House bought - Wrong boiler document passed over after completion.

FreeBear

Assuming the boiler was registered soon after it was installed, you can order a replacement certificate from Gas Safe - https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/notifications/landing-page/

The local council should also have a note on file of the work done as a new boiler requires building regulation "approval" - The installers can self certify, and the council would have been notified via Gas Safe.

Fran_2012

Apologies I’m new to this forum! I’ve only just found the original thread, posted this by mistake, let me delete

Fran_2012

Thanks for taking the time to reply! I’m absolutely crap with technology/forums and just created a duplicate thread with no idea how to delete (Bloody useless!)....

Completely appreciate that I am partly to blame for not going over paperwork with a fine tooth comb! I guess if nothing does come of this then it’s a lesson learned & I won’t be making the same mistake if I ever purchase a house again! I suppose I have been very naive and tried to do most of it alone, without the support of family or friends so it’s just one of those things... 
Just one more point though... Is the TA6 Law Society property information form not a legally binding doc? Just thinking because the seller has claimed the Completion cert is enclosed and passed on the wrong one? Surely they are at some fault? And even if they claimed to have passed it over ... Surely the both theirs and my solicitor would have a copy of it on file?

i have emailed my solicitor asking for a copy of the correct form as it was stated this was on file... so I will see what response I get.

i just feel I am now at a huge disadvantage if I decided to sell my properly on myself? If I have no boiler cert myself then surely that leaves me at a disadvantage? I might be wrong,,,, does a self cert really equal a gas safety completion cert?

thanks
fran

FreeBear

Fran_2012 said: Apologies I’m new to this forum! I’ve only just found the original thread, posted this by mistake, let me delete

You asked a specific question about installation certificates - The answer provided may well assist others who have a similar problem. No need to delete anything.

greatcrested

Fran_2012 said:

Just one more point though... Is the TA6 Law Society property information form not a legally binding doc? Just thinking because the seller has claimed the Completion cert is enclosed and passed on the wrong one? Surely they are at some fault? And even if they claimed to have passed it over ... Surely the both theirs and my solicitor would have a copy of it on file?

i have emailed my solicitor asking for a copy of the correct form as it was stated this was on file... so I will see what response I get.

i just feel I am now at a huge disadvantage if I decided to sell my properly on myself? If I have no boiler cert myself then surely that leaves me at a disadvantage? I might be wrong,,,, does a self cert really equal a gas safety completion cert?

thanks
fran

Yes, the TA6 forms part of the contract so your solicitor should demand the correct document. Though ideally you would have checked this and raised the issue before Exchange as no doubt you were advised to do. Your solicitor relied on you for this - he, of course, had never seen the boiler and could not be aware of the manufacturer, model etc.

Building Regulations can be signed off and certificated by a council building control inspector. However they are an extra cost, and far too busy to sign off every new boiler, window replacement, etc etc. So they authorise relevant professionals to do this on their behalf under the Competant Persons Scheme .

All GasSafe registered engineers undergo training, and competance testing, and then become Competant Persons, and as such they can self-certify their own work (which is randomly checked periodically to ensure they continue to do so in accordance with BRs).

HampshireH

You can get a copy of the building regs cert for a couple of £ if one was applied for. So providing there was one that shouldnt be a problem for you.

Thats different to an install certificate though which tests everything.

Try

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/notifications/landing-page/

silvercar

Welcome Fran_2012,
I will merge your threads together.

Jeepers_Creepers

Assuming you will be living there for, ooh, 5 years or more, the lack of installation cert will likely have little effect when you come to sell on, provided you'd had regular services carried out to show that the boiler is safe and well maintained (and 'regular' doesn't even need to be every single year unless you have a warranty to maintain). 

However, your warranty will be affected without the correct registering of the install, so it's worth pursuing for this alone. WB tend to offer extended warranties - up to 10 years - on certain parts such as the main exchanger, so that would be at jeopardy without the docs. 

Basically what I'm saying is, provided you are confident - by having it checked and serviced - that it's safe and running as it should, the actual lack of documentation becomes less relevant as time goes on. BUT, I would absolutely expect your solicitor to chase up the correct certs - if they exist. If they don't exist, I'd expect an explanation from the previous owner - was it fitted as a DIY project, by a non-GasSafe plumber, what? If they cannot produce this I think they could be obliged to cover the cost of whatever it takes to have the installation checked (a bit more than a service) or even retro-certify (if that's doable).

It would be your call how far to take this. 

Fran_2012

Hi Guys,
I know it’s been a while but there has been an update on this issue that and I’d appreciate anyone’s advice...

So I did chase the issue of the correct boiler certificate with my solicitor...
I explained what the TA6 reads regarding an enclosed certificate,
I also forwarded on the email from my solicitor that reads “I now attach all deeds that we hold on file relating to your boiler enquiry” which was sent alongside the incorrect boiler cert. (Sent June 2019, 2 months after completion)

After being ignored, I finally received a response from another solicitor at the firm explaining their colleague (who completed my sale) has now left. And that in fact there is no boiler completion certificate and never has been... and this is why indemnity insurance was taken out on completion (April 2019)

I replied informing them I had no idea about an indemnity insurance and why this hadn’t been mentioned when I emailed for the missing boiler docs in June... Their response ;”We apologise for the oversight” and sent the indemnity insurance dated April 2019.
 Surely now this is evidence of a !!!!!! up on their part rather than mine?

Any advice appreciated 
Fran 

AdrianC

Fran_2012 said:

So I did chase the issue of the correct boiler certificate with my solicitor...
I explained what the TA6 reads regarding an enclosed certificate,
I also forwarded on the email from my solicitor that reads “I now attach all deeds that we hold on file relating to your boiler enquiry” which was sent alongside the incorrect boiler cert. (Sent June 2019, 2 months after completion)

After being ignored, I finally received a response from another solicitor at the firm explaining their colleague (who completed my sale) has now left. And that in fact there is no boiler completion certificate and never has been... and this is why indemnity insurance was taken out on completion (April 2019)

I replied informing them I had no idea about an indemnity insurance and why this hadn’t been mentioned when I emailed for the missing boiler docs in June... Their response ;”We apologise for the oversight” and sent the indemnity insurance dated April 2019.
 Surely now this is evidence of a !!!!!! up on their part rather than mine?

The boiler was installed in 2016. It is now the end of 2020. There is no way that the local authority can pursue any failure to get Building Regs sign-off for the installation, so the indemnity is pretty much useless.

It is now your boiler, and any work to it is for you. Querying the quality of the installation should have been done by hiring a gassafe-registered trader to perform a survey of the boiler pre-purchase. It's entirely possible that the gas regs changed between 2016 and 2019, and what would have been acceptable in 2016 was no longer acceptable for a new install in 2019. That doesn't mean that the 2016-standard is somehow no longer acceptable for continued use...