Selling your home is one of the great rites of passage that one has to endure as an adult, at some stage of your ‘grown up’ life. If you’ve done everything right and if the market is being kind to you, you may also be in for making a lovely little financial windfall while you’re at it, and that is certainly something to get excited about.

But, as any home-seller will tell you, it is not all fun and games and ensuring that you remain on top of your legal requirements is a very important part of the process.

VERIFIED IDENTIFICATION

The United Kingdom has some pretty tight money laundering laws and as property is often a vehicle used to transfer wealth, the process of selling your home is relatively easy but is carefully monitored nevertheless.

You will need to provide your solicitor with a positive ID and this includes proof of your current address and also, photo identification. Solicitors, conveyancers and estate agents all operate under the rules and laws of the United Kingdom and they won’t assist with the sale of your home without these requirements being satisfied.

TITLE DEEDS

Once you’ve established that you are who you say you are, you now also need to prove that the home you say you own – you do, and the way you do this is by presenting your proof of ownership with your ‘title deed’. If you don’t have the actual deed, it doesn’t matter because your solicitor can obtain a copy for you.

ENERGY PERFORMANCE CERTIFICATE

The EPC must be included in your document pack when selling your home. This document will verify that your home energy use falls within certain guidelines and the level of CO2 impact your home has on the environment. A ‘G’ rating (which is minimally efficient) is less desirable than an ‘A’ rating which is maximally efficient.

If you do not have an EPC that was obtained within the last ten years, then you need to get one for a duly and suitably qualified assessor. In Scotland, you’ll need a ‘home report’ and this would need to have been produced with the previous ten weeks. 

WHY IS EICR IMPORTANT?

In the United Kingdom daily, up to seven fire-related incidents that are attributed to faulty wires, are reported every day.

The EICRs have six key purposes and goals and these are to:

  • Find and report on any damage to electrical wiring that compromises safety.
  • Seeking out wiring work that doesn’t comply with IET wiring regulations.
  • Reporting on any problems that could cause electric shocks and high temperatures.
  • Searching 
  • Recording the results of the assessment and ensuring that all electrical installations are safe and ready for use, and
  • Recording the current inspection for future reference.

If you have undertaken renovations or upgrades to your home, you also have to ensure that all of these have been conducted following the law and that you have all the required documentation to attest to that fact.

All of these documents are needed when selling your home, and if you’ve undertaken security upgrades to your home, you’ll need proof of that as well.