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Original poster

Missing Building Regulations!

21 replies

julesflo · 09/11/2021 16:04

Hi, we are towards the end of the process of purchasing this freehold house and the solicitor came back to say there's no building regulations signed off for the property, not is there indemnity [although we understand indemnity would be of no use in the future].
We are in shock obviously and do not know what do do.
It is a two bedroom house, freehold. It is part of a long building, that was split in 3 two bedroom houses, there is planning permission in place for each, individually, as freeholds. The house has been rented ever since built.
The only thing that is missing is the building regulation sign off, the house is built in 2005, so fairly new.
We are buying this on a mortgage so the lender might not give us the money..we are still to find out.
What should we do?
If the lender does give us the money following a thorough survey, should we still go ahead or should we pull out?
We will try to ask the seller to do a retrospective sign off with the council, however there is a high chance he won't do it.
Should we pull out then?
Many thanks!

OP posts:
Leafypage · 09/11/2021 16:46

Maybe they got the completion certificate signed off by a professional consultant but lost it or never gave a copy to the council? It’s unlikely to be a problem this far down the line

FurierTransform · 09/11/2021 17:21

Presumably after 15 years there are no issues with the actual house i.e it was built properly and to a good standard, just not signed off? Personally I'd just do whatevers easiest to overcome what is really just a paperwork issue - probably a cheap indemnity policy

BasiliskStare · 09/11/2021 17:35

I would ask the vendor for retrospective sign off for building reg but as you say high chance won't do it - electrical sign offs change regularly - doesn't mean it is not safe just means not up to current spec. We spent £xk getting the building regs sorted out before we sold but made selling much easier. ( Builder didn't give us the paperwork - not making that mistake again )

The indemnity will probably work for the mortgage company - but building regs are meant to make sure your house is safe.

I would pay for a proper survey & see if they flag up anything which needs to be done.

Best of luck & just one opinion @julesflo

OfCourseIStillLoveYou · 09/11/2021 17:41

We might be facing this issue as well!

Is there a building regulation application, but just no completion certificate? Or no building regs application at all?

Is an indemnity not possible because someone has spoken to the council?

Original poster
julesflo · 10/11/2021 10:06

Thank you all, as expected the vendor wouldn't budge, won't do any paperwork. We are now waiting for the lender to tell the solicitor where they stand and if they give us the mortgage.
Insurance won't mean much, the problem will still be there when we try to sell.
I wonder if many houses have this issue.
We put the offer on this one in August, and they hid this from everyone.
Haven't got the energy to start it all over.:(

OP posts:
Mintine · 10/11/2021 10:13

We had the same issue for an extension on the house we’ve just bought.
The vendor set up two indemnity policies. I’m not concerned, the extension was in 2010.
We also split a property a few years ago, with the same problem and had an indemnity, for the extension, no problem either.

Mintine · 10/11/2021 10:14

Sold, not split!

Bells3032 · 10/11/2021 10:39

my sister had this on the house they were buying. if you contact the local council they should be able to send someone in to do the completion certificates. it may take a while though

harriethoyle · 10/11/2021 10:42

I would echo PP saying get an indemnity in place - don't go to the council though because I think, although I am not sure, once you've raised it as an issue with them, you can't take an indemnity policy out...

Mintine · 10/11/2021 12:15

@harriethoyle

I would echo PP saying get an indemnity in place - don't go to the council though because I think, although I am not sure, once you've raised it as an issue with them, you can't take an indemnity policy out...
This is absolutely right! My solicitor confirmed this
areyouhavingagiraffe · 10/11/2021 13:07

I pulled out of a house due to lack of BR. It was a full loft conversion with no paperwork at all. Indemnities are useless. From my research and discussions with surveyor, an illegal loft conversion is potentially the most serious breach because it has fire safety implications, and of course sits on top of the house, and without any structural sign off no one would know whether the work was up to scratch. The vendor got the council in and they confirmed a LOT of work would be needed. It also may have insurance implications.
Biggest risk however, is potential difficulties in selling. As my surveyor said to me "Don't make this your problem". I walked away.

MarieG10 · 10/11/2021 13:12

I would walk away. As you say the problem remains as to why they didn't get the approval and for when you come to sell, you have the same issue

They don't get regs approval as they cut corners

greedygut · 10/11/2021 13:13

Personally I wouldn't buy a "finished " house without building regs sign off and a tricky vendor

To get them signed off May mean you have to undo some of the work for inspection by BC this can be disruptive and costly

My route would be to try and find out how much has actually been signed off and what else needs to be signed off by BC for a completion certificate to be issued , this will mean liaising between your solicitor , the vendor and the building control officer who inspected the original work ( usually pointless to bypass and go straight to building control as they work for the vendor and are not at Liberty to discuss the property in this regard - I've been there )

when the regs are signed off they must comply to current regulations and something built and finished even a few years ago will not have the same requirements as they are updated very frequently

There will be the same problems in a forwards sale when the time comes

An indemnity cert is not worth the paper it's written on as far as anything structural ( and yes if you have flagged the issue with the council it cannot be granted )

Talk to your solicitor

parkrunner1977 · 10/11/2021 14:11

We're currently buying a house that had a conservatory added by the vendor which she considered within permitted development rules but the deeds to the property have a covenant that says no additions can be erected without planning permission. Our solicitor has told us explicitly not to talk to the council as this could cause problems. We're still waiting to hear what the outcome of this will be as the vendor will not be able to provide a copy of the permission requested by sols.

Mildura · 10/11/2021 14:20

when the regs are signed off they must comply to current regulations and something built and finished even a few years ago will not have the same requirements as they are updated very frequently

This is not true.

In the case of a building regs from work that took place 15 years ago, it must only comply with the regs in place at the time, you are not required to meet the updated regs.

areyouhavingagiraffe · 10/11/2021 15:59

@Mildura correct. But the Council BC officers will seek evidence of when works were undertaken. i.e. just because someone says it was 20 years ago, they don't just accept this.

areyouhavingagiraffe · 10/11/2021 16:00

@MarieG10 and @greedygut Star

Original poster
julesflo · 10/11/2021 16:17

Solicitor said the planning permission documents are in place, not sure if that makes a big difference as they are two different things.
The house doesn't have any addition to it, such as loft conversion or conservatory etc.
We are waiting for the solicitor's update from the lender and I will write here the outcome.
Thank you again all for taking the time to have an opinion, it helped a lot, we also asked the solicitor to find out whether there was at least an attempt in trying to get the building regs from the local authority.

OP posts:
Original poster
julesflo · 10/11/2021 16:22

We will also try to get a complete survey done, obviously if this one comes as dodgy, we will definitely pull out.

OP posts:
shoopashoop · 12/01/2022 15:12

@julesflo just wondered if you managed to get your mortgage please? We are in a similar position

Original poster
julesflo · 13/01/2022 11:28

Heya
So what happened was that we got an indemnity insurance and the lender has accepted this and now we have got the house and moved in.
We went with our guts , the house feels sturdy, everything works in it, no cracks, boiler doesn't need to work too much to keep it warm so it was properly insulated.
We don't plan to move any time soon as it is such a stress and lots of money involved, hopefully nothing goes really wrong with it.
As mentioned above, the house doesn't have any addition to it such as conservatory or loft extension, it is as it was built initially in 2007.
What is your situation @shoopashoop?

OP posts:
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