Cape Town's plumbing certificates were never intended to be 100% comprehensive, says Alexander Swart

The Cape Town City Council ruling that no sold home can be transferred until its owner has given the buyer a Plumbing Certificate of Compliance issued by a plumber accredited with the South African Qualification Authority has often been misunderstood, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property.  This, he adds, has quite often caused friction and a feeling among buyers of being cheated – and one, possibly the main, reason for this is that buyers do not realize that the ruling is not intended to be as comprehensive as they think

.

Quoting from an article published by the legal firm STBB, Alexander said that the Plumbing Certificate has to confirm that

·         The home’s water insulation conforms to the national building regulations;

·         The water meter is fully operational;

·         There are no leaks resulting in water being wasted;  and

·         There are no rain water leaks into the sewerage system.

Specifically, said Alexander, the plumber has to check that the hot water cylinder complies with certain national legislation (SANS 10252 and SANS 10254).  This means that the meter must register when any tap in the home is opened or a leak is leading to water loss.  (It must also show when no water is being used.)

The plumber must also certify that no taps or other outlets are leaking, that no storm water can enter the sewerage system, that there is no connection between the potable water supply and any grey water or ground water systems on the property or nearby and that all water pipes are properly ‘saddled’, i.e.  well protected. This sounds like a very thorough investigation, but there can be several other aspects of the plumbing network that are not covered by an inspection of this kind.

The seller, said Alexander, is expected to pay for the certification and for the repairs required if the plumbing system falls short on any of the above matters and the transfer of a home can be held up if the certificate is withheld due to one or other of the items on the check list being unsatisfactory.  If the owner is unable to pay for the repairs ( e.g. as frequently happens on distressed sales) the money required can be paid by the buyer provided the seller has given a written acknowledgement of debt andor the bond holder is prepared to write off a bigger shortfall.

So far, so good  but, said Alexander, what buyers have to accept is that there may be defects in the plumbing system which do not have to be remedied to enable the seller to get his certificate of compliance.  This being the case, the buyer  should ask the plumber who issued the certificate to provide him with two lists, one covering all the work essential to obtain the certificate and the other covering items that the plumber would regard as necessary to make the system completely efficient.  If the buyer then decides to get all or most of these matters seen to, it can be wise for him to get another quote on the extra items specified –  plumbers handling the certification of properties have been known to charge high for this extra work.

“What the buyer must not do is to start blaming the certification process for failing to protect him on ALL aspects of the plumbing system. This it was never intended to do, but it does  reduce the  many millions of litres of water currently  being lost  each year as a result of leaks and other defects—and it does cover the basics of the system,” said Alexander.

For further information contact Rowan Alexander on cell phone number 082 581 3116 or by email rowan@asproperty.co.za.