BUYING & SELLING Q. What constitutes fixtures and fittings?
A. Custom seems to say that fixtures are permanencies and semi-permanencies that one can’t simply pick up and walk away with. Basically, it includes things, which are attached to the property. One way of looking at it is whether removal of the thing in question would damage the property. Television aerials, for example, are fixtures. You can put the lampshade under your arm and walk away with it but the light switch is a different matter. It’s the bits and pieces other than what are obvious parts of the house (such as the doors) and what is obviously not part of the house (such as a heavy plant pot in the garden that’s too heavy to lift) which causes the trouble. Situations where it’s not strictly breach of contract to remove an item but would be a breach of good faith to do so should be avoided.
