Selling house - but consumer unit certificate missing. Illegal install?

[KingPenguin]

Hi There,

Starting the process of selling the house and realized we don't have a certificate for a CU install that was done ~ 3 years ago. I have to admit we cheaped out and went for a cheap guy after some eye watering quotes.. he was recommended by a neighbor who's now also in the same boat! It's a Hager CU with RCBO's - replaced a really old wylex fuse board. Installer is unlocatable - think he may have gone back to Lithuania!

To my untrained eyes the install looks OK, obviously I cannot test it. He also wired up a security light and electrics to the garage.

How can I get the paperwork sorted now? Will it require a brand new install?

Thanks

 

[ETAF]

just a diyer , so maybe possible to locate the cert with the local council if registered correctly - no guarantee they did

BUT personally , i would just put that info down on the sale documentation , you have to complete - down to the buyer to decide what to do

they may get a someone in to test ...
you could get a full test - but personally if its brought up - knock a few quid off the price

my daughter did get someone in to test when she purchased a property , but it was not going to change her purchase decision - just a negotiating point

do you have a receipt for the installation

 

[KingPenguin]

I do have a makeshift invoice, but it's just got his name and number on it.. and the number doesn't work any more. There's no business name or ID

 

[davelx]

Just tell the truth, and don't be bullied into paying for an EICR by the prospective buyer - they can pay for that if they want one, just as they pay for other surveys. Tell them that the asking price takes this into account.

 

[pcaouolte]

I think the questions on the form that your solicitor will ask you to complete are something like:
Has any electrical work been done since (some date)? Answer Yes.
Can you supply certificates for the work? Answer No.
As said above, if your buyer wants an electrical survey you will be happy to let their surveyor in, but you knew the condition of the electrics when you set the asking price so you aren't paying for the survey or any remedial works.

 

[Jackrae]

Or simply state "Asking price makes allowance for possible rewire by purchaser if inspection deems necessary"

 

[ETAF]

as already mentioned -
you will have to fill in a couple of forms, at least back in 2016ish
fensa cert for any windows replaced or building control
trying to find the home information pack , online - cant seem to find, - we had to fill in 2 forms if i remember

having sold a house via probate - where we did not know anything - so we just answered truthfully , which was mostly NO , no idea

and our own home in 2017/18
In fact i could not find the fensa certs and the company had gone bust ...... but was fensa registered, and not on the portal - and just as said already - NO to certs

down to the buyer , and how much you need to sell and how quickly will determine the price.... also how many similar properties are on the market in your area
we had to drop the price by around 50K in the end but that was back in 2017

different outside England i believe , but you are in Bradford , going by your profile - so go by England rules

 

[winston1]

I sold a house recently and there were no questions about the electrics.

 

[Robin0577]

Paperwork aside, a Hager RCBO board doesn't sound like doing it on the cheap, that's decent stuff not some DIY store special offer.

 

[aesmith]

Or simply state "Asking price makes allowance for possible rewire by purchaser if inspection deems necessary"

Why would he talk the price down, unless there is genuine reason to suspect it needs to be rewired? The way I read it the OP was happy with the work, but is just short on paperwork.

 

[Jackrae]

He's not talking the price down; simply responding to a concern by the buying agent that the house electrics weren't certified.

If you were buying something and identified a possible fault or something missing, you'd expect the vendor to respond with something to the effect of "Yeh and that's why I'm asking the price I'm asking" It's then your choice whether or not to buy.

 

[aesmith]

What I mean is there's been no suggestion from the OP that the house needs rewiring, so why is he being advised to tell a purchaser that it's needed? I can't see any reference to him being asked anything by "the buying agent" either, not at this stage.
But yes if he was asked "do you have certificate for the CU" then the answer is "No". I really don't see why he is being recommended to answer "no and in fact the whole house needs rewiring".

 

[ericmark]

Could not find my mothers paperwork, I knew it was issued, but could not find it, so applied to council for replacements, told would take 4 months, and would cost how ever long it takes the council worker to find.

Solicitor said don't worry can take out insurance.

It seems Part P is simply a tax.

I did in the end find it, and when I looked at them I realised they were rather useless, as there was little to link the installation certificate to the completion certificate, so two consumers fitted, and little to say what links to what.

There has been a court case over an EICR which did not list all faults, so electricians tend to go OTT, so really any EICR should be commissioned by the buyer not the seller.

 

[aesmith]

This is probably an England/Scotland difference, but every home report or pre sale survey I have seen has always been "hands off" on electrics. Generally they just make a vague comment like "May not conform to current standards" or "The fusebox is of an older style" as our own house was described. It is then left up to the buyer to decide whether to commission any further inspection. As a buyer we have never asked or been advised to ask for an EICR, nor to commission one. Equally as a seller we've never offered an EICR or been asked for one. It seems that in Scotland this is assumed to be a risk and judgement on the buyer's part, which actually applies to a whole load of other factors if you think about it.

 

[winston1]

so really any EICR should be commissioned by the buyer not the seller.

The standard practice is for buyers to commission and pay for surveys. An EICR is no different.