Buying a house- fixtures and fittings

[MumDadBingoBlueyy]

We’re in the process of buying a house and have recently found out that the vendor plans to remove all light fittings, curtain poles, shelving (including some built to fit around the chimney breast), and even rails that were fitted to the wall to create a dressing room setup.
We understand that technically some of these may be classed as fittings rather than fixtures, but this level of removal feels excessive to us — especially the dressing room rails and custom shelving, which seem integral to the use of the space.

Given that we made our offer with the assumption these items were included (nothing was mentioned about them being removed at the time), we’re now wondering:
Are we being unreasonable to want to renegotiate the price based on this?

We’re prepared to proceed with the purchase, but we don’t think the house is worth quite as much without those elements, especially as we’ll now need to replace lighting, storage, and dressing room functionality

Why an electrican?? Takes about 5min learn on YouTube

Mine took the oven (gross manky thing but still annoying using camping stove for 5m), half the carpet in the room?? Like u may as well have it all. All the light bulbs n found out months later all the batteries from the smoke alarms

I bought a fiat and the seller attempted to remove a bathroom light but did so incompletely. I received an electric shock!!

@Deebee90I hope he took that up with his solicitor/conveyancer!

OP, I worked in a solicitors doing conveyancing and I saw my fair share of people taking stuff that others would leave, sometimes questionable but they had paid for it at the end of the day. Most of the time it was as they wanted it for their new house and not to be awkward. You can ask if they would consider leaving it and they can either ask you to purchase them for a cost or just say no, they need them. It doesn’t hurt to ask but at the same time, they don’t have to leave them.

OP, insist you view the house just before you exchange as this type of vendor is just the type to rip you off.

Email your solicitor first about this so you have a record of asking for this to be sorted out.

I thought if it is attached physically to the structure, it can't be removed and not replaced by like for like?.

Ten years ago my friend was advised to do a final look around once the vendors had left.
They were a bit pissy about it.
It was an expensive house.
Turns out they had cleared the house of all fixtures and fittings, ridiculously so, and dug up many plants in the garden.

They halted the transfer of funds.
Their solicitor knew the solicitor of the vendors and went after him and the EA very hard, and their solicitor duly gave them a total earful.

They were told to make good what they had done or the sale was off and they would be caught for costs.
Their solicitor was very pissed off with them.

Leaving holes in walls leaves you with a huge mess. Take it very seriously.
Create a paper trail.
Also contact the Estae agents to ask are they aware of the mess they are trying to leave.

My friends were furious and caused them maximum embarrassment.
They knew their new neighbours where they were moving to, and told them what they had done.
They also told their old neighbours about it.
Maximum embarrassment.

Yabu. This is what these forms are for. We have just moved and had a bookshelf which was purpose made for the space but could be adjusted to another space and been in situ for ten years but like new and cost 1k. We never planned to leave it and our buyers didn't expect us to. Took husband half an hour to take it down and looks amazing in our next house. We did leave the sellers a bottle of cava and a congratulations on your new home, all the curtain poles but took the curtains and using them in next house. Again all mentioned on the form. You know what your sellers are taking and leaving. It's now up to you to negotiate with them....hope everything goes well for you. It's so stressful moving...can I suggest you get a box together of things you need for your first night eg pj's, pants, socks, toothbrush, tea bags etc. we made that mistake. Which of the 1000 boxes has clean pants and socks and where was the toothbrush...

@TheSnootiestFox I think you are taking this thread a bit personally! I don't think anyone object's to you taking your curtain pole. It's more the petty sellers removing light bulbs that are wanky!
The only comparison to OP's seller removing custom made shelving that springs to my mind were the custom built cupboards we had made at our old property, they were beautiful and so bloody useful and I wouldn't have dreamed for a second of removing them.
We left curtains, all light fittings etc. Our buyer could literally move her stuff in and start living (it was also in beautiful decorative order and I cleaned like the tazmanian devil until the moment we left for the last time!). On the plus side, the owners of the property we moved into did exactly the same for us, which meant some of the stress of moving was alleviated as everything was clean and in working order.
I do think if a property is presented a certain way (Ie livable immediately) then we should have a moral (if not legal) obligation to leave it that way for the next owners, if you want to take your Laura Ashley light fitting with you then I am sure B&M will do one remarkably similar to the untrained eye, we just need a box on the fixtures and fittings form for 'replaced with B&M lookalike'.😆

No, not at all! I just can't get over the sense of entitlement of some house buyers. I once sold a house that I'd moved out of and it still had some antique furniture in plus an edwardian stained glass front door that I'd never got round to hanging. A viewer mentioned it and I said that it would be available to buy and she just said that she assumed it would all come with the house and was genuinely shocked that she'd have to buy it separately if she wanted it! Same with this one, I had a brand new not even connected yet farmhouse gas cooker and a dishwasher etc that was only a few months old, again shock that I'd expect to sell them separately!

As you've alluded to beautifully, not all of us have a house full of b and m tat that is easily replaced and I find it breathtaking that someone would think that if they buy my house then they'd get all sorts of other lovely things for free!

@TheSnootiestFox You’d rather take down and sell your six month old kitchen blinds to someone else rather than leave them in the room they were measured for because you don’t feel the buyer is worthy of your Emma Bridgewater blinds which will probably just have some banal kitchen slogan on them anyway? Is it a print of a snooty fox?

Like I say, I wholeheartedly agree with you that things like antiques and brand new electricals are not up for grabs (I sold my fitted range cooker separately, it was less than 12 months old!) But things like light fittings etc should be replaced with something similar even if it is not the same quality/brand.

YABU, the shelves I would possibly have expected to stay but you know in advance what is going so you can plan for that.

I don’t think the removal of a few shelves will significantly affect the value of the house so I think you’d be unreasonable to lower your offer. You are buying the house, not its contents.

When I moved into my current home, I bought furniture from the seller in addition to the house.

I voted Yanbu because I think that taking custom made shelving and dressing room rails is wrong - those things are integral to the overall function and appearance of the house and would be fixtures in my mind.

i don think it's okay in general for people to remove expensive fittings so long as they replace them with new basic versions, so the house is ready for the new buyer. No one should be moving into a house where they have to replace curtain poles and add light switches and fill in holes!

It's the Sanderson Dresser design actually. It could be a bit loud for some. I'd rather use them in my new house tbh and hope to buy another matching one to then fill the big bank of windows in my new porch, but if that won't work of course I'd sell them, as you know, they're mine to sell! The house I'm buying is a pied a terre for HNW individual who's used it to visit his children at the boarding school in the next village. The curtains and made to measure blinds are all Susie Watson and Charlotte Gaisford etc and it would never have entered my head for them to be left. The vendor gave us first refusal on buying them and I politely declined as my windows currently are slightly larger and my own window coverings can be altered to fit. I like my things so they're coming with me!

My sellers took the bathroom cabinet but left there wires hanging out. They also drained the heating system which I thought was odd until I turned it back on and they knocked the water tank in the loft when moving out and tried to repair it with fibreglass. It leaked over weeks and I discovered it when my ceiling fell through. The integrated fridge freezer didn't work either. Scumbags.

I am not TheSnootiestFox, however I spent a lot of money on my blinds and curtains and plan to take them with me when I move out. It’s nothing to do with the buyer ‘not being worthy’. I bought them with my hard earned cash and will take them to my new property and put them up there or sell them as I see fit.

They can take light fittings as long as they tell you they are going to, but they are legally supposed to leave working lightbulbs in their place. It's quite normal to take curtain poles etc as many of these will fit in different homes. Shelves and rails are one to have a conversation about, they may think you will want them removed and may be happy to leave them if asked.

On the flip side, the people I bought my house off left us with a loft and shednfull of stuff (having previously said the house would be cleared) and numerous broken white goods.

We filled 2 skips with all their crap and they had the cheek to try and negotiate the cost of skip hire.

They also unscrewed the pipe work under the kitchen amd bathroom sinks - we didnt realise until discovering the floors were wet

Some people are just cunts

I tried to raise with mine (along with huge pink stain in middle of cream lounge carpet) was told not to bother as costs more in fighting than would ever get back

We ended up paying extra so our vendors didn’t remove all the (basic) light fittings and curtain poles. We wouldn’t pay for the carpets so they ripped them all out - even on the stairs where there was no chance it could be re-used. Some people are just arseholes.

The point is, don't mislead people.
If you intend to strip the house of fixtures and fittings, be honest about it.
Don't mislead buyers that fixtures are part of the sale and then strip the house 24 hours before closing.
So dishonest.

My friends were really upset to see the garden so dug up and specimens removed.
The vendors had to fully make good the garden and house.

Fortunately my friends had sold their house, were renting for a few months, and had planned on having their new house repainted before they moved in.

It would have been so upsetting if they were between moves to find this.
Clearly the vendors thought if they did it so late in the transaction they would get away with it, as so many do!

My friend is not to be trifled with, she caused them huge embarrassment through telling people what they did.
They hadn't realised how many mutual acquaintances they had.
Telling their new/old neighbours was particularly satisfying.

The point is, don't mislead people.
If you intend to strip the house of fixtures and fittings, be honest about it.
Don't mislead buyers that fixtures are part of the sale and then strip the house 24 hours before closing.
So dishonest.

My friends were really upset to see the garden so dug up and specimens removed.
The vendors had to fully make good the garden and house.

Fortunately my friends had sold their house, were renting for a few months, and had planned on having their new house repainted before they moved in.

It would have been so upsetting if they were between moves to find this.
Clearly the vendors thought if they did it so late in the transaction they would get away with it, as so many do!

My friend is not to be trifled with, she caused them huge embarrassment through telling people what they did.
They hadn't realised how many mutual acquaintances they had.
Telling their new/old neighbours was particularly satisfying.

Taking individual things... fine
the sheer level of what's being removed would concern me.

Its also misleading...

If i was desperate to proceed I'd want a conversation with my solicitor and clear written agreement on "make good"s and hope for the best

Alternatively I'd say my offer was based on them behaving normally (ie i expected these to be included) and not on their misleading listing which failed state the sheer volume of fixtures & fittings being stripped from yhe property.
You would NOT have made an offer of x if you'd known and as they arent included and will need significant additional (trade labour and materials) you'll need to review the offer to account for this. Drop your offer by whatever you think it'll cost then add 50% because the reality is it will cost more...

I did this on one purchase and they backed down immediately (that vendor wanted me to buy them though and the property was likely cheaper than yours given there's a walk in wardrobe involved!!!)

Also as above... view before exchange and view before completion.

My vendor took the blinds for velux windows even though she told me on viewing that she'd leave them and even though her new house didn't have velux windows! And she left the broken and leaky shed. Some people are just crap sellers!

We are currently in the process of purchasing a house, the vendor listed all items as being removed in the fixtures and fittings list (curtain poles, curtains, electric fireplace and surround, fitted bathroom mirrors, light fittings etc). We were a bit miffed as already said we were leaving curtain poles and bits behind but understand the items are there's and therefore can do what they want. The vendor then invited us over as they had bits to sell; they sent an invoice through for all the above listed items plus some furniture for an extra £5k. We have politely declined but expecting bit of a mess. Sale price has been renegotiated due to down valuation which they are particularly unhappy about so it's a bit sour grapes.

Selling houses brings out the worst in some people. It is a shame that they are taking items like the dressing room shelves OP, I would have a word with solicitor as you will need to pay out to recreate but think you will find it difficult to knock them down having already agreed a price.

Made to measure shelving and curtain rails (and other items described by posters here) are an integral part of the house and removing them seems frankly churlish. I get that some things might be collectable or costly but if vendors are using those things to give an overall impression of the property to the point it might have elevated the asking/sale price above other similar properties then I’d be querying it and reviewing the price. You can’t use them to paint a picture of a property which inflates the price then expect the buyer to be happy with an empty box.