Gas safety check/boiler service overdue

vernall

Hi guys
Coming to the final stages of buying a house, and been sent all the stuff for me to check from my solicitor such as fixtures and fittings list and photocopy of latest gas safety check/boiler inspection. This was last dated in March 2019. I do believe the house was in the process of being sold around March 2020 but it fell through, also with COVID around this time so may of been overlooked having it done.
Am I right that I should bring this up with my solicitor and get them to do it before house sale goes through?

davidmcn

I doubt your solicitor knows how to service a boiler...if you want it checked (and it isn't compulsory for you to do so) then you arrange it yourself.

macman

There is no requirement for the vendor to supply any such documentation or certification, unless you are purchasing a BTL property. However, if the boiler was still under warranty and has missed it's annual service by 7 months, then any remaining warranty will now have been voided.

vernall

davidmcn said:

I doubt your solicitor knows how to service a boiler...if you want it checked (and it isn't compulsory for you to do so) then you arrange it yourself.

Sorry poor choice of words. I did mean the homeowner get it serviced lol. Surely they should have all the relevant safety checks done as a) they have been living there for 6 months without them and b) if your trying to sell a house to someone

davidmcn

vernall said:

davidmcn said:

I doubt your solicitor knows how to service a boiler...if you want it checked (and it isn't compulsory for you to do so) then you arrange it yourself.

Sorry poor choice of words. I did mean the homeowner get it serviced lol. Surely they should have all the relevant safety checks done as a) they have been living there for 6 months without them and b) if your trying to sell a house to someone

There's no requirement on owner-occupiers to service or carry out safety checks, even if they are selling. You can ask them (nicely), though you may prefer to trust your own choice of gas person (you're not going to have much comeback if the vendor's contractor does something wrong). But if it's been inspected relatively recently and appears to be working (presume it is if people are living there), is it really necessary? Most people wouldn't bother.

tom9980

vernall said:

davidmcn said:

I doubt your solicitor knows how to service a boiler...if you want it checked (and it isn't compulsory for you to do so) then you arrange it yourself.

Sorry poor choice of words. I did mean the homeowner get it serviced lol. Surely they should have all the relevant safety checks done as a) they have been living there for 6 months without them and b) if your trying to sell a house to someone

There is no law requiring homeowners service or have gas Safe checks done.

Marmaduke123

macman said:

There is no requirement for the vendor to supply any such documentation or certification, unless you are purchasing a BTL property. However, if the boiler was still under warranty and has missed it's annual service by 7 months, then any remaining warranty will now have been voided.

It might be an idea to check with the manufacturer and find out if this is actually the case. They may be allowing an extended period between services owing to lockdown.

greatcrested

a) no. (my dad lived in his house for 35 years and never had the boiler serviced or inspected - bit extreme and I was shocked, but perfectly legal and the boier worked fine. And no, he didn't die of CO poisoning!

b) no. Buyer can choose to inspect if he chooses, in the same way he can choose to have a survey, or not.

Falafels

macman said:

There is no requirement for the vendor to supply any such documentation or certification, unless you are purchasing a BTL property. However, if the boiler was still under warranty and has missed it's annual service by 7 months, then any remaining warranty will now have been voided.

I was selling my house in 2019, expecting to exchange around the beginning of August but the sale fell through. The boiler was due its annual service in late July, but I forgot about it until later in the year, and it didn't get done until December. It didn't affect my warranty at all; the engineer doing the service picked up a minor issue, and when I contacted Worcester Bosch to deal with it, all they asked was if the boiler had been serviced in the last year.

To the OP - up to you whether you ask your vendor to do it or carry it out yourself, but I personally wouldn't hold up the transaction by bringing it up with your solicitors...  and then going through the merry-go-round of them requesting it from your vendor's solicitors, them contacting the vendor, the vendor organising the service (and that's if they agree - they don't have to!) and then getting back to their  solicitors, who in turn will get back to yours to confirm that it has been - especially if the legal professionals tend to take their time over communications! 

TheProfessional

Our buyers solicitor asked us if we would get the boiler services as it had been 2 years+

Cost £45 and kept the buyer happy

Lucielou1

Our buyers solicitor brought to up as part of the enquires as we hadn’t had our boiler services for 2 years. They asked if we could have it done before exchange. To keep the peace we had it done and send the details to the solicitor. Didn’t want hassle of going back saying no!