Damp, mould and shoddy wiring/pipe work found

D3xt3r5L4b

We are in the process of renovating our kitchen and upon removal of the base units have found excessive amounts of damp and mould, rotting wood under wall tiles, and poorly integrated plumbing and electrics (waste pipes “leaning” in the wrong direction, electrical wires hanging loose outside the wall not within the plasterboard or any trunking, gas pipe for oven not secured to the wall, amongst other things).

We moved into the property in October 2019 but have obviously only discovered these issues now as they were “covered” by the kitchen base units.

Do we have any redress against the previous owners for DIY bodge-work, safety issues with the electric wires and gas pipe, and covering “known” damp issues?

Splatfoot

No. Maybe they didn't know it was there either? Anyway, it's your house now so I'm afraid it's your 'problem'. The joys of home ownership! 

wilfred30

No, of course you don't.  Apart from anything else, what makes you think the sellers knew about the issue if you didn't discover it until after you removed the kitchen cupboards over a year later.

flashg67

Probably not - 'buyer beware' likely applies, especially after so long. Was it even the previous owners who had it done? I'm moving out of my house soon and have no idea what the wiring is like behind the cabinets - it was there when I moved in.  Even a survey wouldn't be able to find that out
Unless the sellers said they'd had work done on the property form I'd say you're unlikely to get any redress - even then I'd have expected your solicitor to ask for certificates for any work done
Are you sure it's actually illegal (or was it at the time at least) - I had a new kitchen circuit added in a rental house I owned, and wires were left loose to facilitate putting the sockets in cupboards etc and the electrician who fitted it signed it off ok.

AdrianC

D3xt3r5L4b said:

We are in the process of renovating our kitchen and upon removal of the base units have found excessive amounts of damp and mould, rotting wood under wall tiles, and poorly integrated plumbing and electrics (waste pipes “leaning” in the wrong direction, electrical wires hanging loose outside the wall not within the plasterboard or any trunking, gas pipe for oven not secured to the wall, amongst other things).

We moved into the property in October 2019 but have obviously only discovered these issues now as they were “covered” by the kitchen base units.

Do we have any redress against the previous owners for DIY bodge-work, safety issues with the electric wires and gas pipe, and covering “known” damp issues?

Your best path for redress is...
1. Find out who installed the kitchen that you're now removing.
2. Don't use them.

What did your survey say about the kitchen? What did it say about general exclusions?

couriervanman

Most older houses will have a hidden mess of pipes wire etc behind/under kitchen units......." gas pipe for oven not secured to the wall".....unless your going to drag your oven back and and forwards without checking its not a major problem.
As others have said your house your problem its the joys of home ownership, how do you know the previous owners were responsible.


"Do we have any redress against the previous owners for DIY bodge-work, safety issues with the electric wires and gas pipe, and covering “known” damp issues?".......Do you mean compensation

Davesnave

Welcome to the Renovators' Club.

In the interests of clarity, I will simply say there is rarely, if ever, a prospect of obtaining compo to cover your membership fees. Apart from yourself, the only person you might blame for discovering problems like this is your surveyor, but even a full buildings survey cannot involve removal of fitted units.

Angela_D_3

Oh lordy if youd have seen what we found behind the bodged tiles - floor to ceiling in our kitchen that  the  previous owners had done you would have wept. 

Its all part of the fun 

Falafels

Annoying, yes, but sadly this sort of thing happens. As others have said, it's one of the joys....

I owned a house where one of the previous owners had been a jobbing bodger  builder and, after the first couple of years, became resigned to the fact that jobs which should have been quite quick and easy WEREN'T going to be. I had wooden panelling in the kitchen which I never dared remove or look behind! It wasn't the couple I'd bought from who were responsible, either.

On the plus side, I did learn a lot about how to do things properly during my time there!

Newly_retired

We have just had some plumbing work done in our extension, which revealed unsafe electrics previously hidden. Our plumber was able to get an electrician in straightaway to make it safe. It added £50 to our plumber’s bill. No, I am not going to try to reclaim this from the previous owners who I know had the extension built.
it happens.

Davesnave

There are usually plenty of clues to a modern-day bodger-in-residence, but sometimes they are far off in time and space. If most of their handiwork has already been addressed, the remainder may only be in places like behind kitchen units.

When we removed our old, still functional kitchen in 2015, the manufacturer's quality control stamps on the rear showed the units to be almost 30 years old, so installed long before the previous occupants took up residence.