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Original poster

Seller has lied on property info form...? Windows

91 replies

catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:34

Hello,

Am due to complete on a house next week. Documents have only just come through from the solicitor. On the property information form, the seller has ticked no to the question asking if any windows etc had been put in before 2002, which would mean they did not need a FENSA certificate or equivalent. There is no FENSA as I have looked this up myself.

However, all the windows in the back of the house are new! With stickers on giving a date in 2019!

Not sure how to proceed, I really am desperate for this to work out!

OP posts:
Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:36

sorry, after 2002

OP posts:
StephenBelafonte · 07/02/2021 14:41

Just tell them what you told us. I'm sure it's just a genuine error.

Beamur · 07/02/2021 14:44

It's not a big deal unless you have many windows. The windows are probably fine.
At least it's not the other way round where they're claiming that the windows are new when they're not.
Maybe they just haven't kept the paperwork.

Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:45

the problem is, error or not, they don't seem to have the certificates required! They ticked no to having any window certificates and I have been able to look up the property on the FENSA website and they don't have one. Not sure where that leaves us.

OP posts:
LST · 07/02/2021 14:46

The windows in the house we purchased last feb were put in in 2014. We have no certificates.

C152 · 07/02/2021 14:47

Just ask your solicitor to request the certificates. Then if the seller can't provide them, decide whether it's worth pulling out of the purchase or not. Unfortunately, I don't think it's unusual for sellers to bend the truth or outright lie on those types of forms.

Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:50

thank you. If it's not a big deal then I wouldn't want to pull out. Just not sure how important it is... wish they had just taken the stickers off then would be none the wiser!

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FourForYouGlenCoco · 07/02/2021 14:50

Well it’s only a problem if you’re not prepared to replace the windows 🤷‍♀️ Window replacement isn’t a particularly massive or expensive job (unless you’ve got really loads of windows!) if you want the house, I personally would just let it go on the basis that the windows might be cowboy but they can be replaced easily enough.

Panicmode1 · 07/02/2021 14:52

I wouldn't lose a house over FENSA certification! If necessary, ask an inspector to come out and issue one, but it is a bit of a mountain out of a molehill....I'm fairly sure we don't have certificates from our window installation in 2008....

xyzandabc · 07/02/2021 14:53

They ticked no to having any window certificates and I have been able to look up the property on the FENSA website and they don't have one.

If they ticked no, then they haven't lied. They don't have certificates, which you have confirmed with FENSA.

You need to decide if that is a deal breaker for you. Unless it's tons and tons of windows, then I'd probably still go ahead just knowing that there is no certificate. They are probably fine and it would be a risk I was willing to take. If it's not a risk you are willing to take then sadly, you'll have to pull out.

Dogsarehairy · 07/02/2021 14:53

@FourForYouGlenCoco

Well it’s only a problem if you’re not prepared to replace the windows 🤷‍♀️ Window replacement isn’t a particularly massive or expensive job (unless you’ve got really loads of windows!) if you want the house, I personally would just let it go on the basis that the windows might be cowboy but they can be replaced easily enough.
£100,000 at out house- not a big house but big windows

Crap UPVC may be cheap but wooden are certainly not.

Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:54

Thank you!! I really, really don't want to lose this house, it's been such a long process and a beacon of hope in all the crappy covidness. First time buyer so all this is very new, hadn't heard of a FENSA until yesterday.. will it impact me when I come to sell? Or is it a case of whoever buys it not thinking it's a big deal either..?

OP posts:
Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:56

dogs it's a small, bog-standard cheap terraced house with UPVC windows so no wooden or fancy features to worry about.

OP posts:
Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 14:57

xyz they ticked no to 'have windows been replaced after 2002' - when the windows are clearly new and have stickers on with a 2019 date! That's the confusion.

OP posts:
SmudgeButt · 07/02/2021 14:58

you could ask for it to be indemnified I think.

Dogsarehairy · 07/02/2021 14:58

Aaah

Did they replace the glass sealed units but not the frames?
Cheap as chips to replace glass if it has blown or discoloured?

Beamur · 07/02/2021 14:59

It wouldn't bother me as a buyer unless like Dogsarehairy the windows are especially large or unusual.
I had a house completely redone about 8 years ago - no idea where the paperwork is now.

abc31 · 07/02/2021 14:59

Personally it wouldn't bother me. My friend is a property solicitor, I can't remember the exact product name but for sticking points like these, I believe you can take out special insurance so it doesn't hold up the purchase.

sylbunny · 07/02/2021 15:00

You can get the council to come round and certify them. It will be £200ish. We've just had a window fitted by my father in law so no FENSA but if we sell we'll probably get it certified. I won't bother until that point as we've got quite a few windows that need replacing in the next few years.

Autumnchill · 07/02/2021 15:01

Just query it with solicitor. We move Tuesday and our seller ticked no with regards to the heating as its storage heaters not radiators and forgot to say they were leaving the log burner. Sorted in one email.

Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 15:02

dogs I did think (and hope) that but it's all the windows at the back of the house, including back bedroom. The frames all still have stickers on too saying 'remove protective foil immediately'.

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user141631863 · 07/02/2021 15:02

I'm not sure I could be bothered to care about this tbh. If it's a terrace how many windows does it even have at the back? Two? Four?

Sugarskulllover · 07/02/2021 15:02

We had to pay for an indemnity policy on our windows in our old house it was around £180 (house sold March 2020) to cover the windows as they weren't Fitted with FENSA.

Their solicitor can arrange it for them. If it's important to you.

SeasonFinale · 07/02/2021 15:03

There is another certification site too other than FENSA called CERTASS. Have you checked that site too? The registration only applies if they have been fitted by a FENSA or CERTASS registered fitter. So they may be new windows but not have been fitted by a registered fitter. what does the actual woridng on the form say because if it asks if windows have been fitted by a registered firtter since 2002 they would be answering truthfully but them still be new windows.

Original poster
catatemymind · 07/02/2021 15:03

Thanks, it's only important to me if it's going to affect me being able to sell in a few years. More than happy to be told that it's no biggie and I'm worrying over nothing if that's the case!

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