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!
The Forum now has a brand new text editor, adding a bunch of handy features to use when creating posts. Read more in our how-to guide

Bought new house in Feb - Found out electricity is dangerous

Hello all,

We purchased this house in Feb of this year, and we have come to find out that the electrics are really dangerous here. Having to re-do alot of it.

Is there anything I can do about this? I mean when selling a house, does the house need to be tested/signed off?

Can I claim anything back at all?

Regards,

Sam.
«13

Comments

  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Nope.

    It was up to you to check before you bought it really. There are some clues, in some houses, for some people .... but it's up to you to think "Hey, this house is old.... I should ask about this, or get it checked out"
  • bryanb
    bryanb Posts: 5,034 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Hello all,

    We purchased this house in Feb of this year, and we have come to find out that the electrics are really dangerous here. Having to re-do alot of it.

    Is there anything I can do about this? I mean when selling a house, does the house need to be tested/signed off?

    Can I claim anything back at all?

    Regards,

    Sam.

    No

    And No
    This is an open forum, anyone can post and I just did !
  • jhs14
    jhs14 Posts: 167 Forumite
    Short answer: No.

    Long answer: No. Unless you can prove the vendor lied to you.
  • Yorkie1
    Yorkie1 Posts: 12,847 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Is it a brand new house that you bought from a developer?

    Or just a house that you bought from someone living there?

    If the latter, then as a general rule no you have no come-back. The principle of 'buyer beware' applies; the onus is on you to satisfy yourself pre-exchange of all matters relating to condition.

    If it's a brand-new house then I suspect that there might be some comeback but I don't know enough to say what that might be. Hopefully others will be able to suggest a response.
  • The answer is NO for sure. "Buyer beware" plus in the period between feb and Dec, where have you been?


    You should focus on the advice given above "If it's a brand-new house then I suspect that there might be some comeback". You have to prove that it was the developer's fault or design that caused the danger.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker

    Is there anything I can do about this?
    Yes. Get a qualified electrician to re-wire the house. Make sure you get sgn off on compliance with Building Regulations. A decent sparkie will do this for you. A cheap bodger won't.
    I mean when selling a house, does the house need to be tested/signed off?
    No. Unless it is newly built, or the electrics have been recently altered in which case (see above) Building Regs apply.

    Can I claim anything back at all?
    Depends on the above

    Regards,

    Sam.
    Basically - buyer beware.......
  • Aah okay cool. Fair enough. Thought I'd see if it was possible anyway because the previous owners must have known the work they got done is wrong.

    Between feb and now I've been sorting thing slowly but surely. Only got highlighted when the garden lights stopped working, upon inspection by an electrician the wire connection were wrapped in an old soil bag and cemented over. That's just to start off with lol.

    I've got the electrician in many weekends working on this, one hell of a problem. I guess it's my fault for not checking before we moved in, but I didn't think to, assumed it would be okay.

    Oh well, live and learn lol.
  • PasturesNew
    PasturesNew Posts: 70,698 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    "wire connection were wrapped in an old soil bag and cemented over"

    All pretty standard DIY stuff in years gone by. That's one of the reasons I prefer newer houses - less years for bygone bodgers to have had DIY moments.
  • Armorica
    Armorica Posts: 871 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Did the survey not pick anything up at all?
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Armorica wrote: »
    Did the survey not pick anything up at all?
    Survey would not.

    Electrical inspection would.
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 354.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 254.5K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 455.6K Spending & Discounts
  • 247.6K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 604.5K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 178.6K Life & Family
  • 262.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.7K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.