When selling a property, sellers should ensure that their compliance certificates meet the legal safety standards, notes Just Property.
When a property is to be sold, the seller is required to appoint accredited service providers to inspect the property and then certify that particular aspects of the property meet the legally required safety standards, said Lawrence Homan of Just Property.“The seller may have tried to keep costs down, appointing someone they know instead of an expert, and a poor assessment could have been done. You need to check those credentials before you buy.
“It’s important to remember that the seller is not an expert in the field of compliance certificates,” she said, adding that the property must comply with relevant legal regulations. As Homan points out, these differ around the country. At the very least, ensure that the certificate has not lapsed and is valid, compare the certificate to the seller’s disclosure, and if you have any queries, call in your own authorised expert to highlight any defects that the seller should attend to before registration.Where a compliance certificate has been issued but is later found to be invalid, the buyer can insist that the seller bring the installation up to a standard that is compliant with statutory requirements.
“The parties can negotiate who will be responsible for the costs of repairing any electrical defects and when they will be attended to,” said Ehlers. “but the norm is for the seller to appoint an accredited service provider to issue a valid compliance certificate.” It should cover the distribution boards, wiring, socket outlets, light switches, earthing, bonding of all metal components, including satellite dishes and antennas, and isolators for fixed appliances.