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Original poster

Log burner issues when selling property

41 replies

CCSS15 · 29/07/2022 16:22

Hi

Hoping other people can share their experiences or give advice.

We have a log burner which was installed in 2005 and has a HETAS certificate. Our buyers have had a full structural survey done and they have been advised by the surveyor that a chimney sweep is needed and if a stainless steel flue liner is not fitted this should be done.
The surveyor also recommends an air vent and carbon monoxide checking unit to be fitted in the room and extension of the hearth. These issues have been highlighted as they are not meeting current standards.

They want us to arrange for this work and pay for it. Weve lived in the property for 7 years and used the log burner frequently with no issue - obviously we don't want to pay the thousands this will cost

OP posts:
WoozieFloozie · 29/07/2022 16:30

Can you just say you'll have it removed instead? Our next door just got rid of theirs (because they're knocking walls down etc, ) she said it cost about £400 for a professional to do it.

Fleur405 · 29/07/2022 16:33

Well I would agree that this work needs done for safety reasons … whether you should do it and whether it’s going to cost thousands is a separate question.

Where I am it costs us about £60 to get the chimney swept (we get it done regularly though and always use well seasoned wood so I guess it’s not especially dirty). You can get a good carbon monoxide monitor with a 10 year battery from Amazon for about £15 (and you really should have one and test it regularly ) so those things are really very easy to fix. Can’t speak to the costs of an air vent and stainless steal flue liner though.

if that is a big/expensive job I’d be tempted to just say no…. then there is obviously a risk they’ll pull out but it seems like a pretty stupid reason.

Washermother33 · 29/07/2022 16:36

We had a log burner installed a few years ago and it needed all those things and did not cost thousands

SwedishEdith · 29/07/2022 16:36

A carbon monoxide alarm is standard and not that costly, so would just buy one. And a stove over 5 kw needs an air vent anyway - so all those are just standard things that you should have. Plus, if it was HETAS-compliant, it'll already have the flue liner. A chimney sweep is £60? I don't think what they're asking is unreasonable because I think you will already have them (or can get it swept).

User0610134049 · 29/07/2022 16:38

I could understand if you hadn’t got it certified at the time, but I don’t understand the issue if it has HETAS approval.
you should be getting the chimney swept anyway and that’s not v expensive. Changing the hearth and liner would be ££££ so I wouldn’t be doing that if you complied with regulations at the time.

User0610134049 · 29/07/2022 16:39

If you got HETAS approval when in fact it didn’t meet standards then that’s something that should be taken up via HETAS.

Cookiedough123 · 29/07/2022 16:40

We bought a house with log burner and didn't have any of them things but it didn't come up on the survey! If it had I would of expected to have sorted it myself anyway not the seller!

EinsteinaGogo · 29/07/2022 16:46

We have a recent log burner.

Our whole thing only cost £5k to buy and install in entirety.

The carbon monoxide sensor is about £50 (you should definitely have one yourselves).

These rest could cost a few hundred.

AlisonDonut · 29/07/2022 16:48

They can ask and you can say no.
They can reduce their offer and you can choose to accept the offer or decline it.

It depends on how quickly you want to move and how desperate you are to sell.

Brownlongearedbat · 29/07/2022 17:04

Have you not had the chimney swept annually? If you have a fire caused by the stove your house insurance would be unlikely to pay out unless the chimney has been cleaned and inspected annually and a certificate issued.
Not all chimneys need lining. You can buy a CO monitor quite cheaply. I wouldn't be doing anything other than getting the chinmey cleaned and buying a monitor.

MyBrilliantFriend · 29/07/2022 17:07

If you haven’t been getting the chimney swept annually anyway then you’re daft. Chimney fires can be really dangerous.

If it met requirements at the time I would say no to the rest, but sweeping & a CO monitor are basic requirements of having a fire.

Eeksteek · 29/07/2022 17:36

In 2005, it if had a HETAS cert it should have a flue, so assuming it does, a CO monitor is a tenner. I don’t know about an air vent, but I can’t see it being thousands. (IIRC you don’t need one if you have trickle vents in the windows, but I could be wrong). Chimney should be swept annually, so that’s neither here nor there. Just do it.

You definitely need a flue (my mum didn’t have one pre-HETAs and her chimney caught fire!)

Bear in mind the surveyor may know very little about chimneys. Mine flagged up as cause for concern here, and the surveyor had not realised that it was in fact merely decorative, and therefore could not be unsafe - You’d think they’d spot that!

You have several options.

Do the work and you pay for it
Reply to the buyer and tell them that of course you want them to have a safe property and you will be removing the woodburner forthwith (likely more expensive than a vent, I reckon, but it would concentrate their minds while leaving you looking good)
Assume this is an opener for negotiating on price and tell them firmly that you are selling them the house as is, for the price agreed and if they want to do work on faffing about with the woodburner they can pay for it. It’s not unsafe if they don’t light the thing and they can get it done when they move in. If the mortgage company is insisting on it being completed (possible, although unlikely) you have no problem with them paying for it to be done pre-completion. It’s not like a leaking roof, it’s a completely optimal extra!

Depending on the strength of the market in your area, I would go for option b. That will likely be enough to gauge if they want it or not, although I suppose they might call your bluff. I suspect not, though. I’m about to buy a woodburner, and the guys that fit them are run off their feet!

Bert2e · 29/07/2022 17:45

We have no airbrick, an older house with suspended floors has enough airflow not to need one.

calmlakes · 29/07/2022 18:04

To have valid insurance you need a yearly sweep.

A carbon monoxide alarm is a basic and cheap.

Tryingtokeepgoing · 29/07/2022 18:05

In England at leat, things only have to be compliant with the rules in place when they were installed. If the rules have tightened the buyer can ask, and the vendor can refuse. Which is what I suggest you do, as the property was marketed (I assume) in as ‘as is’ condition. Things are different in Scotland as they have changed the rules, and made it mandatory for households to comply (fire detection / warning). Having said that, the penalties for non-compliance are currently zero, so…

Tryingtokeepgoing · 29/07/2022 18:08

calmlakes · 29/07/2022 18:04

To have valid insurance you need a yearly sweep.

A carbon monoxide alarm is a basic and cheap.

People keep saying that, but no insurance policy I have ever had has insisted on a yearly sweep. I think it’s a myth perpetuated by chimney sweeps and swallowed by the gullible!!

a carbon monoxide detector is sensible if you have a gas boiler/cooker or open fire. If not, don’t waste your money.

Allthegoodnamesarechosen · 29/07/2022 18:11

@Eeksteek
wood burners are much easier to take out than to install.
we’ve taken two with us when moving ( with permission, the buyers didn’t want them, must have been mad) and both times my DH loosened the screws and the movers just pulled it out. We had the chimney swept before we did this!

calmlakes · 29/07/2022 20:26

It was a condition of my insurance, can't speak to others.

upliftingtwisting · 29/07/2022 21:34

I have to say, I am surprised you don’t have a CM alarm, just to keep yourselves safe. Carbon Monoxide is deadly.

DomesticShortHair · 29/07/2022 22:03

calmlakes · 29/07/2022 20:26

It was a condition of my insurance, can't speak to others.

And mine too. We have to send them a copy of the certificate every year,

Sunnysideup · 30/07/2022 08:39

Just remove the burner.

EspeciallyDeIighted · 30/07/2022 08:47

I've never seen it on any of our insurance policies either (and I do read right through them). Our sweep says every other year is fine for us, we only use it maybe once a week through winter and she says very little soot comes out when she does it, it has a cage on the chimney to stop birds nesting in there.

countrygirl99 · 30/07/2022 08:50

Yours may not, most do. And for older properties the requirement may well be for a 2nd sweep mid burning season. That is certainly what our current and all previous insurance companies have required.

snowflake29 · 30/07/2022 08:57

We had a wood burner in our new build 7 years ago and there was a carbon monoxide alarm wired in like a smoke detector, and a vent through the wall. Never had to inform insurance, it wasn't asked what kind of fire we had when taking the policy out.

In our current house we had a wood burner installed 2 years ago and had to apply for building regs, who wanted to see evidence of venting, CO alarm, the fitters qualifications before signing off. Was told we wouldn't easily be able to sell the house without building regs for it.

None of those things are expensive so I'd just get it sorted!

BaronessBomburst · 30/07/2022 08:59

My insurance company states that we need to get the chimney swept every year, whereas my chimney sweep actually says that it only needs doing everything other year. (Same as EspeciallyDelighted )
Our sweep costs 26 euros. I'm Shock at £60!