract.

[Deleted User]

When I queried my epc report, they actually sent a photo to prove the state of the loft at the time of inspection. This might help your case as far as insulation removal is concerned. No guarantee every company does this, but if they do have photos it could help.