house purchase problem

[Philip Lim]

I recently bought a flat and now find that the boiler is leaking. At the time I looked at the flat my partner and I specifically asked about the state of the central heating and boiler. We were told that it was working fine and had no problems.
On moving in I find that the boiler leaks and the central heating does not work. A plumber has looked at it and I will need another boiler. He said that it had been leaking for months as the kitchen units were saturated and the counter top had rotted away in one point. None of which were noticeable at first site.
I informed the seller's solicitors about this and said I would be charging their client. I have not heard from them and I do not have the seller's new address.
What can I do?
Ian

[Eve]

Have a word with the solicitors who acted for you.

[neg213]

Surely you should have done more than took the sellers word that the boiler was ok if it concerned you that much.

It is not (yet) a requirement that appliances such as boilers are given the all clear before a house sale can proceed, and i would assume your solicitor will say that no infomation was put forward regarding the state of the boiler or central heating, (unless it was specifically mentioned in the survey report) therefore they will not take responsibility for any issues, and any further advice would probably be additional and therefore a charge would be applied.

There is nothing stopping a prospective buyer having a specific survey on items like this, and it goes down to the old saying of 'buyer beware'

[CSG2306]

Hi Philip,

Did you have a survey done? if not then the responsibility of checking the property was in your hands. Although I am not a solicitor my gut feeling is that you haven't a leg to stand on. It is your word against theirs.

Regards