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NotAClue0085

Hi Everyone,

I am completely cluesslees on this so seeing if anyone can advise from their expertise or past experiences.

Myself and my wife are looking to buy a house, it has been listed as being rewired since 2005 we think around 2008-2012. Now the seller can't supply any BS7671, Build Reg or Building control certs. Our solicitor is doing more searches with the council to try and find the work I believe, maybe that's wrong? But he is very thorough and from the old school

Backstory on the house is the sellers purchased it as their forever home it would appear as they have planning permission for a large extension. However they are now getting divorced and want the house sold, bit sad really as it looks amazing and really loved. The husband is an electrician by trade, and they have children so I don't want to say he has not done a good job, if it's his home I bet it is probably his best work but lack of Certs is worrying us slightly. Could he have just not bothered as never expected to have to sell it?

Would getting an EICR be the next best thing? I am assuming that is not intrusive in terms of bashing holes in walls to check cables etc? Not expecting the house to be up to current regs as I guess these change so often, just want to know the electrical install is safe!

Annoyingly same for the boiler installation, no gas safe or corgi cert :(

Is this type of thing common?

As we have a young child and planning more I want to know things are sound

Thanks
Steve
 
Others will advise better, but my suggestion is that if you get an EICR done, it is a third party that you specify yourself. Being cynical, with him being a spark it would be easy for him to fabricate numbers in less than half hour and give you a certificate that is essentially worth nothing.
 
an EICR is the way forward here. this would not involve any disruption. a few faceplates lifted off for inspection etc. whether or not building control will issue a completion notice is up to them, but mainly an EICR will tell you about the condition of the installation. several members are south of the severn. might be able to assist.
 
Would have thought anything notifiable if done correctly, by its very nature should be held by the LA and picked up by your solicitor. Must admit the last two houses I purchased were complete wrecks but I can't for the life of me remember paying much attention to the electrics. All I do is check to see the thing isn't about to fall down! This house sounds like mine. Has the extension been built yet? Ps I am still happily married though (well from my point of view I am). Where in Surrey are you?
 
Thanks guys!

So EICR is sounds like a sensible option, epeacially without any holes in the walls haha!! and I guess for what it's worth put my mind at rest about it.

Everything looked extremely neat and tidy but I am no electrician!!

I am thinking our solicitor has picked up they have no certificates. I think in his legal speak he said he is raising additional queries of the seller and doing his own searches with the LA, which I guess means buildings control?

Are all these new regulations a good thing or just more paper work? My dad was an electrician so remember him doing stuff round the house when I was little that's still standing today!! Unfortunately not best of health so can't get him to once over it.

In the Woking Area, Extension hasn't been built yet, but they have proof of planning permissions and the plans if we ever wanted to pick it up. Although if we have more kids I think we will hold off on that. It's tiring enough chasing my daughter round or flat let alone more space!!
 
My wife has a business in Woking that does conveyancing searches with the LA. I'll double check to see if it's something that is picked up during the course of a normal search.
 
My wife has a business in Woking that does conveyancing searches with the LA. I'll double check to see if it's something that is picked up during the course of a normal search.

Oh that would be awesome to know!!

Sensibly if it is legalisation for work to be certificated you would think it is, but I guess you never know :)
 
Mrs FA confirmed that they do pick up on the notifications as part of the search so looks like your solicitor will pick up on it if it's there. If not it will be down to you as to what checks you do on the installation and any subsequent negotiation you enter into. Bear in mind that just because it doesn't meet current BS7671 standards doesn't mean it unsafe and 99% of current installations won't meet the standard I.e plastic CU enclosures.
 
Countless installations are done in disregard to the useless Part P notification process (probably more than the quantity that do go through the process) a Part P notification certificate (for well known reasons) will present very little if any comfort with regard to the installation standard

More important will be a Eicr carried out by a COMPETENT electrician,acquire a satisfactory Eicr and perahps advize your solicitor to cease the worthless paper chase regarding part P bits of paper
 
Solicitor will only go on what is readily available at the LA. If the minion in the planning department says 'computer say no' there ain't much more they can do. As OP has said, all solicitor can do is go back to seller and ask if he has any bits of paper stashed away somewhere.
 
From a buyers perspective, you can get your conveyancer to insist on an indemnity for the lack of gas and electric certs. These are not very expensive for the seller and are basically an insurance against being asked by Local Building Control to make good. It's often a fact that paperwork just doesn't get done (always a good reason at the time...) and if the work was done years ago I agree the condition report route is best.
 
No gas safe cert isn't helpful but that is fairly easily sorted..... As would an EICR.... And as houses around here aren't cheap these two items aren't going to get noticed in all the moving fees....
 
Wish all online forums were like this one! In terms of useful responses! Appreciate everyone's advise

Got to speak to our solicitor in a free moment today. Prior to me asking about the electric & gas certs he has already asked for the seller to supply a gas safe cert via a boiler service. And a host of other bits he wants sorting, things I would never have thought about!

So at the moment he has said watch this space basically for electric bits. I guess from local searches he also found out the bathroom electrics were refitted? Perhaps that all it was? But if they put their hands up and say we don't have em I guess indemnity and EICR will be the way forward.

Although what does indemnity cover? Just protection against the LA fining you? Or them asking for it to be ripped out and done again?

But as mentioned by Murdoch, in terms of house prices Gas Safe, electric certs are cheap compared to all the other rubbish!!

Maybe I'll need to hit you guys up about getting EICR, once our solicitor has what he wants to advise us

Am wondering now if the sellers have done it all correctly but either not been bothered to supply paper work or lost it? They say they have no cert for the new double glazing, quick check on FENSA and there is a certificate for all the doors and windows they had replaced at the year they said it was done?

What I am confused about is if you can do things to get around not having elec certs, building control etc, by doing EICR or this indemnity, then are they a bit useless? Wouldn't it be easier if they were enforced and you HAD to have them to buy and sell?

Never been great at understanding grey areas!!
 
Although what does indemnity cover? Just protection against the LA fining you? Or them asking for it to be ripped out and done again?

This will depend on the insurance Ts & Cs, but if LBC direct you to make changes this should be the insurable event. As long as you don't ignore an order from them I don't think you'll have to worry about fines, but your Solicitor knows best of course.
 
Surely any insurance company would want some sort of EICR before taking the risk of insuring so surely if the LBC had an issue they would also require an EICR prior to ordering any work? Surely it would just make sense to get an EICR done if there were any concerns? Am I missing something?
 
Surely any insurance company would want some sort of EICR before taking the risk of insuring so surely if the LBC had an issue they would also require an EICR prior to ordering any work? Surely it would just make sense to get an EICR done if there were any concerns? Am I missing something?
That would be sensible :)
If I understand this insurance product correctly, the risk insured is that of being asked to rectify. For the insurance folks, a report would size their risk but they do that by setting a max £ value to a claim.
 
OP, I would be a bit cautious when considering buying this property. No certs for electrics or gas; has a completion certificate been issued for the extension?

A friend of mine agreed on the purchase of a property. It had been renovated & extended by a local builder (owner). He had seemed to have done a decent job. They set their heart on it, only to find out quite late on in the conveyancing, that he had not sort building regs approval. They still wanted the property, so were advised to purchase indemnity insurance, which Wilko has spoken about. There is a time limit, after which the council cannot take action, this insurance 'covers' you during this period; bearing in mind you will take on the responsibility for any unapproved works done by the vendor, once you purchase the property.

You need to take advice from your solicitor.
 

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