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Why does it cause friction between buyer and seller? The issue of fixtures and fittings is a delicate one. In one case, the sale of a £1 million house in Kensington nearly fell through for the sake of a freezer, which the vendor insisted he wanted to take with him and the buyer insisted he must leave behind. The matter was resolved only when the estate agent popped down to a local kitchen shop and bought a replacement freezer. Sales have fallen through over carpets, trees and even pot plants. What constitutes a property itself, and what constitutes the chattels within it, is not written in stone. In most cases, the matter is resolved by the vendor attaching to the sales contract an inventory of what is included in the sale. The Law Society produces a standardised form. There is no limit to what a vendor can exclude from a sale, as long as he makes his intentions clear, he can take the house and leave just the land, as long as he tells you. However, if he removes a bathplug without telling you, he can be sued for the 49p it costs to replace it. 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:
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