Fittings and Fixtures
Should
it stay
or should it go?
The
matter of fixtures and fittings
The issue of fixtures and fittings
is often a delicate one. Just recently, the sale of a high
value house nearly fell through for the sake of a cooker,
which the vendor insisted he wanted to take with him and
the buyer insisted he must have. The matter only being resolved
when the estate agent went down to a local electrical appliance
shop and purchased a replacement. Sales have fallen through
over many disagreements concerning fixtures and fittings,
carpets, trees - and even the humble pot plant have had
their claims of inclusion/exclusion.
What constitutes a property itself,
and what constitutes the chattels within it, is not carved
in stone. In the majority of cases, this is easily put right
by the vendor attaching to the sales contract an inventory
of what is included in their property sale.
The Law Society produces a standardised
form. There is no limit to what a vendor can exclude from
a sale, as long as they make their intentions clear - they
can take the house and leave just the land, as long as it
is clearly stated. However, if they remove as much as a
bathplug without telling you, they can be sued for the cost
of replacement.
For all items worth less than £5,000,
the matter can be settled through the small claims court.
In the absence of an inventory, the
contract of sale implies that fixtures will be left behind
but that fittings may be removed. What exactly constitutes
a fixture or a fitting is open to argument, but typical
examples are listed below.
Fixtures
• Sinks,
baths, lavatories
• Central-heating boilers and radiators
• Kitchen units or other items of furniture screwed
or bolted to the floor
• Fitted wardrobes that are made to fit a particular
space and would be incomplete if removed - for example,
if they use a wall to form one of their sides
• Wall paintings
• Light fittings
Fittings
•
Paintings or mirrors that are hung or screwed to a wall
• Carpets
• Curtains and curtain rails
• Free-standing ovens, refrigerators and washing machines
• Lampshades
• Satellite dishes and television aerials.
To
leave or take the kitchen sink? In spite of numerous tales
of how sales of large houses have been threatened by arguments
over petty items, such as a £29.99 towel rail, the
value of fixtures and fittings can add up to a fair proportion
of the value of a house.
How much
is it all worth?
This is
how you would lose out on a typical, £200,000 four-bedroom
house if the vendor took everything, figures are approximate
and are an indication only.
• Fitted
kitchen £6,000
• Central heating £5,000
• Curtains £2,500
• Wardrobes £2,000
• Bookshelves £600
• Fireplaces £850
• Telephones £100
• Trees and various shrubs £400
• Contents of oil tank £200
• Aerial/satelite dish £300
• Dustbins £50
Total £18,000
approximately, a considerable percentage of the value of
the property
What are fixtures? You can't
unscrew them
•
Central-heating boilers and radiators
• Sinks, baths, lavatories
• Kitchen units or other items of furniture bolted
to the floor
• Wardrobes that are made to fit a particular space
and would be incomplete if removed - for example, if they
used a wall to form one of their sides
• Wall paintings
• Light fittings
What are fittings? You can take these with you
•
Paintings or mirrors that are hung or screwed to a wall
• Carpets
• Curtains and curtain rails
• Tree-standing ovens, refrigerators and washing machines
• Lampshades
• Television aerials and satellite dishes
Tips
• Make sure
you attach an inventory of what you are leaving behind to
the final contract - it’ll save arguments later on
• The sale of contract will assume fixtures will be
left behind, but that fittings may be removed
• The Law Society has a standardised fixtures and fitting
form that will help decide what’s what
