Selling houses and inspections

hi chaps, my daughter has had a demand for a safety inspection on the house she is selling. Surely that is the business of the purchaser to get? She has a certificate for the work she has had done such as the consumer unit.

There is no such thing as, therefore obviously no requirement for, an electrical safety certificate.

As you say it is down to the buyer to commission and pay for an Electrical Installation Condition Report if they want one.

For work carried out since 2005, Electrical Installation Certificates - and for notifiable work (such as the consumer unit), Compliance or Completion Certificates depending on who did the work - are all that is required.

fatplumber said:

She has a certificate for the work she has had done such as the consumer unit.

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That's a lot more than most people have.

If the buyer wants an inspection, the buyer pays for it. They only want it to knock down the price.

It was talked about including the electrical tests with the sellers pack, but for some reason it was not in the end included. When the occupier changes one should get an EICR however until the last occupant leaves you can't really do an EICR as the last occupant may do something which effects the report.

I don't agree with all the advice given by the Electrical Safety Council, but this is followed by many electricians. This includes coding using two many items from one outlet and other items which have little or no relation to the fixed wiring. Also electricians always want to find fault. It is simple if you find a fault then some one has to fix the fault at which point they issue a minor works or an installation certificate which supersedes the EICR so lets the electrician off the hook for anything missed.

Bear in mind that the (potential) buyer can make any demand that he or she wants over and above the statutory requirements - it's then up to the seller whether they are willing to accept it.
An EICR isn't massively expensive (£200-£300?) so I'd offer to go half on it; even if the sale falls through then a (presumably clean) EICR will help entice prospective future buyers.

skotl said:

An EICR isn't massively expensive (£200-£300?) so I'd offer to go half on it; even if the sale falls through then a (presumably clean) EICR will help entice prospective future buyers.

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I might conceivably consider doing that (although the buyer should really pay), but I would make it very very clear that, no matter what the EICR said, I was not going to entertain any attempt on the part of the buyer to negotiate a price reduction because of it, since the asking price (or accepted offer) was on the basis of the house "as is". In my experience, the majority of potential buyers will back down at that stage, since most only want an EICR as a means of haggling about price (yet many expect the seller to pay for the EICR!).

Kind Regards, John