windows have no FENSA certificate - Building control fines?

[NeedAdvicePlzz]

Hi all
I had an offer accepted on a house and the vendor confirmed (via the EA) that the windows were installed in 2018 and FENSA certified. I looked up the property's FENSA certificates on the site today but It doesn't show the property has any FENSA certificates.

The site also says if the installation of windows and doors aren't registered with FENA within 2 years, then the certificate is no longer valid (I'm assuming a paper certificate?). Apparently, this means that they are deemed unsafe unless checked by the council's Building Control inspect them and issue a certificate themselves (at the home owner's expense).

Since it was several years ago now, can Building Control still inspect the installation of is it too late. If it's too late, will they impose a fine and force the windows to be removed?

Just to share: I will not get indemnity insurance for this. I don't want to inherit building safety and regulation problems from the previous owner.

I have created this thread to see if anyone has any experience of this. Thank you

Well unfortunately you definitely can’t get indemnity insurance now because you have contacted the council about it

please read my latest posts. I'm glad I called the council, they were very helpful to me and would be very helpful to the vendor.

indemnity insurance is dirty insurance that passes on unsafe houses to future buyers. no thanks.

@User364837 its ok, because the OP doesn't want indemnity insurance because it makes the windows unsafe 🙄

@NeedAdvicePlzz indemnity insurance is a dirty insurance - please! Get a grip. I bet you'll happily pay £20 for a 'dirty' indemnity insurance to stop a church bankrupting you for repair costs. Don't say it wont happen because it did in 2009. Bet the couple wish they had taken out a 'dirty' insurance policy to prevent that happening!

church? what are you talking about.
i'm not buying a church.
i'm not even christian

This might be one of the biggest over reactions I’ve read on here. I wonder why the other purchases fell through 😂

@NeedAdvicePlzz and this shows the naivety of you as a 'buyer'.

Theres a thing called chancel repair liability where houses are responsible for the upkeep of churches in the parish. It has bankrupted people, religious or not, you have to pay it if the church ask (To quote your reply to one of my previous posts - 'it's the law').

But remember, you wouldn't want a 'dirty' indemnity policy so make sure you keep a £50k in the bank in case the church needs it for repairs.

Then don’t want to buy a house with a possible chancel repair liability on it. Much worse than a non-FENSA issue

I'm not buying near a church nor parish. this thread is about my specific problem, not sure why you're bringing something irrelevant up. if you can't be helpful, please don't comment.

You're being completely unrealistic and dramatic. You sound like my previous buyer who strung out the conveyancing for 6 months then decided to pull out a week before exchange. Buying and selling houses isn't like buying a box of cereal you have to take a view on some things and be realistic about the price you're buying for vs the issues the house has. The seller of the dangerous window house could sort out all the issues, as you perceive them, then the house would be worth more. You can't have it both ways.
I'd suggest you buy a piece of land and a tent.

I would be so pissed off if my buyers did this that I would definitely scrap the sale.

FFS OP, gently, you are a seller’s nightmare. I’d rather lose a sale than have to deal with a buyer like this. I bet it’s the tip of the iceberg, who knows what you will kick up a stink about further down the line (and your sellers will definitely be thinking this too).

Every house is in a parish…

well, I just looked it up. it only concerns the houses close to the church. so irrelevant to me. my searches show this too.

Define close. Ours was several hundred metres away from a deconsecrated church that had been turned into flats. Freeholder was the CofE. There was still a potential issue.

You’re unlikely to be buying anywhere as your vendors will probably refuse to sell to you.

well, I've pulled out for now. my vendor is looking into contacting the council to have a certificate issued. i think they care about doing the right thing since it's "only windows". it's not a buyer's problem if things are not in place.

when you do come to sell your property, make sure you ask your solicitor first about what problems might come up in the sale because you didn't do x,y,z. Make sure you do the x,y,z and then put the house up for sale, because you'll have an easy sale then and even be able to get more for the house. it's not rocket science. Just make sure your house is in condition and you've got the paperwork to prove it.

The only reason I don’t have a fensa is because I was advised by my very reputable installer that if I was going to pay for top quality, heat retaining, noise excluding glazing units then knocking a hole in the frame for a vent would be pointless.

i live rurally and the wind noise/draught through the vents was one of the main reason I wanted new glazing.

a “dirty” indemnity will protect the buyer from a fine should BC decide the windows don’t pass, and they don’t want to retrofit vents for the same reasons. Nothing to do with being unsafe.

when I was selling my last house the buyer wanted to see the fensa certificates as they thought for some reason the windows had been recently installed. I moved in long before 2004 and had never installed windows. After some back and forth they decided the house was more important than losing it over a window cert.

i have chancel insurance 😂. My house was once a church building and apparently they can come back at you for rent at any point, even if you’re the freeholder and it hasn’t been owned by the church in centuries.

@NeedAdvicePlzz - You were the one saying indemnity policies are 'dirty' and you wouldn't want one. It's very, very relevant to most of the posts as you seem to have a thing about indemnities and it is helpful at pointing out your stance on 'dirty' indemnity policies and how you would never take one.

The house isn't the problem, whether old or new. I don't have a problem with old or new houses. The vendor is usually the problem and what they do with the house in the time they own it.

These are fensa certificates the vendor did not check were registered. The houses didn't do that.

When I sold my property I just paid £18 for my window indemnity policy, and my buyers accepted that instead of being awkward. If they’d gone to the council instead (potentially costing me a bloody fortune when an £18 insurance policy would have done the same job) I would have told them to sod off and refused to sell to them.

Like pps have said, you need a new build.

Edit. I can’t believe you’ve pulled out after notifying the council. Massive Dick move.

What makes a window dangerous?? Just can't see how a window can be unsafe?? I don't think I have any paperwork. I do know all the windows were installed by Anglian, because we had the 15 year insurance when we moved in, but that's now long expired. All the windows are double glazed, safety glass in the doors etc, but they don't have vents, thank god, I hate vents. Would you buy my house OP??

I'm a bit confused by your insistence on talking about churches and parishes and whatnot. as per my comments, they are not relevant to me, so this is the last time i'll say that. in the case of a normal residential house, indemnity insurance is dirty. if people choose to live near a church, that's their choice.

Good luck buying a house with no indemnity policies! I think there are about four on my current house purchase, and counting, and similar on my house sale. You massively reduce the housing stock available to you if you don't want any. Why did your previous purchases fall though?

As you are going to be looking for a new house to buy it’s interesting that you’re so insistent the chancel liability won’t be relevant. The Church was once one of the largest landowners in the country.

Yes the chancel repair indemnity is one of mine too, for a defunct church in greater Manchester.

vendor decided to keep the property as a rental.
second one the divorcing couple were rowing endlessly.
nothing wrong with those houses, would have taken them.
again, vendors were the "problem" but i can't fault someone who wants to keep their house and a divorcing couple was not going to work for me.

please start a new thread.