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Original poster

Sellers failed too declare boiler had broken down...

91 replies

Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 09:59

What do people think of this one: I recently bought a house in the South East. The boiler although more than 7 year old worked at the time of the survey and sellers provided a certificate that it had been serviced/check the year before and stated in the forms sent to solicitor that it was in good order.

Right after I bough the house I brought in a plumber/engineer to do various jobs and asked him to double-check the boiler and of course it is faulty and need at best a new part at worst complete replacement...

I have just emailed my solicitor about this.

The sellers also failed to clear the house when they left leaving me with unwanted furniture and a bunch of crap in the shed I had to dismantle, clear and pay a company to remove and bring to the local tip.

There is no way they did not know their boiler had broken down between survey and exchange/completion...

Has anyone been in that situation and it is worth pursuing them to get them to contribute to the cost of the boiler repair and to invoice them for having to clear up the mess they left?

or is that a waste of time?

I am really tempted to take them to the small claims court...

I am also trying to contact the company that provided the gas certificate as I am suspicious that it is not a local one and wonder if they actually even could have faked the paperwork they provided.

OP posts:
Snittle · 09/09/2023 10:01

I don’t think they have to declare if it breaks down between exchange and completion. Once you’ve exchanged, you still have to buy it even if the house burns down before you complete.

You should have a case about the junk left, but you should’ve raised this with your solicitor at the time.

EauNeu · 09/09/2023 10:03

I don't think you have a leg to stand on. Boilers work until they don't. It could have stopped working the day you moved in. It will be impossible to prove otherwise.

DelphiniumBlue · 09/09/2023 10:09

How would they know that the boiler was faulty? You say you found out by getting it checked, but was it obvious to you? Was there something that prompted you to call in a plumber?
If it is something obvious, eg no hot water at all, then it might be worth following up. But I wonder if they actually stated it was in good working order - that's not something most people would warrant, and if they did, their solicitor should have stopped them! What was actually written down?
Anyway, until you know whether getting the part will fix the issue ( so not loads of ££) or whether you will actually need a new boiler, there's no point in doing anything.
If you go via the solicitors, it will cost you, probably more than the cost of the part and labour. Don't bother with small claims court unless you can come up with receipts .. you invoicing is just pulling numbers out of your head. But you might be able to claim for eg cost of a skip.
Do you have the sellers new address?

Original poster
Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 10:15

'How would they know that the boiler was faulty? ''

Because it is obvious as soon as you try to turn it on that it does not work and yes there is no hot water so it is impossible for them to not have known...

OP posts:
Original poster
Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 10:17

''you invoicing is just pulling numbers out of your head.''

Well, again no. That's the amount invoiced by the company that cleared out their junk.

OP posts:
Lambruschinetto · 09/09/2023 10:18

What did they write in fixtures and fittings form re-boiler?

Sisterpita · 09/09/2023 10:35

I think the boiler is caveat emptor
territory.

A small claim for the cost of clearing their property is probably worth it.

GasPanic · 09/09/2023 12:33

Properties are normally sold as vacant and empty, but check your contract terms. TBH you could try to claim, but I think it would be reasonable to ask them to collect and dispose of it themselves first. If you didn't do that then there is the possibility that they will counter claim that they would have removed it themselves if asked.

Re the boiler, I think buying a house with a knackered boiler is a rite of passage in house buying and a pretty common occurance. If the thing is 15 years old + it is probably ready for replacement anyway, and if it is non condensing the replacement should save you some gas. it's one of those things you check for after getting stung once (I was - the boiler was working but pretty much shot but I dodn't check it out beforehand - whether it would have stopped me buying the place is another issue).

Original poster
Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 12:34

Thank you for the responses so far.

They wrote on the form that the boiler was in good working order.

I will definitely write to them to say that I expect them to pay for the removal of the items including the invoice and contribute to the boiler and see whether that prompts them to do the ''right thing'' then I will look into the cost and likelihood of a small claim.

OP posts:
Ladybug14 · 09/09/2023 12:42

We sold a property in March this year. Tested the heating and hot water on the Sunday (empty property). All good. Plus the boiler had been serviced 6 months previously

Turned everything off

Completion on the following Wednesday

On the Friday (2 days later) the buyer contacted me to say the boiler had broken

😳

whyisitallsohard · 09/09/2023 12:45

what's in your fixture and fittings agreement? if the boiler broke down under their ownership, yes they are liable. contact your solicitor and tell the estate agent as you were not told.

Original poster
Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 13:10

''@whyisitallsohard

what's in your fixture and fittings agreement? if the boiler broke down under their ownership, yes they are liable. contact your solicitor and tell the estate agent as you were not told.''

Yes, it is absolutely in the forms as being in good order.

The estate agent rang the sellers and they got a ''we were unaware of any problems' reply which is obviously bullshit as you would notice that there is no hot water...

Will see what the solicitors have to say next.

OP posts:
pepino · 09/09/2023 13:52

Our (less than 6 month old boiler) broke suddenly and for no reason a couple of weeks ago. It does happen!

GasPanic · 09/09/2023 14:21

Ladybug14 · 09/09/2023 12:42

We sold a property in March this year. Tested the heating and hot water on the Sunday (empty property). All good. Plus the boiler had been serviced 6 months previously

Turned everything off

Completion on the following Wednesday

On the Friday (2 days later) the buyer contacted me to say the boiler had broken

😳

Often the point that they will break is when they are switched on to test, or the first time after a long period of being off.

So for example, if you have had the CH off all summer, probably the most likely time for it to break is when you first switch it on again in the winter.

It's why it is always best to test out your CH a month or so before you actually think you are going to use it - that way you can get an engineer in before the rush to fix it.

Ascendant15 · 09/09/2023 14:30

Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 10:15

'How would they know that the boiler was faulty? ''

Because it is obvious as soon as you try to turn it on that it does not work and yes there is no hot water so it is impossible for them to not have known...

It is obvious at this moment in time. It is not proveable that it did not break the moment you turned it on. I moved into my house 14 years ago. The survey was fine, the boiler was fine. It broke down the day after I moved in. It could have broken down a year before, or a year after. It just happened to be that day and no other.

sleepyscientist · 09/09/2023 14:36

It's happens when ours went it was fine on the morning by 5pm it was in the skip.

Movinghouseatlast · 09/09/2023 14:38

I've been in exactly the same position, yes. Cost me £6000 for a new boiler and £600 to move their rubbish.

Our solicitor said there was no point pursuing it as its really difficult and costly and how do you prove the boiler didn't become faulty the day we moved in. In my case I didn't know the new owners address and I knew they had no money and probably quite a few CCJ's already.

We had had a boiler survey and the guy said it was fine the day he did the survey so no joy there either!

Original poster
Greenwitchhorse · 09/09/2023 14:44

Will write to the sellers as I have their address (seems they expect me to just keep forwarding their mail to them on top of it all...).

Might not achieve anything but at least will have the opportunity to tell them exactly what I think of them.

Hopefully Karma will eventually wreck that new place of theirs...

OP posts:
Purplecatshopaholic · 09/09/2023 14:47

Maddening though it is op, I doubt you’ll get anywhere with this, as others have said. It will be expensive and time consuming to try, but it’s your call of course.

Roselilly36 · 09/09/2023 15:02

Honestly OP it’s a horrible thing to happen, but you will just be throwing good money after bad trying to recover the loss, sadly.

Thelazygardener · 09/09/2023 15:04

I doubt you will get very far claiming for the junk removal unfortunately, as wrong as it is.

We bought a very, very rural cottage in Scotland a few years ago and it completed during covid so we physically couldn’t be there for the sale date. During viewing house was full of crap and junky furniture. We wanted none of it despite the seller continuously asking and sending us extortionate price lists for said junk (£1000 for a sofa that was falling apart as an example) and we insisted vacant possession to which he agreed.

No surprise to find out he had taken nothing!! Not even bothered to take the stinking kitchen bin out. Removal companies were extortionate due to location and we ended up burning it all on a bonfire….

Solicitors weren’t remotely interested and the a**hole of a seller (he had been a pain from the start simply replied saying he thought he would do us a favour and leave everything there! It’s so wrong.

KievLoverTwo · 09/09/2023 15:06

Movinghouseatlast · 09/09/2023 14:38

I've been in exactly the same position, yes. Cost me £6000 for a new boiler and £600 to move their rubbish.

Our solicitor said there was no point pursuing it as its really difficult and costly and how do you prove the boiler didn't become faulty the day we moved in. In my case I didn't know the new owners address and I knew they had no money and probably quite a few CCJ's already.

We had had a boiler survey and the guy said it was fine the day he did the survey so no joy there either!

What kind of boiler costs 6k? O_O

mumda · 09/09/2023 15:09

@KievLoverTwo beat me to it.
I had one replaced recently £1250.
I nearly fell off my seat when he did the quote. 5 year warranty on it too.

Clefable · 09/09/2023 15:10

I take it you aren't in Scotland, OP? Up here there's a standard clause in the missives that says central heating system must be working.

Clefable · 09/09/2023 15:11

(And sellers have a timescale in which they must fix)

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