Help - my mum (seller) has damaged house between exchange and completion who is liable

[Loujalou]

Sorry for the long title but basically my mum left the tap on in her bathroom over night and it dripped all the way into the kitchen below.

This was yesterday. She was due to complete tomorrow and this happened yesterday.

She is being made to pay the cost of fixing it but it was my understanding that you need buildings insurance at the point of exchange (buyer) and the buyer is responsible. The buyers solicitor is threatening to cancel the completion if my mum doesn't pay £600.

Help!

[ditavonteesed]

I know nothing about legally but morally surely your mum is responsible.

[Lauriefairycake]

Yes, she should pay. I had a leak and had it fixed between exchange and completion.

If you think about it - if there was an acrimonious sale then the seller could deliberately damage it and say 'it's not my problem'

Your mums insurance is also still in place surely - so she should claim on her insurance to pay and she will only have to pay the excess.

[1234ThumbWar]

what ditavonteesed said and I'd agree with the buyers solicitor.

[bruxeur]

Christ almighty. Who is liable? The person who left the tap on - or the person who doesn't even have the keys to the place yet?

FFS.

[Loujalou]

On the cab website it says the seller is legally responsible. Morally my mum is responsible.

[Loujalou]

It doesn't make sense but I have read that it is actually the seller. The law doesn't always follow common sense.

[BreevandercampLGJ]

Your mother is responsble, end of story.

[cece]

You definitely need to insure from date of exchange but not sure technically who is liable for the damage.

Surely the solitors handling the sale can tell her?

[LIZS]

Seller ie. your mum, or rather her insurer. £600 sounds a lot though.

[JudgeJudithSheindlin]

Your mother is the seller. She is responsible. Can she not claim on buildings insurance? Many have accidental damage as standard these days

[ANTagony]

Something similar happened to me when buying a house. The sellers paid the excess and claimed on their insurance policy. Their solicitor arranged a transfer of benefit for the work to be done into my name. Therefore the work was done to my specification at my convenience but at no cost to me not delaying the purchase. Nor did it affect my no claims on household insurance.

It did take a bit of emailing, faxing and phoning to get the paper work in place quickly though.

[Loujalou]

Click here CAB advice Its near the bottom of the page. My mum was quite happy to claim against her insurance but they claimed that would be too slow and didn't want that - she was willing to pay the excess of £350. Now they want her to pay £600 so they get it done.

[ANTagony]

If they are getting a morgage it can cause complications to vary the sales price hence an insurance claim. This was my situation.

[Loujalou]

As I say my mum was more than happy to pay the insurance excess to get it fixed its just now they want her to pay the price of the remedial works which is more.

[ConnorTraceptive]

Oh well in that case I'm guessing she's within her rights to claim through her insurance. Obviously in any house buying situation the buyer can make demands but you don't have to comply I'm guessing they won't pull out before completion

[Lulumaam]

why would she not be liable? i don't understand why you think the law is not following common sense

she still owns the house, although exchanging contracts binds her to sell the house, she owns it still. she lives there, left the tap on, caused damage

why woudl the buyers who don't yet own it, have to pay?

legally she is the owner therefore liable, no?

[sorrento56]

Morally - your mother.
If it is the seller as per your post - your mother.
Legally - surely your mother.

Perhaps your mother needs to think if it is worth losing a sale if she insists on going through the insurance and therefore taking longer.

[Loujalou]

Once you exchange contracts according to an article from the Independant:

Mark Harris, managing director at mortgage broker Savills Private Finance, warns that some vendors cancel their buildings cover once they have exchanged contracts. "Many properties end up being dual insured, but this is not always the case," he says. "The buyer is contractually obliged to buy the property once contracts are exchanged even if the property burns down before they complete."

[goingbacktowork]

The buyer must always insure the building from the point of exchange

[ConnorTraceptive]

Mind you paying it might be the fairer thing to do. I'd be pretty pissed off moving into a house that suddenly had water damage that needed fixing.

[Loujalou]

I agree she should pay and she is happy to do so. She just wanted me to check the legal position.

[lal123]

I don't understand why you would think it would be the buyer who would be liable? Until completion the house is your mum's responsibility? We had this when we were selling a flat years ago - had to take £500 off selling price

[nameymcnamechange]

Doesn't seem fair that the solicitor can insist your mum pays the full cost of repair (£600) without claiming on her insurance (£350). I can see what you're saying - not everyone has read the whole thread.

[goingbacktowork]

I think legally it is a moot point as there should be double insurance in place.

In any event I don't think your mum should be forced to pay with her own money when she is insured and happy to put it through on her insurance. Chances are buyer will take the money and put it through on their own insurance anyway!

Can your mum's solicitor advise?

[sorrento56]

If she is happy to pay why does she want to know the legal position?