Building regs for boiler and electrics

PMMLondon

I’m after some advice please. I’m nearing exchange on a house purchase. The local search showed no building regs entries for the property. The owner said the boiler was installed in 2018 and while they’ve provided a gas safe certificate from 2019, there’s no building regs compliance certificate. I’m going to ask my solicitor to ask the owner to see if she can get the installer to register it retrospectively but don’t hold out much hope. From doing my research, I’m wondering if my options are to ask the owner to provide an indemnity against the council taking enforcement action, plus asking for them to get an up to date gas safety check. I know they’ll kick off about this but I have no evidence that the boiler is only three years old and it’s unclear whether they had a suitably qualified person install it.
Secondly, the owner had a new consumer unit fitted in 2015. They provided a Domestic Electrical Installation certificate to evidence this but it’s unsigned and has a couple of pages missing, so is incomplete. My solicitor asked them to get a full copy from the electrician but they said they haven’t been able to contact him. My solicitor suggests that we just ask them to get the electrics tested before exchange. However, doesn’t this work also need an indemnity as shouldn’t it also have had a building regs compliance certificate?

My solicitor has not noticed any of these things so would appreciate the collective MSE support. Many thanks.

AdrianC

The council can't take enforcement action. It's too long ago, even for the boiler.

Depending when in 2019, the gas safety may well still be current.

Sure, commission your own tests of both if you so wish.

PMMLondon

Thanks for the reply, AdrianC. The gas safety certificate was from April 2019. 

Is there a time limit on the Council taking action? Given that I can’t prove when the boiler was installed how would that work?

greatcrested

https://www.planningportal.co.uk/info/200128/building_control/38/building_regulations/3

PMMLondon

Thanks, greatcrested. That link is real helpful, particularly for the electrics. However, it’s a bit of a catch 22 with the boiler as I can’t prove when it was installed. Even the gas safety certificate just says ‘combi boiler.’

ProDave

If the gas safe certificate says it's safe and an EICR (Electrical Instalation condition Report) says it's satisfactory (or there are not many things needed to make it satisfactory) then what exactly are you worried about?

JIL

You can check the property on the gas safe register.

lesalanos

JIL said:

You can check the property on the gas safe register.

No point as it looks like it wasn't registered at the time 

PMMLondon

There’s no EICR, only an incomplete and unsigned Domestic Electrical Installation certificate. The boiler installation isn’t on the gas safe register.
ProDave; I’m worried that the owner has not kept the proper paperwork meaning that there is no evidence the work was done properly. I also don’t want to get into trouble for not having the work done with building regs compliance. Although it looks like it’d be unlikely the council would know or be able to take action. Furthermore, I don’t want to have problems when I come to sell.

snowcat75

PMMLondon said:

There’s no EICR, only an incomplete and unsigned Domestic Electrical Installation certificate. The boiler installation isn’t on the gas safe register.
ProDave; I’m worried that the owner has not kept the proper paperwork meaning that there is no evidence the work was done properly. I also don’t want to get into trouble for not having the work done with building regs compliance. Although it looks like it’d be unlikely the council would know or be able to take action. Furthermore, I don’t want to have problems when I come to sell.

Building control will not have the slightest interest and do not go around looking to enforce, they struggle to inspect what you have requested them to do. If and when you come to sell the boiler will possibly approaching the end of its life, Electrics wouldn't meet todays standards anyhow even if there only 5 years old, testing will check all the earths and neutrals are in the right place, and that's the important bit.

Even if electrics were to carry the cert from 2015, how do you know the owner hasn't botched half a dozen spurs in the meantime????

So in other words if your worried spend a few hundred quid on getting them tested, and serviced, overwise I wouldn't be overly bothered. 

royalmike

With the boiler its not possible to register it with Gas Safe retrospectively by another engineer, get a gas safety check carried out. Date of manufacture is on serial number for boiler phone the manufacture and ask see if it was registered with them if not no warranty,