Help re certificates and selling a property

[Ronnie888]

I was hoping someone is able to help, we have had electrical work done on our house and are now moving we were not issued with a certificate after the work was done. In the solicitor pack it now states if you have had any e
ectrocal work carried out and if so to supply the relevant certificate, which we can't do.

i know I can get the electrical condition report done but that is different to what they are asking.

can you note sell you house without one? Surely there must be another option to get one as this must happen to thouands of people?

If if we anyone can help advise or knows if a similar situation and how it was resolved that would be a huge help.

thanks

 

[Darkwood]

Welcome to the forum Ronnie888...

As far as I'm aware you can sell your house without any cert's but this may reflect on the cost, if you can provide proof the electrics are of a good standard it is a good selling point, you need to ask your estate agent whether it is required but its been 10yrs since I moved house so I may be out of touch here.

 

[Octopus]

I was hoping someone is able to help, we have had electrical work done on our house and are now moving we were not issued with a certificate after the work was done. In the solicitor pack it now states if you have had any e
ectrocal work carried out and if so to supply the relevant certificate, which we can't do.

i know I can get the electrical condition report done but that is different to what they are asking.

can you note sell you house without one? Surely there must be another option to get one as this must happen to thouands of people?

If if we anyone can help advise or knows if a similar situation and how it was resolved that would be a huge help.

thanks

when was the work done and what did it entail?

 

[Ronnie888]

It was carried out two years ago, re wire and new fuse board, it was done by a qualified electrician but was never signed off. And from what I've ready electricians can only come in and do the condition report, but I would like to know there is a back up if that report isn't good enough. Surely there must be if people don't have the certificate they need?

 

[Richard Burns]

The solicitor pack tends to look imposing and demanding when normally you can ignore most of the requests and merely state that these have not been done.
This may reflect slightly on the price as these can be used as a bargaining point to a limited extent.
However if you have no certificate then state no certificate, it is then up to the buyer if they want to proceed in this state, if an EICR is requested then this cost can be added to the asking price. Though Murdoch post is relevant; if it was not significant work then the point may be moot.

Though of course from the electrician point of view I would ask why you did not receive a certificate, especially since not supplying certificates is usually only done by those who are not competent electricians.

 

[Ronnie888]

Thank your for your reply, so do the solicitors on the buyers side not request one if you have ticked work has been done? during and after the work was carried out someone who was registered was meant to come out to check and sign off but unfortunately this did not happen. It has be re wired and a new fuse board put in.

thanks

 

[andyb]

As far as I'm aware there is no legislation that requires certification of electrical work when a house is sold.
However if the buyer or their solicitor demand one then you will need to get an eicr.

There is still the issue of if the work was notifiable or not which is a different matter.

My mum has just sold her house also in Essex and was asked for the cert for the consumer unit change that I carried out 9 years ago even though she had passed it on to her solicitor at the very start of proceedings. It's just a box ticking excersise some go through.

But where I live in West Sussex there seems to be no requirement for electrical certs. I'm often asked to do tests for new owners whose own solicitors have not requested one.

 

[Ronnie888]

I have found someone to carry out an eicr cert just so I have one to hand.

With regards to the work being noticeable (do you mean to building control?) if so it wasn't as it was meant to be signed off. Can these cause problems? What is the worse case sinario that can happen? As Ideally I want to be prepared and get things in place so nothing can conflict or delay the sale of the house

thanks for your help

 

[SJD]

... and get things in place so nothing can conflict or delay the sale of the house

I have the impression most of the issues like this that come up can be solved by paying for an insurance policy, supposedly to indemnify the buyer against unforeseen costs.

On the last house I sold, we bought a policy because the fence location did not quite match the plans (by less than a foot), quite ridiculous but was not worth arguing against, we just paid.

 

[Richard Burns]

A rewire and a consumer unit change has been work that is notifiable to building control under Part P of the building regulations since 2005.
If the work was done safely i.e. installed in accordance with both the building regulations and the wiring regulations at the time (although the issue of installation certificates is part of the wiring regulations) and has been in place for over 12 months then no legal proceedings can be taken.

In terms of selling a house there is no requirement for the property to be safe, although the implication on buying a residential property is that it is safe for use in the general case.
Unless there are specific items that are of concern to the buyer and are justified then the condition of the property is merely a matter for negotiation based on assumptions of danger.

SJDs solution seems to have some merit, especially if you are sure the installation was done properly, but do watch the wording of the policy to ensure you are not leaving yourself open to spurious claims.

 

[Midwest]

You can take out an indemnity insurance,but it is actally a legal indemnity insurance, that only actually covers the buyer from any enforcement action taken out by the council. These polocies are normally taken out, when a house has had building work carried out without planning or building regs, but you may be able to obtain one for electrical work. However, you must be convinced of the quality of work, and there are strict conditions loaded in the policy.

My council offer a 'Regularisation Certificate', which allows you to apply for retrospective building regs' consent. The application incudes electrical work, but comes with a fee £618. An the 'work' will need inspecting by the council.

Your options are; 1) Do nothing, and the buyer will be responsible for any subsequent failures of the work or council legal action (think they have up to two years, unless there's a H&S issue). 2) Apply to the council and take out retrospective consent. 3) Take out indemnity insurance for the buyer.

You should take advice on this from your solicitor.