Buying and fitting new flooring

New flooring is a big purchase, and people live on it for years. Many people buy carpet, laminate, vinyl or wood flooring with the fitting included. This page sets out your rights on the flooring and on the fitting, and one check for flat owners before ordering.

If the flooring is faulty

Citizens Advice says you have legal rights if something you bought is broken or damaged, unusable, or not what the seller described. You might be entitled to a refund, repair or replacement.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives a short-term right to reject faulty goods. Under section 22, the time limit is the end of 30 days. The 30 days start once you own the goods and they have been delivered. Where the trader has agreed to install them, they start once the trader tells you the installation is done.

If the fitting is poor

Where the trader supplies the flooring and fits it, section 15 of the Act says goods installed incorrectly do not conform to the contract. Where the trader only does the fitting, that is a service, and section 49 says the trader must perform it "with reasonable care and skill".

Citizens Advice says to take the problem up with the trader who arranged the work, even if they passed some or all of it to another business. If they supplied the flooring as well as the fitting, you can ask them to fix the problem. If they only did the fitting, you can ask for a refund and stop them doing any more work. Before you talk to them, it suggests gathering the paperwork, taking photos and noting dates and times.

If you paid by card or PayPal

Citizens Advice suggests contacting the trader first. If you can't reach them, or they won't help, you can ask your card provider or PayPal to help. Its guide explains a Section 75 claim and a chargeback.

In a leasehold flat

Depending on the terms of your lease, you might need your landlord's permission before changing a floor. The Leasehold Advisory Service gives "replacing carpets with wooden floors" as an example of an alteration. It says a clause such as "floors must be carpeted" "might prevent you from laying wooden or laminate flooring".

Where the lease asks for written permission, the service says you must get it before starting the work. It advises putting the request in writing, dating it and keeping copies.

Before the old floor comes up

HSE lists vinyl floor tiles, and the bitumen adhesive used to stick floor tiles down, among the places asbestos is found. It notes that old asbestos floor tiles can be hidden under carpets. Its page on asbestos locations says who can work on them.

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