Building regulations indemnity policy??

[thelma57]

Hi all, we’re selling and have a loft conversion which was done way before we bought our house, we don’t have any copies of building regs and our buyers solicitor is asking for this or building regulations indemnity policy. Can someone explain to me in basic terms what this means please?

Also is there a better way, like chasing the old regs somehow? Thanks!

If they are happy to accept that then it is likely to be the cheapest and easiest fix for you
They are basically not worth the paper they are written on
Whatever you do don’t contact the Council as that would invalidate the TIP

It indemnifies the buyer against the cost of any enforcement action by the council for lack of building regulations sign off.

If I was buying that wouldn’t be good enough for me, I’d want retrospective building regs sign off.

However as a seller, bite their hand off if they are happy to accept an indemnity policy. It’s the easiest and cheapest solution for you.

Was it covered when you bought? If you contact the council you cannot then get an indemnity policy.

Thanks all, I’ve been looking through my paperwork from when we purchased the house and I can’t see any reference to it at all!

Can I ask you why that wouldn't be enough for you? Is that because then you'll need to get your own indemnity if/when you sell?

You can pass policies on. However there is no satisfaction that the work was done correctly and almost certainly would not meet current regulations.

Agree
I would never accept a TIP

I echo what another poster said about the limits of indemnity policies.

If your buyer and their mortgage company is prepared to accept an insurance policy I would agree to pay for it and not bother checking if there was an earlier indemnity policy when you bought etc.

If you lose this buyer another buyer (or their mortgage company) may not accept an indemnity policy as sufficient protection.

You can't contact the council as that invalidates any policy. Getting retrospective regs would take months and potentially cost thousands so finding a buyer who will accept a policy is a great result.

Building regs make very little difference to an old conversion. They aren't retrospective, and constantly develop. It's almost 100% certain it won't comply with modern regs and that doesn't make it dangerous - it might have slightly less insulation that modern rules, or less head height, fewer plug sockets or similar fairly nit-picky details. Old buildings are never fully compliant to the most modern building regs.
What matters is if the conversion is structurally sound, fire-safe etc, and these things can be looked at by a surveyor. If a buyer is worried, they'll get far more out of instructing a specialist survey than they will chasing around for a bit of paper from umpteen years ago.

Indemnity policies are the modern fix for everything in conveyancing - it can be argued that they are a bit of a scam but realistically they are inevitable in house selling now. You kind of just have to suck it up, pay the money and the problem goes away.

And just to add, probably the reason the building regs weren't mentioned when you bought was that really it's a non-issue, but they hadn't figured out then that there's money to be made by raising non-issues and selling insurance against them.
At some stage there will probably be a load of "were you mis-sold an indemnity policy?" adverts on TV as it gets exposed as a scam, but until then it's a trap we have to live with.

No. It’s because I’d want to know any work was done correcrly. Also indemnity policies only cover the cost of complying with enforcement action by the council. They don’t cover any reduction in value of the house, if for example the council wanted you to completely remove a non compliant extension.

For the OP though it’s a no brainer. Say yes to the indemnity policy if the buyer is happy with one.

@Doris86 isn't that what a survey is for? Building regs change over time anyway so something which was entirely compliant in 1975 is now not going to be. Does it only bother you if it has never been signed off?

If people don’t bother following the rules by getting the necessary consents ,I would be concerned about botched work

Obviously a bit of common sense is required. Work done in 1975 wouldn’t be an issue, if it would have complied either the regulations at the time. However if work had been done in recent years with building control sign off, there is a risk the council could persue enforcement action.

Works do only have to comply with the Regs in place ah the time the work was carried out and, personally because of what I see in my job, a compliance cert doesn't prove that it's actually compliant - building control so heavily caveat the certificates that when I got mine I had to ask them if they were actually conforming the works were okay or not.

How long ago was the loft built?

We can debate the wheres and whyfors but you need a practical solution to your problem. If your buyer's solicitor seems happy for you to indemnify, take that option and hope that the buyer themselves will be satisfied with that. Do not contact the council under any circumstances. It will invalidate any indemnity policy.

Yes as a seller it’s an easy decision. If they want an indemnity just say yes, pay for it, don’t contact the council and that’s the end of the matter.

It you were the buyer then it might require a bit more thought.