Sold a house with a dangerous boiler! Where do I stand legally?

ladymagpie

We bought our house last April. We asked the owners if they had done the usual gas checks and they said they had.

Almost a year later my gas oven behaved strangely so national grid came out. Said oven was OK but my boiler was unsafe and he switched our gas off. Basically it's a dodgy DIY job he said - boiler mounted on wood and builders foam had been sprayed around it. Both flammable. We had an independent gas engineer out who wouldn't touch it - he said it would be ripping it out and having a new boiler fitted elsewhere. He also wouldn't turn the gas back on. We had a notice from national grid saying to do so would be illegal until the problem is sorted.

We have British gas coming out tomorrow to have a look but I've checked and it isn't covered by any boiler insurance so it's either we pay or live without heating or cooking or hot water. If British gas can't touch it it sounds like we'd have to get a 'remedial maintenance company' out.

I'm asking on here because the guy who came out today told us the house was sold illegally with a dangerous boiler. I'm 5 months pregnant and I really can't be done with the stress right now.

Anyone got any advice and is it worth contacting solicitor? I have a funny feeling theyll say it's up to us to actually see the certificate.

csgohan4

So you trusted what the vendor said? Did they provide a boiler cert? Did you get a boiler check yourself?


You will have no recourse for compo as the house was sold with a working oven and it is up to your own due diligence to check everything including electrics, plumbing, drains e.t.c


Owning a house means you don't need to legally have a gas safety check on all appliances unless you rent it out in England

Lunchbox

If it was a private residence there was no requirement for them to have any safety checks done. There may have been an offence committed if the boiler was interfered with by a non-CORGI/gas safe engineer, but it depends when this was done so it would be hard to prove. I'm afraid it sounds like a case of buyer beware - you'd have needed to commission your own boiler survey if you wanted it checked.

marksoton

I'd say you have a circa 2K hit coming to your bank account....

ladymagpie

They did not show us a gas safety cert but they said they did have one and would give us the paperwork. We looked at the book - it's actually blank. Im aware it would probably be buyer beware and it's our word against there's but it's irritating me that they lied.
I'm sure in the house information pack thing that they ticked to say it had been certified. If we found it and that was the case would we have a leg to stand on? I can't remember what all the questions we're in the pack, if there was one which asked that.

csgohan4

I don't remember when I bought my house there was a tick box for boiler cert checks??


What ever you do don't use payday loans to sort this issue out, it will get worse if you do.

Marvel1

Did you check the gas safety certificate?
Did you check it yourself from your own engineer?

Buyer beware I'm afraid.

ladymagpie

cjdavies wrote: »

Did you check the gas safety certificate?
Did you check it yourself from your own engineer?

Buyer beware I'm afraid.

I guessed it would be that but I wanted to get the idea out of my head after what the engineer said. Thank you though.

ladymagpie

csgohan4 wrote: »

I don't remember when I bought my house there was a tick box for boiler cert checks??


What ever you do don't use payday loans to sort this issue out, it will get worse if you do.

We think we have the cash by taking it out of our baby savings.

Unfortunately we can't live long without hot water or oven so it's easier said then done. Hopefully if British gas will take the job on then they can do payment plans.

csgohan4

ladymagpie wrote: »

We think we have the cash by taking it out of our baby savings.

Unfortunately we can't live long without hot water or oven so it's easier said then done. Hopefully if British gas will take the job on then they can do payment plans.

Look at the interest of the payment plans and if it is more than a bog standard bank loan off the high street get the latter

Mossfarr

ladymagpie wrote: »

They did not show us a gas safety cert but they said they did have one and would give us the paperwork. We looked at the book - it's actually blank. Im aware it would probably be buyer beware and it's our word against there's but it's irritating me that they lied.
I'm sure in the house information pack thing that they ticked to say it had been certified. If we found it and that was the case would we have a leg to stand on? I can't remember what all the questions we're in the pack, if there was one which asked that.

The fact that the boiler has been declared as incorrectly installed and indeed dangerous then obviously there never was a gas safety certificate!