A year ago I bought a house which had had a new gas fire fitted by the previous owners. However the flue is unsafe: the mantelpiece and chimney breast had large gaps which allowed fumes from the fire back into the room. The previous owners admitted that the fire wasn’t installed by a Gas Safe engineer. Do I have a case for compensation from them?
It’s unlikely. It would have been up to you to check whether or not the fire complied with the necessary regulations. This could have been highlighted by your surveyor and you could have had it inspected or asked to see whether or not there was a gas safety certificate for the fire. Unless the sellers told you the fire was fully compliant you probably won’t have a claim.