Property description and EPC incorrect!

da_rule

The point where I think the OP would come unstuck is their failure to mitigate their loss. They had a survey that clearly said the property was single glazed and (presumably) they had visited the property.

Therefore they could have mitigated their loss by either pulling out, asking for a discount in the purchase price or asking for a new EPC so that they could look at energy costs.

Also, the fact that it has taken 2 months from completion to raise the issue (and therefore a number of months from when the OP first visited the property) is also likely to have a detrimental effect on any claim.

zixxty

Thanks for the replies ladies and gents!

We too told ourselves that we made a daft mistake as it is written in the survey (despite it being so well 'hidden!') and we did view the place twice. But I thought I'd double check all the information we had been given yesterday as we do feel a little seen off. As you all know, theres a lot to check in a property and it was just one if those things.

All of the windows are double-glazed units but only have a single pane of glass in them, so they do look like double-glazing. So much so that the estate agents and the EPC assessor didnt even pick up on it! My biggest worry is that the estate agent has over-valued the property based on the belief that double-glazing is fitted and the EPC shows an incorrect efficiency value.

da_rule

Even if the estate agent did overvalue the property on a mistaken belief re double glazing, you set the true value of the property when you made an offer. You then confirmed this when you exchanged. By this time you had viewed the property and had your survey so could have renegotiated.

Estate agents make mistakes and assumptions all the time. They may assume a house is freehold when it’s leasehold, or the house may be subject to really restrictive covenants. Once these ‘issues’ are discovered it is common for the parties to revisit the offer made.

Also, what did the property information form that the sellers completed say regarding windows?

Smodlet

Learn from it, OP. This is why the lion's share of all the blurb to do with house buying is one get out clause after another.

ComicGeek

Smodlet wrote: »

Learn from it, OP. This is why the lion's share of all the blurb to do with house buying is one get out clause after another.

Yes, but the point is that there aren't any get out of clauses on the EPC, it has to be correct. At the very least the OP should complain and get the EPC redone for free - it would save them having to pay for it when they come to sell later.

And there's always the possibility that they can claim against the assessor's insurance against the higher energy costs as a result. Worth putting the complaint in and see what happens.

I say all this as an EPC assessor myself, although I don't get involved in small existing residential EPCs these days.

need_an_answer

But considering that an EPC is valid for 10 years there is always the potential that the document is wrong if anything is ever upgraded in that lifespan.

I guess you would need to prove to the assessor that the windows now in place were the same as when they carried out the original assessment...

At best it will only achieve an updated document which will probably have a lower score now than when it was originally done.

Although these windows must be fairly convincing if its been missed by the OP,EA, surveyor and EPC assessor.

AdrianC

Frankly, I'm astonished you've ever been able to get tuppyframes with single-glazing.

Can't you just swap the panes out for sealed units?

Are you sure they aren't just thin sealed units?
Got a photo?

ComicGeek

need_an_answer wrote: »

But considering that an EPC is valid for 10 years there is always the potential that the document is wrong if anything is ever upgraded in that lifespan.

I guess you would need to prove to the assessor that the windows now in place were the same as when they carried out the original assessment...

At best it will only achieve an updated document which will probably have a lower score now than when it was originally done.

Although these windows must be fairly convincing if its been missed by the OP,EA, surveyor and EPC assessor.

Yes, the EPC is only 'accurate' on the day/hour surveyed. The owner could swap out all light bulbs the second the assessor leaves and the score would change. In terms of the windows, the accreditation body would review the photos taken by the assessor - these are uploaded at the assessment, so can't be altered now.

In this case the surveyor did get it right, everyone missed it. The problem is proving, given that the surveyor identified it correctly, that the OP relied on the incorrect EPC and has a proven financial loss as a result. It would be a simple case if everyone got it wrong!

fudgecat

Hi, if the window frames can take a double glazed glass unit, then these can be replaced and would be much cheaper than removing all the windows. We had a double glazed window that "went" and started to mist up. I was amazed how reasonable it was to replace the sealed glass unit. Just an idea!

Smodlet

I've had a google and even called a double glazing company to ask if they can supply single glazed uPVC units and the answer was, "No". The cost of the frames is approximately 80% with the double glazed unit being 20% or thereabouts. Factor in the single pane and the saving is probably less than 10% so why would anyone bother? Could it be that they are, in fact, cheaper double glazed units with a minimal gap between the panes?

It used to be obvious because there was a strip of what looked like tin foil between the panes on the windows in our last house. These new ones have no such strip but, when I open them and touch the outer pane with one hand and the inner with the other, I can see the gap between the panes is about an inch. I know this is Micky Mouse territory, OP, but might you try that? Even if the gap is less than half a centimetre, that still qualifies as double glazing, albeit not very good. HTH.