Do we need to get electrical tests done before we sell our house?

[namechangedalready]

Hi all, we are getting close to exchange and completion on our sale and our buyers solicitor has asked "please confirm that the electrics will be tested prior to exchange"
Is this something 'compulsory' like the boiler safety checks? Have not sold a house before so no idea, and if we do need to have it done has anyone got any idea how much it should cost? Thanks for your help.

[wowfudge]

Ask your solicitor - that's what you pay them for.

[specialsubject]

certainly not in England/Wales. The buyer does these tests if they want.

boiler safety (gas safe) isn't compulsory on owned properties either, only on rentals.

you've got a game-playing buyer if this has only come up just before exchange. Be prepared for all sorts of mucking about now, I'm afraid. So you could offer to have a test done (£200 maybe) and then they drop the price just before exchange.

as noted, get on to your solicitor, fire this back at them and say you want a date for exchange. If the buyer wants to test electrics, they do it and pay for it.

[crossroads15]

I'd just say "no' and leave it there. They can do it if they want it.

We had something similar recently, we said 'no' and then the solicitor asked us to provide some kind of indemnity insurance for £200. We said 'no' again and that was the end of it. I think it was the solicitor instigating it, our buyers didn't seem to be concerned about it and went ahead as planned.

[0ddsocks]

No your buyer is trying it on, it isn't compulsory. We are buying at the moment but have paid for an electrical check on the property we are buying

[vienaa]

When we brought this house the bank that was giving us the mortgage told us they need the house to have electrical tested, so we paid to get it done, when the results came back it was bad, it needed 3k of work to get it to scratch.. So we told out solicitors there is no way we are paying 3k or we would of pulled out. I would understand if it was a old house but it was not, the couple that lived in it before did it themselves, so after some debate they ended up with taking half off the asking price..... We got the work done as soon as we got the keys and sent the paper to our mortgage, to show it was done..

[PigletJohn]

how old is the house, and how old is the electrical installation?

[TheEmpressofBlandings]

We've just had an electrical survey done on the house we're buying, at our expense. Unfortunately it has shown that the electrics are in a very poor state and the house needs rewiring. We'll be asking for some money off as the house was presented as one which was well-maintained and which only needed cosmetic work doing and our offer was based on that. I don't think that's us trying it on, just basing our offer on new information. Am sure the sellers won't see it like that though!

[Luciferbox]

I've just bought and we were advised to pay for the electrics to be checked independently.

[PrincessOfChina]

All surveys will suggest an electrical inspection I think. Or at least all the ones I've seen do. It's a back covering thing for surveyers.