Purchasing a house where the manhole cover has been built over - what to check?

[patchesmcp]

We're currently in the process of buying a house which has been extended and where there is an orangery covering a manhole cover. This makes me slightly nervous, particularly as the owners have got laminate down in there so access to the manhole cover would obviously not be easy.

I was wondering what we need to check or ask the solicitor to check to ensure all the relevant permission was obtained when the orangery was built. In addition is there anything we need to check to ensure it was done properly?

My other concern is that there appears to only be this one manhole cover on the property, which doesn't seem right, as I thought there would be at least two. Anyone know if this is usual? I'm now wondering if there is another manhole cover which has been built over under the extension to the house.

The current owners did say there is another manhole cover just the other side of the boundary fence on next doors land which can be used to rod the drains, but it's a long way from the one under the orangery

Anyone?

We have an extension which was built partly over a manhole cover - iirc we have to have it relocated so that we could still get access, and there's a sort of cutout bit under the wall and a loose flag on the patio where the manhole cover is. I'd be surprised if they'd just built directly over it? Have you asked the vendors how they can access it?

You can get special flooring for that, so you just lift up that bit, not the whole floor. I'd probably make a reduction in price to get that done, as you will need to use it at some point and you don't want to have to rip up the floor.

look up the plans that were submitted to the local authority for Planning Permission and Building Regulations (if they were - if not, run away).

Thanks everyone.

We're going to raise it with the solicitor today so we'll wait to see what happens from there.

I presume there is access to it, as the vendor said they used to have carpet down but changed it a few years ago to laminate flooring

I've been reading about building over agreements and getting all confused. I suppose if we flag it with the solicitor it's their job to check it was done properly, as that's what we're paying them for after all.

I just had this in a house I am buying (exchanged last week) - the surveyor didn't pick it up but my solicitor did. It's under a single storey extension. My solicitor asked me to contact the surveyor and ask him about it and he said that as the vendors did building regs etc correctly then it would have all been ok - I have forgotten the exact wording but it has a special sealed unit and then they had a bit above that matched the wooden floor but could be accessible if necessary. There is another manhole very close - and actually another to the front of the property so I wasn't too worried about it - and the surveyor said it's very common. Just make sure that their building regs is all in order though.