Electric Installation Test - normally buyer or seller to pay?

[MotherofHeathens]

Well, just that really!
Our solicitor has forwarded the request from our buyer. I can't decide whether it should be a "you want it, you pay and organise" response or we should just suck it up cost wise (bye bye over time pay). At least we'd be able to organise it for when suits us, and with an electrician we know and trust.

Afaik, electric installation tests are for rented properties, as they are required before a property is let out. There is no requirement for a homeowner to have one done.

I paid for this when I sold my house. I felt it was my moral duty to ensure the house was safe. It didn't cost all that much.

I have no idea what is usual, though.

When we sold our house a year ago, the buyers organised the test and paid for it.

We paid as sellers but test and work needed to pass (against 2018 regulations) came in at around £1,500 so wasn't cheap. Buyers often pay.

Buyers pay.

Buyer pays if they want one.

Be prepared it's likely to be used as a bargaining chip. If any effort to renegotiate the cost is unacceptable to you, I'd would tell the agent the buyer is welcome to pay for a test but that no negotiation will be entered into. As @Silkiechickscat said, you could end up rewiring to get the test passed otherwise.

Yep same as above ☝🏼 If they want something tested they pay for the test.

I don't know why reading about these requests annoys me, but it does. I wish buyers would get the message that buying a home is not the same as renting one. All these safety certificates, although compulsory for rental properties, are not compulsory for purchased properties. If they want all these guarantees, they should pay for them themselves.
I honestly think, god help some first time buyers who venture into property ownership, as they are going to get a shock when they actually have to fork out their own money for day to day maintenance and repair. From my reading on here, too many of them seem to be trying to avoid this altogether by getting the purchaser to complete repairs etc, and certificate everything - and for what? So they can come back and sue you when something breaks?

Not purchaser to complete repairs, vendor, obviously!

@Reedwarbler I was a first time buyer 2 years ago and actually I found that the vendors selling had done sod all maintenance themselves. Why should I have to fork out thousands because the vendor couldn't be arsed to maintain their property?

The house I bought had massive issues with damp etc and I did ask that the cost of repairs was deducted from the cost or I would pay the original agreed amount and the vendor could repair.

We're buying a house, survey recommended an electrical safety test, so we're getting one done. That's not controversial. We have taken pains to emphasise to the vendor that we have no particular reason to think anything is wrong, we're simply following the survey recommendation, we'll be paying and we will organise it at her convenience.

Obviously, if it turns up anything dreadful then that's another issue. But we don't really expect it to.

One thing to bear in mind is most EICRs come out as fails as being tested to 2018 standards so unless electrics done since then it will come with a list of issues and a quote to get them fixed. It goes beyond is this safe or dangerous - our total cost was £1500 but that was to bring it up to a pass and current standards. I didn't realise that when I ordered it. Having said that when things came up on the survey I could point out we had paid £1500 for this and wouldn't make further reductions. Though it does code issues by threat level.

I think all surveys recommend gas and electrical checks and they probably are sensible but you just need to be aware electrical is likely to bring up an extra bill in addition to the test report. Our electrics are about 20 years old with some 10 years old and 4 bed property with some outside electrics so average may be cheaper than ours.

Have a house on the market presently.
The onus is on the buyer to do any checks they need.

We paid for a new electrical test as we did not have an up to date one ( vendors) I don't think there is a clear answer to this - if you want to sell - get it done so everything clear for buyers. If the vendors won't - then up to you whether you get one done before for after purchase. But yes as previous posters have said - if recent - it does not mean to say the electrical work is dangerous - just it needs an up to date certificate & regulations change - so may have been done according to all rules at the time - but they change quickly.

I think this is a negotiating point rather than a clear answer as to whether vendors or buyers to pay.

Thanks for the advice all.

I know that it won't meet the current regs (not in a bad way, just that we've not had any work done that recently). My concern is that the buyer wants to try and use it to negotiate on the price as there is no way we'd have time to actually get any suggested work done before the completion date they want. I'm tempted to say we'll pay for the EICR but we won't be paying for any recommended works and won't be open to negotiating. Hopefully, it will show us as willing and not hiding anything.

@MotherofHeathens If your work is recent and the remedial work is not dreadful that sounds like a very reasonable offer to me

Good Luck - Basilisk

It only has to be done according to the regulations at the time. Same as any building work.