Certificates

Florida10

Hi all.

We've had the survey back and it has a few things of concern, but the main point (apart from the asbestos ceilings is that the person carrying our the survey says we should see the certificates for the tests carried out in the last 12 months for the electricity, gas and wood burning fire. It just so happened that the EA called us as we were discussing it, myself and the wife that is, and we raised the issue to the EA but he said that the certificates are not really needed. Now to us they are.

Also we had the pack that lists all the fixtures and fittings etc and again in that pack it states that they have the certificates, but when chased we have heard nothing.

So overall my question is: are the certificates required or are we being pedantic is insisting we have them?

Cheers for reading

Mike

jjlandlord

There is no obligation for a homeowners to do these checks. The majority do not have them done.

If you want any of these aspects checked you should ask if the seller would accept to grant to your contractors (all at your cost, of course).

davidmcn

Not necessary, but if they have said they have certificates available then I'd want to see them.

Chanes

If you want the check, you could pay for them. We have a maintenance contract on our boiler, we had one on the house we sold that covered the checks for it. We had electrical checks done when we had a kitchen fitted which the buyer accepted too.

If you really like the house it might be worth paying for the checks? Don't trust the agent to do that; one agent we dealt with assured us he had the gas and electrics checked and when I asked for the qualifications of the people he used I found they were not competent to make those assessments!

G_M

If the seller has certificates, it makes sense for him to let you have copies.

But there is no legal requirement for him to have them and most people don't.

You were concerned about the condition of the property (roof, windows etc) so you paid a surveyor to inspect.

Similarly if you are concerned about the condition of the boiler or electrics, pay a gas engineer or electrician to inspect.

unclebulgaria

Florida10 wrote: »

Hi all.

We've had the survey back and it has a few things of concern, but the main point (apart from the asbestos ceilings is that the person carrying our the survey says we should see the certificates for the tests carried out in the last 12 months for the electricity, gas and wood burning fire. It just so happened that the EA called us as we were discussing it, myself and the wife that is, and we raised the issue to the EA but he said that the certificates are not really needed. Now to us they are.

Also we had the pack that lists all the fixtures and fittings etc and again in that pack it states that they have the certificates, but when chased we have heard nothing.

So overall my question is: are the certificates required or are we being pedantic is insisting we have them?

Cheers for reading

Mike

You have every right to ask for these checks to have been carried out by the current owner at their expense. The manufacturers of these appliances state in their documentation that regular checks should be carried out to ascertain that they are safe and not requiring repair. Just because the majority don't have them done is no excuse to not have them done!
If they refuse then either pull out of the sale or pay for them yourself then after you've received your report knock the cost of the report and any repairs off your offer.

DRP

Push them for the certificates - they either have them (as they stated) or they don't!

The lying scrotes that sold us our house, made up a load of !!!!! about certificates they had, that never ever surfaced...

Florida10

Thanks all. Reason we are being a little picky is that to us, if you state something on an official document then surely you must prove that statement, so when we saw 'certificate attached' and no certificate, we naturally requested them. If they are being funny about this then I guess we will have no choice but to carry out the checks ourselves.

Thanks again for reading and replying.

Davesnave

Do you really have "asbestos ceilings," or just Artex, which "may contain asbestos?"

There is a none-too-subtle difference, almost as large as certificates/no certificates.

Annie1960

Florida10 wrote: »

Thanks all. Reason we are being a little picky is that to us, if you state something on an official document then surely you must prove that statement, so when we saw 'certificate attached' and no certificate, we naturally requested them. If they are being funny about this then I guess we will have no choice but to carry out the checks ourselves.

Thanks again for reading and replying.

It is your responsibility as buyer to get any checks you want done.

If the vendors say they have already done the checks, this goes through the solicitor (not the EA). Ask the solicitor for copies. If none are available, then you need to get them done, and you need to pay for them.

If the vendors are lying on their forms, then this is another matter.

davidmcn

Florida10 wrote: »

If they are being funny about this then I guess we will have no choice but to carry out the checks ourselves.

You have the choice of not getting certificates at all, which in my (Scottish) experience is the option preferred by the vast majority of buyers. The surveyor's recommendation that you bring in experts is typical bottom-covering by them, on the basis that they're not qualified to assess the electrics etc, not an indication that there's actually anything to worry about.