No restrictive covenant consent or planning permission or building regs

[NoviceBuyer2022]

Hi
We have been all set to purchase our first house a 1970s one , where we faced first hiccup when the title was not clear , it showed another house number on the name of seller !
Waited for this to be sorted and meanwhile asked seller if we can put a planning permission since we planned to renovate the utility and garage to shift kitchen there .
Seller refused and we waited again
Now the conveyancer has come back with all documents and told us that the utility room prepared by the seller within 7 years of buying property has no restrictive covenant consent from builder and no planning permission and no building regs done as well
We are told seller can offer indemnity insurance but of course that means we own the risk since we planned to renovate already
Also no fensa for windows installed in 2011, no boiler , electric or gas certificates
Not sure what to do - any advice ?

The title deed includes restrictive covenant that no building should be built without prior approval from builder
Now the builder Bryant homes seems to have merged with taylor whimpey or don’t know if that is wrong ( did Google search)
What are our options? Shall we go ahead or drop out ?

When was the utility built - not totally clear from your post?

It is unlikely there will be any enforcement action for pre 2011 works. As long as you are happy with it structurally or are renovating anyway indemnity insurance should be sufficient. Have other properties done similar to how you plan?

Fensa certificates are only valid for 10 years anyway.
If any significant electrical work had been done since 2011, a certificate for the work would have been issued.
There is no requirement for sellers to provide electric / gas checks.

The utility was built around 1977 and windows replaced ( without adding lintel in 2011 which caused cracks internal on both first and second floor

May not have needed planning then . Building regs changed completely in I think 84 so again may not have needed them. I would get a full survey and take it from there. If it's been up 45 years it's unlikely to fall down now.

It’s just walls no insulation and heating even in utility constructed back then
My worry is I wanted to merge utility and garage to make kitchen
Now with this what are my risks

With an indemnity insurance if I approach for planning permission do I stand any risk
The seller has refused me to do it before contract exchange citing refusal will result in value reduction

No heating isn't really an issue if you are doing building work, a plumber will I assume be needed so that can be added. The insulation, do you mean cavity wall ? Is the garage single skin wall ?

What are you indemnify against?

I wouldn't expect any paperwork for an extension put up in the 1970s. This wouldn't concern me at all. If it wasn't constructed properly then this will need to be corrected when you incorporate it into the house, so you should budget for this.

I would personally be more concerned about the lack of sign-off for the windows, mainly because the work itself sounds questionable if a lack of lintels is leading to walls cracking!

Enquiring of the council would invalidate indemnity insurance. However a new application is unlikely to draw attention to previous work that far back. You could theoretically apply for permission yourselves before you own the property.

Yes garage is single skin wall

@CasperGutman do you mean we should ask for any certificates, when you say concerned about window sign off .
We are told any insurance on windows would be finished since more than 10 years now
Do you think installing lintels now would solve the issue along with redecoration for cracks
Or
Do you think it’s a big issue to leave house?

@LIZS this is what we thought but seller was very much against, then we asked our lawyers as well but seller refused
We have now come to know why seller was against ( restrictive covenant consent not available- though very late now)

You can look up Fensa etc online. It is not up to seller whether you apply for pp, you legally can regardless, but might not assist negotiations.

@LIZS
Please can you explain, why does
enquiring of the Council invalidate indemnity insurance?

The indemnity insurance will have a clause forbidding you to inform the council of the issue. You either take the insurance out or get retrospective permission.
For an extension built in the 70s I really wouldn't worry. I would be inclined not to take indemnity insurance out unless your lender insists on it.

Extension wouldn’t worry me. Lack of gas and electric checks tend to only concern those coming from rented accommodation as many homeowners don’t get them done. Single skin you should sort when renovating.

The lintel would be my only concern. How did you find out that the lintel is missing? Valuation report? Has this been rectified?

Missing Lintel were highlighted in survey( we did homebuyers survey)
Still the same

You do not need their permission to apply for planning permission you just need to send the a letter/notice that you're doing it. Its detailed on the planning portal and application form.

For example I could apply to extend my neighbours house and get planning permission. But as I don't own the house couldn't built however if then bought the house I could build the extension. Planners aren't going to care about old extension if it's being replaced with something better.

@ItsJustASimpleLine thanks we did think of that but eventually thought to wait to avoid negotiations unsettling and also since there can all kind of surprises ( like the ones we are seeing now )
But what about developer permission for changes - how do we handle that and assuming we get planning permission and building reg , all sorted what are the chances there would be objections from neighbours or developers’ successors , if any?
If we accept the indemnity insurance and approach developer , we risk with any expenses if any action is taken
Any advice here would be helpful please

The chances of Bryant Homes enforcing a covenant on a property they built around 50 years ago are somewhere around zero.

These covenants are pretty common, and essentially exist to keep the developments similar and without householder alterations during the period of time the developer is on site constructing other homes in the development. Once the development is finished they really don't care what the new owners do, certainly not after all this time.

@NoviceBuyer2022

The utility was built around 1977 and windows replaced ( without adding lintel in 2011 which caused cracks internal on both first and second floor

Windows dont always need lintels. I mean yours sound like they do because cracking but it's not always a thing.

New build definitely do because of how they are built but most of the 100 year old plus houses near me only have lintels on newer extensions. The original houses may have what looks like lintels but they are decorative.

The utility sounds like it's fine, if it hasn't fallen down in 40 plus years it's not about to.

@NoviceBuyer2022

The utility was built around 1977 and windows replaced ( without adding lintel in 2011 which caused cracks internal on both first and second floor

It was quite common in the 70s to have windows put in that didnt need a lintel, the requisite support was built into the frame. This can lead to issues when replacing them that people dont always put a lintel in but it should be an easy fix so long as the cracks arent too bad