Want to cry - no building regs completion cert on property

[Howdidthathappen1]

My solicitor has sat on this information for weeks but thats a different moan.
I'm looking to buy a bungalow thats got a loft conversion and single story extension. Planning permission was granted for extension and dormer - but we have no detailed pictures of the plans just the description.
Builing control made 5 visits during the works but no final sign off visit was requested so no completion certificate. Local council has provided a written assurance that they will not take action as this occurred in 2004.
The work we want to do to the property in terms of alterations - knock down internal load bearing walls so put steels in and put in extra toilet- will highlight any deficits which will obviously need to be corrected before we can do anything.
I'm thinking of giving a significantly reduced offer that would cover any potential remedial work - the bits that I can make an educated guess about. Would this be madness?? Should I walk away - have looked at breaking the chain but rentals suitable aren't available. We love the potential new house it took ages to find anything we liked.
If it complicates things - the owner was a chippie who did most of the work himself (now deceased) his son is a structural engineer!!

I think another PP had said this but you can get indemnity insurance. My mum did as part of her house purchase and the vendors paid for it, it's their responsibility as they should have got the certificate...

As a pp said if the LA have visited then it shouldn't be that hard to get their sign off and a final certificate.

Ask the seller to sort it. We had this on our house (not a loft conversion) and the building co trip team came out and signed it off. Took less than a week.

dinohat, fire regs absolutely apply to loft conversions - why wouldn't they? We had to switch out our doors to fire rated doors when we converted our loft. And we ruled out a house that we otherwise really liked because the loft conversion clearly didn't adhere to fire regs.

This may be less of an issue in a bungalow loft conversion but nevertheless the point stands.

And there are loads of other safely factors they check for too - height of stair treads, gaps between banisters etc

@cheeseismydownfall

dinohat, fire regs absolutely apply to loft conversions - why wouldn't they? We had to switch out our doors to fire rated doors when we converted our loft. And we ruled out a house that we otherwise really liked because the loft conversion clearly didn't adhere to fire regs.

This may be less of an issue in a bungalow loft conversion but nevertheless the point stands.

I didn’t say they don’t apply, they do. But I don’t think the considerations you have listed are, or should be, an overriding concern for the OP.

Thanks all I'm far less panicky now. I don't disagree that its not necessarily the lack of sign off being an issue if we were leaving the property as is - its the work we are planning will bring up issues that would have prevented sign off happening so we may have to redo the work.
I've reduced our offer by the stamp duty as I see it as we could investigate this further which would delay to point of having to pay this given the shortage of availability of everyone right now - or we can take the risk and have to spend more than the stamp duty putting it right

It is a risk but it might be one you could take.

The survey is good as it points to structural integrity. But it ends here, it is a structural survey. Nothing to do with health and safety, this is covered by building regulations.

Building regulations have to be applied at the time of completion not for the standard that was required at the time of the original application.

So it isn't a case of getting the council to issue it. It gets so much more complicated. I know as I've been in the situation of getting a lapsed building notices up to date.

For instance on one of the properties I had renovated, a concrete slab under a foundation to an extension that would have passed 10 years ago, now wouldn't as the new regulations state for two story they must be thicker. This meant adapting the build or demolishing in part.

The devil is in the safety detail.

Having said this, if you can get a reduction in price to reflect the work you need to do to bring it up to the regulations it should have, and are happy to do the work then it's possible.

But unless your are going to settle for a devalued property when you come to sell again. You must have building regulations certificates in place.

Indemnity insurance may work, but be careful with the wording as this is an incomplete build in the eyes of the law.

Have you had a response yet?

I don't know how much the property is worth, but linking the reduction to stamp duty doesn't make sense to me.

If I was the seller I would only be willing to reduce by the cost of the remedial work, which unless I missed something, you're only making assumptions about at the moment. What if all it needs is a door to be changed? Or nothing?

I have a different view from most. If they had 5 visits, why didn't it get signed off. 5 visits seems a lot for a loft conversion too.

You’ll need to check with your lender if they will accept it without Building Control sign off in place. We had a similar issue and got round it by asking the vendor to take out a policy similar to an nhbc guarantee; as part of the process they will inspect to gauge if they can offer cover and that in itself might give you some comfort.

We bought our last home in 2016.
The downstairs extension had been done probably 30 years earlier.
The vendors had bought the house already extended.
Nobody could find building regs or a completion certificate.
The original owners had died.
In the end we just bought as it was.
It has never been a problem for us.
I worry more about our 4th bedroom built over a garage which I doubt has foundations!

My mantra is ' it will see me out, then its the dc problem '