selling house - no boiler installation certificate

Jossenaj56

My son has just taken ownership  on 4th of a tenement flat in Edinburgh. ( Previously owned by a landlord) Fortunately he has not moved in yet as still staying in his rented flat till end of February 2020. This is because on entry he found out that gas boiler was switched  off thus no heating or hot water. First gas engineer inspection  on 10th Feb revealed that the boiler could not be checked for safety and had to be fully isolated as there was no access to see the flue. which is presumably above the ceiling going into the roof space. The gas engineer stated that he could not cut through the ceiling as this was a joiners task . I had noticed on my visit on 7th to the flat that there was an opening in the nearby hall ceiling outside the cupboard that the boiler is

located but the gas engineer didnt ask where this was. His solicitor has advised that the seller did not have to ensure gas safety only that it was deemed to be in working order commensurate with its age ( installed 2009). The regulations changed in 2018 in that gas flues are supposed to have safety access hatches in order to be passed as safe. British Gas have confirmed his position. He must get a builder to fit an inspection hatch and then get gas engineer to do the rest .?? Meanwhile my son  needs to move in by 2 weeks time. Its a bit of a nightmare trying to work out what to do . Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Concerned mother - C J

davidmcn

Jossenaj56 said:

My son has just taken ownership  on 4th of a tenement flat in Edinburgh. ( Previously owned by a landlord) Fortunately he has not moved in yet as still staying in his rented flat till end of February 2020. This is because on entry he found out that gas boiler was switched  off thus no heating or hot water. First gas engineer inspection  on 10th Feb revealed that the boiler could not be checked for safety and had to be fully isolated as there was no access to see the flue. which is presumably above the ceiling going into the roof space. The gas engineer stated that he could not cut through the ceiling as this was a joiners task . I had noticed on my visit on 7th to the flat that there was an opening in the nearby hall ceiling outside the cupboard that the boiler is

located but the gas engineer didnt ask where this was. His solicitor has advised that the seller did not have to ensure gas safety only that it was deemed to be in working order commensurate with its age ( installed 2009). The regulations changed in 2018 in that gas flues are supposed to have safety access hatches in order to be passed as safe. British Gas have confirmed his position. He must get a builder to fit an inspection hatch and then get gas engineer to do the rest .?? Meanwhile my son  needs to move in by 2 weeks time. Its a bit of a nightmare trying to work out what to do . Any advice on this would be appreciated.

Concerned mother - C J

Just to clarify - the only problem with the boiler is that the flue can't be seen? But it does work? While it might be desirable to sort that out, it's not essential or urgent and needn't stop him from moving in.