Boiler Not Working … New House

[HomeSOS]

We completed on our home last Wednesday (1930’s detached).

The boiler isn’t working which means no heating or hot water. I messaged the seller to ask if there was a thermostat anywhere as we couldn’t get the heating on and wasn’t sure if this was why, and he sent me the number of the plumber who installed it and said to get in touch with him as the boiler is relatively new (2021). The house was rented prior to us buying it so the seller said he wasn’t sure as he hasn’t used it himself but it was used by his tenants.

Anyway, turns out it needs a new pump / part and we are looking at around £350 ish.

My question is… on the solicitors paperwork the seller has ticked the box ‘YES’ to say the heating is in good working order. Do I have a leg to stand on in trying to get him to cover the repairs and if so how do I go about it?

Normally you have 7 days? Depending on the make it might still be under guarantee- Worcester Bosch can have up to 10 years guarantee.

Only if it has been serviced each year by a recognised engineer.

I suppose if the tenants hadn’t reported any probs, and the owner hadn’t lived there, he had to make an assumption the boiler was working ok.

If it’s been rented out then it will have had a Gas safety check yearly, which is pretty much the same as a Boiler service.
WB may honour the warranty with a gas safety record.
If not then a fixed price repair is the way to go, for around £300, they will change up to 3 major parts and guarantee the work.

Yes you potentially have good reason to get it paid for by the vendor. Make a quick call in to your solicitor in the morning

We’ve had an identical problem just this week too - turns out the problem was caused by the house sitting empty for 7 months which caused the heat pump to pack up. Doesn’t help you I’m afraid! I hadn’t thought to contest it as the seller wouldn’t necessarily have known.

My previous post assumes that the original installer actually registered the boiler with WB and it’s covered by their warranty.
DH is a gas engineer and the amount of unregistered boilers he sees is unreal.

The 7 days poat move in to sort out issues only applies in Scotland, and not elsewhere.

As a seller my reply would be: it worked last time I used it or in this case, the previous tenants reported no issues. Case closed.

Sorry, not a leg to stand on as a buyer however annoying it is.

It’s most likely because the boiler was turned off for a period of time and the pump has seized. It’s a common issue, new pump and away you go. I’d not bother with the solicitor as all they’ll say was that it was working to the best of their knowledge, which if it was a rental is probably true.

If the property was rented the vendor would (should) have all the service records, gas safety certificates and warranty documents. But, as pp said, if the boiler was swtched off for months, that is very likely to damage the heat pump.

Yes I’m in Scotland