Is a seller obliged to provide a Gas Compliance Certificate?

Aubri

I'd appreciate some advice:
I'm a 1st time buyer in the U.K. and the process is different in many respects to what I'm accustomed to.
I have made an offer on a property, but the Gas inspection certificate, dated 2015, indicates that the gas boiler is safe but not compliant to regulations, the cover cannot be removed as a shelf has been built above it and there is an issue related to the clearance of the flue.
The seller indicates these things have been corrected, but no further services have been conducted and they are refusing to get a new compliance certificate.
As I've offered the asking price I feel this is unreasonable, but in essence is it a legal requirement for the seller to provide a compliance certificate?
Many thanks!

Slinky

Aubri wrote: »

in essence is it a legal requirement for the seller to provide a compliance certificate?

No
...........

GrumpyDil

Hi.

Which leaves you with a few options

1) Threaten to pull out if you really want it done at their expense.
2) Arrange for your own gas safety check.

However you do need to bear in mind that quite often elements of a house do not comply with current requirement/regulations but did comply when built, installed and that is all that is required.

As there was a query over the flue I would probably ask for evidence that had been resolved in terms of seeing an invoice or similar itemising that work and then make my decision.

It isn't something I would get overly hung up over as boilers etc have been known to break soon after completion and unless you can show the seller misled/lied there is very little that can be done in that situation other than to grin and bear it.

phill99

95% of Gas Installations in this country don't comply with CURRENT regulations. This is because the regulations change on a regular basis, so what was installed last month may not be up to current regulations this month as there may well have been a change in regs.

eddddy

You mention a Gas Safety Certificate and a Gas Compliance Certificate - they are different things.

When a boiler is installed by a Gas Safe engineer, a Compliance Certificate should be issued. (That's under current regulations - but how long ago was the boiler installed?).

It's very unlikely that another gas engineer would retrospectively issue a Compliance Certificate for a boiler that he/she did not install.

I would be worried if a boiler had been installed recently with no Compliance Certificate - it suggests that it may have been fitted by somebody unqualified, or perhaps a DIYer.


But a Gas Safe engineer can inspect a boiler at any time and issue a Gas Safety certificate - the cost is often around £50.

csgohan4

Aubri wrote: »

I'd appreciate some advice:
I'm a 1st time buyer in the U.K. and the process is different in many respects to what I'm accustomed to.
I have made an offer on a property, but the Gas inspection certificate, dated 2015, indicates that the gas boiler is safe but not compliant to regulations, the cover cannot be removed as a shelf has been built above it and there is an issue related to the clearance of the flue.
The seller indicates these things have been corrected, but no further services have been conducted and they are refusing to get a new compliance certificate.
As I've offered the asking price I feel this is unreasonable, but in essence is it a legal requirement for the seller to provide a compliance certificate?
Many thanks!

As a first timer, it is buyer beware, It is you who must apply due diligence and do your own checks. Do you think it's reasonable for a buyer to ask a seller to conduct gas, electrical, water pipe, CCTV of pipes, building survey e.t.c at the seller's expense?


What will the seller benefit from getting above done? Their neither a legal requirement nor mandatory. If you are not keen to do it, move on to another property, but good luck getting a vendor who agrees to any report at their expense.

eddddy

csgohan4 wrote: »

Their neither a legal requirement nor mandatory.

The OP mentions a Gas Compliance Certificate.

In fact, there is a legal requirement to get one of those when a boiler is installed.

(But as I say in post #5, it's very unlikely that you would get one retrospectively.)

glasgowdan

eddddy wrote: »

The OP mentions a Gas Compliance Certificate.

In fact, there is a legal requirement to get one of those when a boiler is installed.

(But as I say in post #5, it's very unlikely that you would get one retrospectively.)

But that's nothing to do with selling the house - there's no legal requirement to provide these to a buyer.

goodwithsaving

No it is not the law to provide a Gas SAFETY certificate on sale. The survey will probably return it as a '3' which is !!! covering. When you view, you will see the age of the boiler and any service sticker. The regulations change so often that even a 5 year old new build wouldn't adhere to them. Doesn't mean it isn't safe though.

Re. gas compliance, I've never asked for one and in the places I've bought the sellers weren't the ones who put the boiler in. If it has been serviced within the past two years and the heating turns on (I do this on second viewing), then that's enough for me.