Also posted to uk.legal.

I'd be grateful for comments on the following situation.

After 40 years in the same house, it's getting time to move on.
Bringing up a family, which have now flown the nest, has taken its
toll on the house, which is in need of a fair amount of redecoration.
The back-boiler is 30 years old and won't last forever, and there are
problems with the wiring: it suffers the 'green exudation' problem,
and also when the kitchen was replaced two years ago the extra sockets
and wiring that were put in might not meet Building Regulations and
weren't certified.

Rather than live in a building site for several months - as doing all
the work at one time is the obvious solution - just to remain in an
area we'd much rather move away from, the tentative plan is to sell
the house, hopefully to a keen DIY-er, who can take on the problems,
adjusting the price accordingly.

What is the legal position regarding the wiring? I'm happy to be open
about the problem, but I'd like to avoid the possibility of legal
action being taken.

Thanks for your comments.
--

IANAL but, as far as I am aware, and being in the process of selling myself,
as long as you tell no lies you can sell anything and it is up to the
purchaser to check the condition of the property. It is likely that they
will make an offer subject to survey and then knock bits off the price for
the boiler and the wiring. If you have these done it will sell easier.

I cannot emphasise enough that, while it is ok to play dumb, you *cannot*
tell porkies. If they ask questions, you must answer truthfully. Ditto on
forms - you must answer the form from the solicitor truthfully. If you do
lie, you are opening yourself up for possible disaster later on.

I would turn the sale over to an estate agent and let them do the talking,
filling all forms and questionnaires out diligently and truthfully.


--
Bob Mannix
(anti-spam is as easy as 1-2-3 - not)