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Gas leak: who is liable?

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Kirstie93_2
Kirstie93_2 Posts: 54 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi Everyone,

We moved in to our first home on 22nd May, the vendors moved out on 20th May. They left a folder with instructions and invoices for things they had had looked at/repaired before they left.

On the front of the file was a note to say they had the gas fire looked at on 20th May and everything was fine.

Forward on to yesterday when I get a call at work from my mum telling me she can smell gas and can I ring the gas board? I rang them and they sent someone out who identified a major leak behind the fire and shut the gas supply off, meaning no hot water etc.. I had to rush home from work early to try and arrange an engineer. He told us that if it had gone un-noticed we could have gone to bed and not got up again! He has condemned the fire.

The most upsetting part is, we have just got a puppy and he was in on his own until my mum arrived at 2pm. I would have really lost it if something had happened to him!!

So, are the old vendors liable for the cost, as there is no proof they actually had it checked, just a note on the front of a file to say it was fine
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  • Dan-Dan
    Dan-Dan Posts: 5,272 Forumite
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    This is one of those where you should have had it checked yourself by a suitably qualified person either before exchange or at some point after you moved in, in any event the vendor could claim that ON THE DATE IT WAS CHECKED , it was fine , if i were you i would suck it up , get it sorted and move on
    Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
  • LandyAndy
    LandyAndy Posts: 26,377 Forumite
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    edited 25 June 2015 at 11:44AM
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    Kirstie93 wrote: »
    So, are the old vendors liable for the cost, as there is no proof they actually had it checked, just a note on the front of a file to say it was fine


    No.

    Leaks have to start some time. This one started a day or two ago.

    Having to take responsibility for things going wrong is one of the great joys of owning your own property;)
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    It depends on where you are. I'm in Scotland I'm I'm just about to pick up the keys to my new home. I have 5 working days to check that the heating system works or I can go back to the vendors.

    In England or Wales you're on your own and I'm not sure of the situation in Northern Ireland.
  • Dan-Dan
    Dan-Dan Posts: 5,272 Forumite
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    Pixie5740 wrote: »
    It depends on where you are. I'm in Scotland I'm I'm just about to pick up the keys to my new home. I have 5 working days to check that the heating system works or I can go back to the vendors.

    In England or Wales you're on your own and I'm not sure of the situation in Northern Ireland.


    Even if OP was in Scotland , this happened 20+ days after move in?
    Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    Dan-Dan wrote: »
    Even if OP was in Scotland , this happened 20+ days after move in?

    Good point. It was yesterday that the gas leak happened. It's for the OP to sort then no matter where they live.
  • Davesnave
    Davesnave Posts: 34,741 Forumite
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    LandyAndy wrote: »

    Leaks have to start some time. This one started a day or two ago.

    ....And the fact that gas wasn't smelled before then is surely a strong indication there was previously nothing to smell.

    I know rules regarding disclosure have tightened up in England, and were already tighter in Scotland, but hopefully, no part of the UK now demands that vendors be prescient!
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
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    How come your CO alarm did not go off?

    hint: they cost £15 and save live........ and if you have a gas boiler a gas fire in different rooms, get 2 for £24:

    http://www.diy.com/departments/first-alert-led-display-carbon-monoxide-detector-pack-of-2/227887_BQ.prd
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
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    G_M wrote: »
    How come your CO alarm did not go off?

    Because the gas leak would be of CH4 rather than CO?
  • Kirstie93_2
    Kirstie93_2 Posts: 54 Forumite
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    We did smell gas before, but when we looked at the fire, the old vendors had left the knob on the fire turned on, so we swtiched it off.

    The engineer told us the fire should not have been signed off as the coals in the fire are white, or partially white, and this is also unsafe.

    We have paid for the engineer to come and cap the supply off behind the fire as he couldn't reconnect it because the coal isn't safe. I know that replacing the coal will be a cheap fix, but the we have to fork out another £160 for the engineer to come back and uncap it!
  • Dan-Dan
    Dan-Dan Posts: 5,272 Forumite
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    Kirstie93 wrote: »
    We did smell gas before, but when we looked at the fire, the old vendors had left the knob on the fire turned on, so we swtiched it off.

    The engineer told us the fire should not have been signed off as the coals in the fire are white, or partially white, and this is also unsafe.

    We have paid for the engineer to come and cap the supply off behind the fire as he couldn't reconnect it because the coal isn't safe. I know that replacing the coal will be a cheap fix, but the we have to fork out another £160 for the engineer to come back and uncap it!

    shop around
    Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
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