Buying a house - missing Electrical Installation Certificate

dohgallagher

Hi all,

We are buying a house built around 2011 as first-time buyers. The sellers do not have a copy of the EIC and are not willing to pay for an indemnity policy because they have paid for a very recent EICR, which came back fine. The house is just for us, not for renting. The sellers have written that there has been no major electrical work since it was built.

I understand that there is a theoretical risk of the local authority fining or requiring reinstallation but I can't find examples of this happening in a standard situation like ours, nor obvious reasons which would prompt them to do so.

Do we need to worry about this or would you be happy to buy with an EICR but no EIC or indemnity?

Thanks!

Section62

dohgallagher said:

We are buying a house built around 2011 as first-time buyers. The sellers do not have a copy of the EIC and are not willing to pay for an indemnity policy because they have paid for a very recent EICR, which came back fine. The house is just for us, not for renting. The sellers have written that there has been no major electrical work since it was built.

I understand that there is a theoretical risk of the local authority fining or requiring reinstallation but I can't find examples of this happening in a standard situation like ours, nor obvious reasons which would prompt them to do so.

Do we need to worry about this or would you be happy to buy with an EICR but no EIC or indemnity?

Did the houuse have building control (or equivalent) signoff when it was first built?  If so the electrical installation was deemed compliant with the regulations at the time.

After 13 years the prospect of LA enforcement action is about as low as it can get.

If there is subsequent work the vendors are not telling you about then the situation would be different.

Mark_d

The electrician who completed the investigation/testing should have a copy of the EIC

ProDave

A recent satisfactory EICR trumps the rest.  It means the installation is still safe (which a 13 year old EIC would not prove)  Just accept that and proceed.  No need whatsoever for an indemnity policy.

dohgallagher

Thanks, all. I do not know who the original electrical installer was and I guess the sellers don't either. 

I don't have a building control sign-off from the sellers but when I search the address on checkmynotifcation.com there is the option to "buy notification" for £25. At the top of the page it says that they sell copies of the Building Regulations Certificate of Compliance so I guess that's what they have rather than the EIC. Not sure if it is worth paying to find out?! The house is part of a large estate built by a big developer so it is hard to imagine it would not have been certified properly at some point.

I really appreciate your responses. It is hard to know as a first-time buyer whether this is important or just one of those things solicitors like getting hung up on.

daveyjp

If you want reports on any installations it is down to you as buyer to arrange and pay for someone to do them.

ProDave

dohgallagher said:

Thanks, all. I do not know who the original electrical installer was and I guess the sellers don't either. 

I don't have a building control sign-off from the sellers but when I search the address on checkmynotifcation.com there is the option to "buy notification" for £25. At the top of the page it says that they sell copies of the Building Regulations Certificate of Compliance so I guess that's what they have rather than the EIC. Not sure if it is worth paying to find out?! The house is part of a large estate built by a big developer so it is hard to imagine it would not have been certified properly at some point.

I really appreciate your responses. It is hard to know as a first-time buyer whether this is important or just one of those things solicitors like getting hung up on.

It would help if you posted the full problem at the start.  So the problem is not just the lack of original EIC but lack of building regulations completion certificate.  That may, or man not be due to the lack of the original EIC.

You are outside the time that building control can enforce you to do anything. So perhaps the indemnity is the solution.  The EIC says the electrics are safe.  What does the rest of the survey on the property say.

Your solicitor should look into WHY it does not have building control sign off. to at least find out how far it got and why it was not signed off.

Are the present vendors the original buyers when it was new?  Was it built for them as an individual house or part of a developers scheme?

dohgallagher

Thanks. As I said, I am completely new to this and appreciative of advice as to what is important.

The property survey is all fine. The recent EICR is all fine. I am not saying that the building control wasn't signed off, only that I don't have a copy of said document. I suspect the current (and first) owners just didn't realise they should have it or don't know where it is because they didn't realise it was important 11 years ago. The property is part of a large estate of very similar houses built by a developer so I suppose there to be low risk of a poorly thought-through custom installation that didn't show up in the EICR.

My gut feeling here is that the risk of actual safety issues is very low due to recent EICR, recent property survey and being part of a very regular estate. The risk of us getting in trouble for not being able to produce the certificate seems vanishingly small, from what has been written here.

propertyrental

you have a recent inspection report (EICR) saying the electrics are fine.

The original electrical workl was done more than 4 years ago, so enforcement by the LA is out of time.

So an indemnity insurance policy is just money down the drain.

If you have concerns about the electrics, get your own up to date inspection done.

Grizebeck

Mountains and mole hills

ProDave

Why do you think you are going to get into trouble?  From who?  If the council wanted to take enforcement action because the building was never signed off, it is too late for them to do that.  You are worrying about the wrong things.

It would be very unusual if the house did not have building control sign off.  Just carry on and buy it.