Property description and EPC incorrect!

zixxty

My wife and I bought out first house a couple of months ago, and after moving in properly we realised that the whole property only has single-glazed windows. The property brochure from the EA stated that the property benefitted from double-glazing in every room, but more importantly the EPC (dated June '14) even states that the property is "fully double-glazed." Upon looking back through our survey, a tiny section did state that the property only features single-glazing but myself, my wife and our solicitor must have overlooking this single sentence and it certainly wasnt highlighted anywhere. Although single-glazed, the windows are uPVC-framed and it's very easy to mistake them for regular double-glazed windows.

Now I do fully understand that it is my responsibility to check a property over before completion, but after reading twice that the property had double-glazing I never went out of my way to check! I also understand that an estate agents information is for guidance and shouldn't be relied upon anyway despite strongly misadvertising the property. My solicitor isnt at fault as I had the survey to look at myself, not just her 'summary'. However, an EPC assessor has a duty to report correct information to the best of their ability and also carries insurance in some form or another, if I'm not mistaken.

So my question to you intelligent bunch; Is it worth persuing the EPC assessor?

davidmcn

No, because they don't owe you any duty of care. Your surveyor does - which is probably why they got it right.

G_M

zixxty wrote: »

My wife and I bought out first house a couple of months ago, and after moving in properly we realised that the whole property only has single-glazed windows. The property brochure from the EA stated that the property benefitted from double-glazing in every room, but more importantly the EPC (dated June '14) even states that the property is "fully double-glazed." Upon looking back through our survey, a tiny section did state that the property only features single-glazing but myself, my wife and our solicitor must have overlooking this single sentence and it certainly wasnt highlighted anywhere. Although single-glazed, the windows are uPVC-framed and it's very easy to mistake them for regular double-glazed windows.

Now I do fully understand that it is my responsibility to check a property over before completion, but after reading twice that the property had double-glazing I never went out of my way to check! I also understand that an estate agents information is for guidance and shouldn't be relied upon anyway despite strongly misadvertising the property. My solicitor isnt at fault as I had the survey to look at myself, not just her 'summary'. However, an EPC assessor has a duty to report correct information to the best of their ability and also carries insurance in some form or another, if I'm not mistaken.

So my question to you intelligent bunch; Is it worth persuing the EPC assessor?

No.
I'm amazed that as a buyer viewing a property you were considering buying you did not notice this yourself.


EPCs are so pointless anyway I would rarely even look at them myself - if I want to know anything about the structure of the property, i pay a surveyor (or crawl all over it myself.....)


Get some quotes for double glazing from intallers who are CERTASS or FENSA registered an ideally also recomended by

https://trustedtraders.which.co.uk/ or
https://www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk/ and/or
https://www.ggf.org.uk/

Davesnave

zixxty wrote: »

Upon looking back through our survey, a tiny section did state that the property only features single-glazing but myself, my wife and our solicitor must have overlooking this single sentence and it certainly wasnt highlighted anywhere.

Why should it be 'highlighted' and why are you implying your solicitor has failed you, when their primary job is to focus on the legal aspects of the sale?


It's true that a good solicitor might spot a discrepancy like this, but many wouldn't. The person you were entitled to rely on in this context was your surveyor, and it appears they did their job correctly.

ComicGeek

I think it is worth pursuing with the EPC assessor. I don't agree that the EPC assessor doesn't owe you a duty of care - the EPC produced has to be correct for the property at the time of survey, and you have a right to rely on the information produced by a suitably qualified professional.

Raise a formal complaint with the assessor, and then with their accreditation body if you're not happy with the response. They have to have professional indemnity insurance to cover mistakes like this.

http://www.housingenergyadvisor.com/blog/what-to-do-if-you-think-your-energy-performance-certificate-is-incorrect/

ComicGeek

davidmcn wrote: »

No, because they don't owe you any duty of care. Your surveyor does - which is probably why they got it right.

That's not true with EPCs, the duty of care isn't limited to the person paying.

davidmcn

ComicGeek wrote: »

That's not true with EPCs, the duty of care isn't limited to the person paying.

OK, but does that mean every future party dealing with the property is entitled to ignore the evidence from their own surveys (and their own eyes)?

diggingdude

I fail to see how you didn't notice they weren't double glazed?? Surely you looked out of them or opened them to ensure they pen etc

Smodlet

diggingdude wrote: »

I fail to see how you didn't notice they weren't double glazed?? Surely you looked out of them or opened them to ensure they pen etc

How could it take two months to become aware of this *pane in the proverbial?

Further to G_M's suggestions, OP, I would ask around for recommendations for double glazing firms rather than rely solely on websites. We did ours 2 years ago and all I can say to you is, local independents get my vote; I went with one of the nationals... Based in Norwich, they are. I'd avoid.

*No, that is not a typo.

Davesnave

I'm not convinced that a claim would be successful yet, but difference in heat loss cost between really good double and single glazing on the average house is around £110 per year. The average life of a d/g unit is 20 years. Assuming that the windows had been in for 10 years, the maximum the OP could try to claim against the assessor would therefore be around £1k.

As very few people fit single glazed windows these days, it's quite likely the units are older than 10years . I wonder if the OP can now tell us when they were installed?

ComicGeek

davidmcn wrote: »

OK, but does that mean every future party dealing with the property is entitled to ignore the evidence from their own surveys (and their own eyes)?

If they didn't have their own survey and didn't visit the property, then yes they would be able to rely 100% on the information on the EPC. However the EPC can only be correct at the time of survey - someone could replace the windows the next day, but not have to update the EPC. Then the EPC assessor would then have to provide evidence (as they have to take supporting photos for everything) of what was there at the time of survey.

If there are other surveys/inspections undertaken for the property which contradict the EPC, then the assessor's liability would be reduced but not removed completely. The very least that the OP should get is a corrected EPC for the property at the assessor's expense - any additional compensation for increased energy costs, or contributions to new windows, would need to be discussed with their insurers as part of a formal claim.

There has been at least one case where both the surveyor and EPC assessor incorrectly stated double glazing when it was single - in that case both parties had to pay 50% towards costs of new windows. Given that the surveyor correctly identified them here and the OP didn't notice the discrepancy, I don't believe that any award against the assessor would be anywhere near this amount.