Problems with the gas boiler. Is liability for defects excluded?

Hello everyone, I don’t even know if I’m in the right place here, but I’ll just try to get my question out and hopefully get some good advice. My husband and I bought a 10-year-old house. Now we have problems with the gas boiler. It is leaking from the combustion chamber. My husband opened up the gas boiler and inside everything is rusted. The problem seems to have existed for several years. My question: Can we still make any claims for recourse against the seller? The notarial contract states that liability for material defects is excluded; unless the seller acts intentionally.

Hello,

Did the seller provide you with an appraisal or did you request one?

Kind regards

No, but we had a specialist for heating and electrical systems who inspected the house. We somehow feel a bit cheated.... the damage must have been there for years judging by the rust.

Hello,

No, but we had a specialist for heating and electricity who looked at the house. We somehow feel a bit cheated... judging by the rust, the damage must have been there for years.

Not necessarily... the modern gas/combi boilers of recent years do not last as long as the boilers of earlier times; due to the condensation process within the unit itself, their lifespan has been significantly shortened compared to earlier units. If your specialist has now checked the chimney sweep’s reports and these were within the tolerance range, it is difficult for you to accuse him or the seller of bad faith.

On the other hand, I don’t really understand what you expect – you bought a "used" house; regarding the electrical system, there probably won’t be a problem (unless the previous owner had someone work on it without proper color coding), but it looks different with the heating technology. 10-12 years is almost a normal "life cycle" for a modern gas/combi boiler and accordingly the time has slowly come to replace the boiler.

Furthermore, I simply don’t understand how you can buy an existing property without an appraisal; the expert would certainly have noticed the condition of the boiler – they have a lot of tables that show them where and why to look. If there are any "other problem areas" in your new home, he would most likely have exposed them as well. This "condition report" of the property would have been documented in a report after inspection and the expected renovation costs would have been deducted from the estimated value of the property.

Now you have bought a property at a price "X" as seen, the warranty for material defects is excluded by notarial deed, and you will have to come to terms with the idea of renewing the gas/combi boiler at your own expense. The seller can cite the chimney sweep master’s report as well as the statement of your specialist and is thereby on the safe side regarding any possible recourse claims on your part.

Kind regards

Hello,


Not necessarily ... the modern gas/condensing boilers of recent years do not last as long as the boilers of earlier times; due to the condensation process within the device itself, their lifespan has been significantly shortened compared to earlier devices. If now your specialist has checked the chimney sweep's reports and they were within the tolerance range, you can hardly accuse him or the seller of fraud.

On the other hand, I don't really know what you expect – you bought a "used" house; there should likely be no problem with the electrical system (unless the previous owner had unprofessional work done on it), but the heating technology is a different matter. 10-12 years is almost a normal "life cycle" for a modern gas/condensing boiler and accordingly, the time has slowly come to replace the boiler.

Furthermore, I simply do not understand how you can buy an existing property without an expert appraisal; the expert would certainly have noticed the condition of the boiler – they have plenty of tables on which they know where and why to look. If there are other "problem areas" in your new home, he would most likely have uncovered them as well. This "condition report" of the property would have been documented in a report after inspection and the expected renovation costs would have been deducted from the appraised value of the property.

Now you have bought a property at a price "X" as seen, the warranty for material defects is excluded by notarial deed, and you will have to come to terms with the idea of renewing the gas/condensing boiler at your own expense. The seller can refer to the chimney sweep master's report as well as the statement of your specialist and is thus on the safe side regarding any possible recourse claims on your part.

Kind regards

Thank you for your detailed answer. Otherwise, the house is really great. Well, then I guess we have to come to terms with the idea of having to buy a new boiler. I was not aware that boilers have a relatively short lifespan.