Not to bother with building regs certificate?

[TraceyHorrobin]

My friend and her DH just added a small en-suite to the corner of their attic bedroom. It's 2 partition walls, plumbing including a few external pipes for waste and a toilet/ sink and a shower cubicle.

It's finished and looks gorgeous. Now they are panicking they didn't get a building regs cert for it before they started and if they apply for one now somebody will come and drill into the finished work.

Do they even need one? Could they not bother with a council building regs cert and then get indemnity insurance for it when they want to sell instead?

They are worried about having to open it up to check or not being able to sell, why aren't they worried whether it was done correctly? Would be best to open it up and have it inspected really, you don't want to have to open it when it's blocked and the builder has long going.

They could but it's a risk. Not every buyer would accept an indemnity (I wouldn't after previous experiences)
Solicitors will ask for all building regs certs and If they want to sell in the future they should get a regularisation now to avoid having to open up the en-suite while in the stressful process of selling.

Thanks for replies.
They thought they wouldn't need building regs cert because the new en-suite hasn't changed the external structure of the house. Is that not right?
My quick google just now suggests that is not right!
I don't know why the builder wouldn't have mentioned it...

I'm not sure I'd trust the work of a builder who didn't even think to mention it would need building regs. There are rules that should be adhered to regarding drainage, ventilation, windows etc. For this sort of job, the cost of building regulations is a small fraction of the total cost, why wouldn't you apply for it if all the work was up to scratch?

I also wouldn’t buy a house with building work that had no building regs.

Yes you are thinking of planning permission, that is about the external appearance and whether it's commercial or residential or flats etc. Building regs is whether the building work has been done to the correct standards eg pipes connecting properly and with the right slope on them

It’ll be a problem when they come to sell it and the paper work isn’t there. Prospective buyers will drop out. You get a buildings reg cert done after, not before so they could still do it now.

Is it an electric shower? AFAIK they need a certificate from a plumber with Part P certification to verify that it's done properly.

I wouldn't buy a house without all the proper paperwork either. Just tells you that the owners cut corners and I'd be wondering what other issues I'd find out about further down the line.

I didn't and wouldn't buy a house that didn't have a building regs certificate. It's a pretty daft thing to put something like that in and not have the proper certificates.

Any builder not getting building regs certificate means their work isn't up to building regs standard which is the bare minimum.

I don't suppose they took any photos when it being built? My building regs chap couldn't make it on a certain day and told me to take photos/document the process. I took photos and videoed the ceiling being boarded with fire retardant boards just so works didn't have to stop.

Oh dear...

Thanks everyone I'll pass on your wisdom.

The indemnity insurance for something like this is pretty much worthless anyway. The only reason to get it would be if the mortgage company insisted on it, but it really doesn't offer the protection that people think.