illegal en suite

[happybilly]

Hi guys,
I would appreciate if you could let me have your views re this. I had an en suite installed in my house and I just found out it needed building regs. I commissioned this work 2 weeks before giving birth and it didn't occur to me that the building regs may be needed. The builder dragged the work forever and only completed it in November. I was blisfully unaware until now that this is illegal. Any ideas how I can sort this mess out?

I have no idea where to get started. I contacted the builder several times but no response. In the last text I sent I told him that I would like to discuss the issues concerning his work and that I would like to resolve it amicably.

I also mentioned that I sought legal advice.

I hope he gets in touch. However, I don't expect it as he was playing cat and mouse with me for 2 months to do the en suite. 2 days on and then no show for days and so it went. I was silly to have paid upfront.

Anyhooo.... done ... so I need to sort it.

Somebody on DIY forum suggested I wait for 2 years and then the LEA cannot ask me to take it down, but that would mean that thebuilder gets away with it and any cost in rectifying things is down to me.

I am scared of the building control... Seriously... In a total tizzy over this...

You're not listening are you OP?

Nobody will tell you to 'take it down' - it's not an erection that can be taken down anyway.

It just has to comply with building regs.

You need to ascertain if it does / does not and make a list of the changes that may need to be made.

You then ask the original builder to put things right.

If he refuses you have the option of seeking a legal remedy.

Sending him a text about it and tellung him you have sought legal advice is not the right way to go about this.

I just wanted to find out whether he will cooperate. That way I have an option to weigh up what to do.

He told me that he will remedy thins as long as the remedy is not too expensive, but if I take the legal route that he will disappear and will be difficult to find. I suspected so, hence wanted to know where I stand before making a decision to inform the council.
Need to kind of assess if the trouble is worth it and how much it will cost me to put things right.

He also told me that I only need to say that the en suite was there before I bought the house and if I want to sell that I can buy indemnity insurance.

This suggests that he has done this kind of things many times before as he knew about all the requirements and how you can dodge the system.

I am not sure what is the most sensible course of action as somebody on DIY forum told me that the council cannot remove the structure if it's been for two years.

Would you all go down regularisation route or is it better to keep quiet and try to re-regularise later?

Am in dilemma and obviously once I inform the council the enforcement proceedings will be issued against me and I will have to do whatever they say which can be very expensive.

Any thoughts?

My thoughts would be that without the certification you have no idea whether or not what he has done is up to scratch. Will you have drainage problems, ventilation problems etc that only surface once he's well and truly buggered off?
Yes you can circumvent the system but why would you when at the end of the day as I have said before that system is only there to protect your safety, public safety and the environment.
If he's got that wrong then surely you want it fixed, if he hasn't yay you've got it all confirmed and the paperwork to prove it.
To me it's a no brainer.

He also told me that I only need to say that the en suite was there before I bought the house and if I want to sell that I can buy indemnity insurance.

So he's encouraging you to lie?

This suggests that he has done this kind of things many times before as he knew about all the requirements and how you can dodge the system.

He will only be able to 'dodge the system' as you put it, as long as people like you enable him to do so.

I am not sure what is the most sensible course of action as somebody on DIY forum told me that the council cannot remove the structure if it's been for two years.

You are still not listening. Nobody can make you remove it. It doesn't require planning permission. It should however be of standard that meets building regulations. That ensures that it is safe.

It's really very simple.

Get a comptent electrician to state what needs to be done.

Get the work done.

Apply retrospectively to the council for building regs sign off.

Expense should not come into it - you need it signed off if you ever want to sell the house. Indemnity is not appropriate in this case. You also need it sihned off to ensure it's safe. You'd be in a whole lot of trouble if someone was injured because of this installation.

Report the cowboy to Trading Standards. What he did may well be illegal - have you seen his qualifications. He could leave his next piece of work in an unsafe state.

We recently had the same issue: installed small downstairs loo, builders said it just needed to be done under buildings regs: when we came to sell the house it turned out we needed certification. Called the council, they sent someone the next day who gave us a retrispective certificate, to confirm that it was all fine. Cost £230, iirc. Council were very helpful, and we certainly weren't in any trouble.

I wouldn't get too het up about legal proceedings yet.

Oh my goodness OP, please stop stressing.

I am a building control officer & can promise you no one is going to take action over an en-suite.

You need to regularise the work, but this is so you can get your completion certificate. You will need this if you sell your house.

The 2 year thing you heard is not true. There is no time limit, but you can only regularise work done since 1985.

If you do regularise, it will be to show the drainage was done to standard and that the room is adequately ventilated. New electrical work should have a certificate under Part P of the regs. That is all.

You seem to be giving yourself anxiety over something that doesn't warrant it.

Thanks for all the advice. Having a cert electrician come to check work tomorrow as I wasn't given any certification.

I will look into reporting the rouge builder to standards. I am still smarting how he charmed me into this. Looking back he was 'grooming' me for a whole year until I sold the house. I din't bother getting quotes as I trusted him and was heavily pregnant and ill to bother with sourcing builders. Paid the price, that's for sure.