Landlord selling property can’t produce gas certificate

Biscuitfiend

D_M_E wrote: »

If you are worried about the boiler being on finance and any outstanding finance being passed on to you then ask your solicitor/conveyancer to write in the contract that any such finance is to be, and will be cleared on completion and make sure this is in writing and either don't sign without such a clause or walk away.

You don't want to be paying for someone else's finance and, although it's said that boiler is "only" a year old, how do you know and how long has the finance left to run - neither of which you know.

That would be a very good caveat to get them to write in. I think what is concerning me is how little information I’ve got and been given.

When I first asked about the gas, electric and boiler, I was told there were certificates but they were with the landlords ex. I was then later told that they may not have them, and when I asked about the boiler, the EA said it’s on finance so she doubts it’s been serviced. Now I’m hoping that this just means it’s under a year and thus it doesn’t need one yet (a fact I now know thanks to you guys!). The things is in the last 2 weeks I’ve not got very far and I’m getting information like I’m pulling teeth :laugh:

Thank you for replying!

AlexMac

As you wanted the property enough to agree a price and spend money on legal fees, to do this...

Biscuitfiend wrote: »

I think I’ll walk away if nothing can be produced; I think I want a copy of its installation information as the very least ...

would be a bit ove an over-cautious over-reaction.

YOU can check if the boiler was installed by a registered "Gas safe" engineer who did the stautory notification to get the boiler onto the Gas Safe Register, by simply entering the property address at
https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/notifications/search-for-a-notification/

Will take less than a minute. You can even buy an installation Cert online for a few quid

If it's not there that means they either
- engaged an unregistered fitter (which doesn't necessarily mean incompetence or danger), or
- the Estate Agent has got it wrong (nothing the EA says can be trusted and anything you want verified has to be done in writing via Qs between your solicitor and the vendor's)
(or, as my idiot plumber did, they got the address wrong, My boiler is registered to flat B above my... Flat D!)

Whatever, a boiler is no big deal. Every one of my last six purchases has needed a new boiler; some immediately, some lasted a year or two, at a cost of anything between £1.3k for a little Combi in a 1-bed flat, to £3k for a top of the range job with a pressurised cylinder in our 4-bedder/3 bathroom gaff. They don't make 'em like they did.

Or are you having cold feet about the whole purchase?

Biscuitfiend

AlexMac wrote: »

As you wanted the property enough to agree a price and spend money on legal fees, to do this...
would be a bit ove an over-cautious over-reaction.

YOU can check if the boiler was installed by a registered "Gas safe" engineer who did the stautory notification to get the boiler onto the Gas Safe Register, by simply entering the property address at
Gassaferegister.co.uk/notifications/search-for-a-notification/

Will take less than a minute. You can even buy an installation Cert online for a few quid

If it's not there that means they either
- engaged an unregistered fitter (which doesn't necessarily mean incompetence or danger), or
- the Estate Agent has got it wrong (nothing the EA says can be trusted and anything you want verified has to be done in writing via Qs between your solicitor and the vendor's)
(or, as my idiot plumber did, they got the address wrong, My boiler is registered to flat B above my... Flat D!)

Whatever, a boiler is no big deal. Every one of my last six purchases has needed a new boiler; some immediately, some lasted a year or two, at a cost of anything between £1.3k for a little Combi in a 1-bed flat, to £3k for a top of the range job with a pressurised cylinder in our 4-bedder/3 bathroom gaff. They don't make 'em like they did.

Or are you having cold feet about the whole purchase?

The seller and I are agreeing the price at the moment so so far nothing has been agreed which is why I’m trying to get any reassurances I can about the boiler before my final offer.
I’m probably being ridiculous, I know, to ask if I can see it or even get them to confirm they do exist, but I have money set by for fees that if entirely possible, I don’t want to waste ( although I know houses can fall through anyway!).

I still want the property if I can, I just would like them to produce anything at all, even a date for when they say the boiler was done. This is mostly why I was worried if I was being unreasonable :undecided:

Thanks a lot for the website. I popped the details in and rather than the one year I was expecting I got 3! So if its rented it should definitely have a certificate now right? Or the boiler has been replaced by someone who might have been unregistered?

3card

I think you have a few queries regarding this property and it might be wise to break them down in categories with regards to the seriousness

My own personal concern would be that you are buying a property that has a tenant in situ and after spending quite an amount of money the tenant may be unwilling to move either for you or the seller which will delay the progress of the sale/purchase.
Also if you are having a mortgage on this property the lender would not allow you buy it with the tenant in place.

With regards to the gas cert why not pop round and have a chat with the tenant(s) and ask them if they have a current GSC. They should have a copy and they may also be in a position to confirm the age.

As a few have pointed out there is no legislation for a electric cert in England.

If you decide to continue with this purchase i would get my own gas engineer and electrician to check things out regardless of what the seller may give you

MX5huggy

There should be a landlords certificate, they don’t have to service it to get one, it checks it’s safe not that it’s serviced.

The boiler is a minor inconvenience compared with the potential hassle and delays a sitting tenant could cause. I would walk away until the house is vacant. Not just notice served but empty.

davidmcn

3card wrote: »

Also if you are having a mortgage on this property the lender would not allow you buy it with the tenant in place.

Just to clarify, all a lender will care about is that there is vacant possession at completion. They won't be concerned whether that means the tenant moved out five minutes before completion or five weeks before - but a buyer (and sensible sellers) would probably prefer not to exchange until tenants have gone.

D_M_E

Davidmcn - outstanding finance includes the Green Deal which is added to the energy bills for the property to which it was applied.
There's been discussion of this on other forums and, I seem to recall, somewhere on MSE and I know of at least one case where there was several thousand outstanding on the green deal attached to a property's energy bills and the buyer had a clause requiring settlement of the finance as part of sale - believe it was paid off with a retention held by the seller's solicitor.

G_M

Lots of good advice above.


My only question is why you are even progressing the purchase at this stage? Don't spend money on legal fees, mortgage applicatin, survey, gas inspection etc until the tenants have left and the property is empty. Too much uncertainty.

davidmcn

D_M_E wrote: »

Davidmcn - outstanding finance includes the Green Deal which is added to the energy bills for the property to which it was applied.

Discontinued in 2015 though - so shouldn't apply if the one year age of the boiler is correct...

silvercar

Thanks a lot for the website. I popped the details in and rather than the one year I was expecting I got 3! So if its rented it should definitely have a certificate now right? Or the boiler has been replaced by someone who might have been unregistered?

It would be relatively rare to replace a boiler that was only 2 years old.

I don't know why you are so hung up on a gas safety certificate, if you were buying from owner occupiers they would be no requirement for one.

Do your own surveys and inspections, don't rely on what the previous owner did or didn't do.

I would be asking the tenants if they are moving out anytime soon!