Buying a house - no certificate for recent electrical work

[Ant3311]

I’m in process of purchasing a house, the seller disclosed they replaced the fuse box last year - it’s in a newly converted toilet (they didn’t disclose it). After survey, it was clear that the WC doesn’t have building approval, they also don’t have the electrical installation certificate. The seller suggested he would get a electrical test done and provide me with a certificate, then I was told through my solicitor several weeks later that they changed their minds and wouldn’t get one; they also went silent on the indemnity insurance. Contacted the seller again, they agreed to do the test, then saying the electrician is not available and now just went radio silent.

I’d like to get some advice on the best way forward. I know I can get my own test done, but i start feeling rubbish after being mucked around for something seemed to be straight forward, and concerned whether they are hiding something/concerned I’m finding out something much bigger?

The attitude of the seller would make me suspicious to the point of wanting to pull out.
If the work was done properly, the cost of an electrician's inspects is peanuts compared to the cost on the house. The way that they are continuing to ignore you, hoping that you give up makes me think that there is something not right or they just don't care whether they sell or not.
How much do you want this particular house and do you have other good options or likely to have soon?

Agree with PPs who say that the red flag here is the way the vendor is behaving. It would make me twitchy.

When buying a house, always consider whether this will be something that will make it hard to sell in the future. Our house had a complicating factor; we negotiated the price down and have done the work (and have certification and warranties for the work) which means that if we ever need to sell we are good. How much needs to be spent to make this OK? If it's just a certificate and indemnity insurance, all good -- and the vendor can do that and then it's all in place. If it's more complicate than that either be very sure what you are getting into and how much it will cost to get right, or walk away.

Fairly sure you can, DD lives in a new build and that’s where there fuse box is, I’d like to think a fairly large, national house builder knows the law

We have a fuse box in our downstairs loo, it has always been there and it’s a 1980s house. When we updated the electrics our electrician issued the appropriate certificate, no problem. I guess there are two issues here, the room being converted to the toilet and the lack of electrical certificate. It’s odd that they didn’t get the paperwork sorted if it’s a recent job, but you will need some if you are buying with a mortgage.

I don’t know how this has progressed OP, but as someone who made the mistake of buying a house with various missing permissions and cheery assurances that we could just buy indemnities I would say please think carefully if electrics are concerned.

Indemnities do virtually nothing meaningful. They do NOT cover any costs of things that need fixing. I hope you went ahead with the full electrical inspection as the vendor’s refusal to engage on that is a big red flag.

Yes you can. There are special rules for a bathroom, which is a room containing a fixed bath or shower, and measurements are taken from the footprint of the bath or shower. If your WC does not contain a bath or shower, they do not apply.

Swimming pools and hot tubs are also special.

I had this issue when I sold a property and the electrician had not given me a certificate for some work. I discovered that you can not get a retrospective certificate if the electrician does not provide the certificate within 3 months of completing the work. No other electrician would certify the work as they had not done the work so could not say if it was done competently.

Lack of Fensa certificates for windows is all a bit of a red flag - is it a DIY house or did they employ dodgy builders?

Indemnity certificates are a bit of a red herring.

Hope you are paying a price that allows you to get all the work redone and certificated properly?