Taking shelves when moving house

[legfaced]

We are due to move in a few months. We have long and quite expensive scaffold board shelving in our kitchen - AIBU to take it with us when we move?

[quote legfaced]@SebandAlice thanks. Genuinely not concerned if they stay - just wondered how shelves were classed in the whole removable or not![/quote]
Anything screwed in to the walls is classed as a fixture/fitting and in the absence of any indication to the contrary firms part of the sale. That is why the shelves are different to mirrors or pictures, which are usually hung. Just make it clear to the estate agents, and again in the property information questionnaire, and you can take them with you.

@Elastins

Have you filled in the fixtures and fittings list yet?

If not, then list them on there as ‘not included in the sale’ and it’s fine.

If the buyer specifically wants them they can - through their solicitor to yours - ask whether you’d be willing to leave them, and if so, for how much money. That then goes in the contract.

If you’ve already listed them as included in the sale on that form then taking them is not ok as they form part of the contract of sale.

This situation is exactly what that form is designed to cover, and it really doesn’t matter what anyone here thinks or says about whether they’d consider it unreasonable. That form is there to clear up precisely what it and is not included in a sale. It even covers things like light fittings and curtain poles. You don’t list all this stuff on the estate agent information because it’s too long.

For those who are getting on their high horses about what they’d get angry about if it wasn’t included, they’d do well to familiarise themselves with how the process of buying a house actually works, otherwise they could be in for a very disappointing time.

Exactly this.

I think some posters were imagining you had a kitchen with only bottom cupboards and shelves on the top half thus making the shelves "part of the kitchen"?

Regardless, write on your F & F form that you're taking them, fill and make good the holes (including painting over) and all is well.

If you’ve sold your house then the fixtures and fittings form needs to be filled out.

If you don’t know what this is / haven’t done it then you need a better conveyancer!

If you haven’t had a buyer then take them out before viewings

Oops cross posted with everyone

If it's in the photos and not explicitly stated they are not included in the fixtures and fittings list you must leave them. Shelves, fitted wardrobes etc are permanent fixtures. Mirrors and photos hang on hooks so aren't permanent. Similarly if you have light fixtures and aren't leaving them you must state this but lampshades you can take

Id leave it in, scaffolding board shouldn't be very expensive if you wanted them in your new home, is it gold plated?

In the past, it was always the case that fixtures stayed. e.g., shelving and light fittings. It was OK (though in my opinion, rather mean spirited) to remove the light bulbs.
Now there is a form for fixtures and fittings, and everything should be made clear on the form.
If you are removing an expensive chandelier, then it should be clear on the form, and you should not leave exposed wiring, but replace and make good.
I was very disappointed when the vendor to my DS house, removed all the curtain tracks. I thought this was mean, because curtain tracks are unlikely to fit the windows of the house you are buying anyway. However, it was on the form

If you do make it clear on the form that you’re taking them and remove them you have to make good the wall. So fill in any holes and paint the wall.

Yep, YABVU. If you wanted them so badly you needed to have taken them down before you took photos of the house and before you put it up for sale.

If removing the shelves is going to result in damage to the wall and the new owner having to repaint ir replaster, yes YABU.

I would say that if you get a buyer that respects themselves and the shelves were the wow factor of the kitchen and attached to the wall you may rightfully be accused of stealing and to pay for them to be replaced like by like.

If they are fixed to the wall directly and not free standing they should not be taken down unless with prior arrangement with buyer.

You need to make it clear on the F&F form that it isnt included and you need to fix the wall

YANBU

When we bought our house, the prev owners had a list of fixtures and fitting they were going to take.

They patched up any holes before we moved in

@heartsonacake

Yep, YABVU. If you wanted them so badly you needed to have taken them down before you took photos of the house and before you put it up for sale.

Should they also have removed everything that wasn't included? The agent details make it very clear that the things in photos aren't necessarily included in the sale.

OP as others have said, if you've not filled the fixtures and fittings form, simply list them as excluded. It's up to the buyers to decide whether they care.

Of course you can take shelves. It's not like removing a wall. For all you know, the first thing the buyers will do is remove the shelves and throw them in a skip! If they weren't in the kitchen you'd take them without question. This is exactly what the fixtures and fittings form is for.

Ask them what they’re planning to do with the kitchen. If they’re going to rip it out they may not care. Then indicate that on the form.

My ex next door neighbour took his kitchen with them to his new house as his buyers were intending to gut and renovate the whole house.

[quote legfaced]@lukasiak I think you’re missing the point that they’re not part of the kitchen.[/quote]
If they are in the kitchen, then they are part of the kitchen! They're certainly not part of the bathroom!
If you want to take them with you, you need to state this on the form you fill in that specifies exactly what you're taking in terms of light fittings, curtains etc. You should also make good the wall behind the shelves in terms of plaster and decor. It's probably going to be more trouble than it's worth to do this. I'm not sure why you've said they are expensive shelves, scaffold boards are about £5 each where I live!

You can do as long as you state their removal in the fixtures and fittings form, as they are considered part of the fabric of the building and assumed to remain with it.

If you don't state it on the form and take them, the buyer can come after you for the cost to replace them.

Just tell the buyer they are being taken and you will be fine.

@heartsonacake

Yep, YABVU. If you wanted them so badly you needed to have taken them down before you took photos of the house and before you put it up for sale.

Nope! Not true.

@TheMotherofAllDilemmas

If removing the shelves is going to result in damage to the wall and the new owner having to repaint ir replaster, yes YABU.

I would say that if you get a buyer that respects themselves and the shelves were the wow factor of the kitchen and attached to the wall you may rightfully be accused of stealing and to pay for them to be replaced like by like.

People can no longer leave holes in ceilings / walls. The op would need to make good before completion, which would incur costs for them.

As many others have said, it just needs to be made clear they are detailed as not included in the f&f form.

Have you competed the fixtures and fittings list yes OP?

As @Idontgiveagriffindamn mentions - this should be on the fixtures and fitting form. Personally if I'd have wanted to take them I would have removed them in advance and made good the holes. I think it's off putting for buyers.

People saying it's part of kitchen because they're in the sale pictures... so is most people's furniture. That's why there's a detailed list that you give the estate agent saying what and what isn't included. Wardrobes are also often attached to the wall for instance. I would take them but make it clear.

If they are in the kitchen, then they are part of the kitchen!

There are lots of things in my kitchen that aren't "part of the kitchen"