Cheeky to ask for gas safety cert on purchase?

[Crikeyalmighty]

Hi guys

My FIL at 85 is close to exchange on his own ( Wednesday) and about 3 weeks off exchange on the bungalow he is buying in a completely different area- bungalow was a probate and has been stood since June- completely redecorated and all new carpets and wood floors. Very good order- As it's been stood such a while and we've never viewed with heating on - would it be cheeky prior to exchange to ask the EA if they can have a gas engineer round to check heating works and gas fire/ hob etc. I'm not sure he could cope with any hassle with these kinds of issues when he moves in - he's 100% 'all there' by the way -

Yes it's normal for you to do that on moving in. Rental properties require gas inspections house purchases do not. You can ask but I'd expect a no and for them to think badly of you.

Why would the vendors think badly of him? I sold my DMs bungalow which had stood empty for 2 years. The week before the sale completed I had a gas engineer round who serviced the boiler. He pointed out that where a boiler has been off for several months its likely something could go wrong - he had to do a repair, it cost me £200 but the new owner had the security of knowing he would have hot water and heating when moving in. I would have felt bad had I not checked the boiler and the buyer ended up without it when they moved in!

It's common to ask for the sellers to produce a gas safety certificate before exchange these days.

I don't see why anyone would object to you funding your own inspection, unless there was something to hide.

I do think that a "gas safety certificate" is not necessarily the same thing as an inspection to check everything is working.

Moving into a place where the heating isn't working isn't much fun.

Perfectly reasonable to get an inspection of a vacant (probate) property, but it is for the buyer's benefit and therefore should be paid for by the buyer.

if the buyer wants to reduce their offer on the basis the gas is "untested" (or the test finds problems) then that is of course a different matter and is open to negotiation - which in some circumstances doubtless the seller would take umbrage at

If you decide not to go down this route, it'd be perfectly acceptable to ask for a copy if the service manual - that'll show whether it's been well looked after in terms of servicing to clean, empty drop compartment for boiler and testing levels of co2 on all appliances.

Won’t his solicitor have already asked for a gas safety certificate prior to Exchange? There may not be one but if there isn’t then the current owners could easily get one (may or may not be willing to as that would be an expense for them but it’s reasonable to ask).

Yes, father in law happy to pay- it's mainly the fact it's been empty and heating not on

If you commission your own firm to do the checks, you're in charge of the scope of works they perform, i.e. if they spot a problem you can get a quote for repair. Legally pre-completion you don't own the property nor the boiler, so you would need permission from the vendor if works do need doing, and to figure out how costs will get divided up. The big catch 22 is that if a significant problem is identified with an appliance, this could lead to it being condemned and disconnected (this happened to a gas fire in a house purchase I made), but at least then you know what you're in for.
A minimal amount of heating is important for properties in the UK in winter to avoid plumbing leaks, damp and deterioration, and can invalidate house insurance, so the vendors should really address this.

There no harm in asking, although I world have thought it would have been better to ask at an earlier stage ideally. Still, If he’s happy to pay for it, I wouldn’t have thought there’d be an issue. Fairly standard practice to ask for evidence of service history.

It should have been requested after survey which almost always says gas hasn't been tested and its recommended a safety certificate received.

It may be that your solicitor has asked for maintenence details - annual.boiler check for example. If they've produced that then job done on their side I would say. If they haven't then one could be requested but is perhaps rather late to ask them to pay now..ideally it would have been immediately they said they don't have one.

If you want further tests, again, you ought to have asked earlier but it is what it is and sounds sensible thing to do but I think your father should.pay for it.

Given gas checks are pennies compared to house prices I'd be happy to pay and take control of the enagagement.

Are you saying he'll be exchanging on his sale 3 weeks before exchanging on his purchase? Not what you asked but as a former conveyancer this jumped out at me.

I provided a copy of the last boiler service to my buyer, it's expected now.

Another thing you could do which might satisfy you and is normal, is to ask for a final viewing to check on sizes etc and ask them to have the heating and hot water on when you view. That doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

I'd use that viewing as an opportunity to check nothing major is different from when you offered too before you actually exchange.

That's quite normal, I'm surprised it wasn't requested before.

@DelphiniumBlue yes- he is staying a month in a nice holiday let and going away with us for new year- and then hopefully moving as soon as we get back- his stuff will be in storage.

At the time he was expecting to have 3 months in a lovely Airbnb near us as wasn't going to view till his cash was in the bank as didn't want to risk chains etc - - but this place came up - and is ideal at the right price.

When we had a house empty over the winter, the insurers asked us to switch off/drain the water.