Buying house with missing building regs

[Melcl1987]

Hi, i am in the process of buying a house and just found out there are a couple of load bearing walls that were removed which dont have building regulations (these were never applied for). We have been told this happened approx 25 years ago (under a prior owner) but have nothing to confirm this.

Our surveyor said he couldnt spot any issues with the work but the owner redecorated inside and externally a couple of years ago and he caveated this could mask issues.

Our solicitor seems quite relaxed about this but looking online at where people have had similar issues many seem to have either said they were going to pull out or try to negotiate a significant discount.

So just wanted to check if others have had similar issues? And how they would deal with it?

Its not realistic to expect them to get retrospective building regs so seems like our options range from just accepting it, insisting on a structural engineer survey which involves removing a patch of the wall around the beam or reducing the price.

We are seeing it as a 5 year ish move so most concerned about it presenting a problem when we cpme to sell or facing a big bill to make it regs compliant.

Your seller should take out an indemnity insurance policy with you as the benificary. When you come to sell, you pass it on to your buyer.

The house we are selling has incomplete building regs (basically not got the final signing off as we never finished it) and we will have to get an indemnity policy.

I also got an indemnity thing from the sellers, for a loft conversion done by the owners previous to them. I think it’s quite normal for changes done a long time ago (maybe before building regs were a proper thing?)

If it was redecorated 2 years ago, and looks fine, then nothing is moving. Also you can look in the rooms above for movement at the skirting boards or ceiling and corners. If it is already 25 years old, it will most likely be fine.
It wouldn’t concern me if there were no visual clues.

I agree with @HellsBalls
If it looks ok after 25 years it is unlikely to cause any problems.

The problem with the insurance route is that you would have to prove that any structural damage was caused by the work in question, which might not be as simple as it sounds. Can you get a structural engineer to have a look and advise?

Thanks for your response, do you mean in terms of claiming insurance if any issue occurs with the wall? If so we wouldn't be covered by insurance because the work doesn't have building regs. I spoke to a structural engineer who said to really inspect anything properly they would have to remove some plaster which might not be something the seller would want (but we could push for if needed)

When we discovered this, we asked that the owners got the work passed by the relevant professional bodies before we proceeded. They were shocked that we asked this, but they got around to it. The work was retrospectively approved and the sale went ahead.

I'm curious to know who the relevant professional bodies would be in this case, because I suspect I'm about to find myself in the same position as the OP.

Sorry to hijack your thread, OP!

That is fine, what do you think you will do about it?

That old a change can't be enforced anyway. It wouldn't bother me at all.

I had a similar situation a few years back. The house I bought had an old extension without paperwork. Honestly, if your surveyor hasn’t spotted any red flags and it’s been standing fine for 20+ years, chances are the work is solid. Most buyers get nervous about the lack of paperwork rather than the actual structure itself.

Well, the house was already a bit of a resale liability due to being next to one of the busiest roads in town, and only having one bathroom for four bedrooms.

We're not the slightest bit invested in the town, and I'm only moderately invested in the house - I'd been looking at it for 7 months before I said to the OH 'we have to see this house, there's no other choice out there.'

So, given the economy is currently going to hell in a handcart, and whilst I don't necessarily see a house price crash, I see prices stagnating or not keeping up with inflation, I'm not prepared to take on yet another resale liability tickbox of having no building regs for what could be major structural works.

I appreciated a lot of people do because 'it's been fine for 15 years' and suchlike. But I have far too much anxiety to get myself lumped with a house I can't resell in a stagnant or buyer's market.

So, if their response is 'no, we won't do that', my response is almost certainly going to be 'c'ya then, good luck selling your house when it's already had price reductions and has now been on the market for 11 months.'

I have yet to come across a house that I like enough to take on multiple resale liability aspects at the cost of our medium term plans - which are - either a) relocate to a better, more connected part of the country or b) get out entirely in five year's time.

Edit: having seen the reply next to mine by @lemontart13, things have been done that I question the purpose of, and things aren't as they should be that DO make me worry about its structural integrity.

And the sellers have already proven themselves to be liars.

I think it will be fine if it's been done 25 years ago. You could get a structural engineer to look at it and see whether the RSJs which have replaced it are adequate.

Does the price already reflect this?

No, imo. It's one of the noisiest roads in town with a crime rate up to x4 higher than the nicer parts, and the price we've agreed is only 2% under what houses are NOT selling for in the the far better parts of town. I'm one of 2 offers made on it in 7 months - the other people were not proceedable. I think that accurately reflects its desirability in the eyes of people who really know the area.

It does, however, look very nice. But that's not all buyers think about, is it? And it certainly won't be all they think about when the economy tanks further than it already has.

Ask the sellers to get building regs approval
and to pass on beam calculations to your structural engineer/ surveyor for them to check over too

Remember building control do not carry any liability if they make a mistake

Take the cost of the structural engineer/surveyor off the price

Note
An indemnity policy only protects you if the Council find out. If it’s an extension without approval for example and they tell you to take it down. It doesn’t protect you if there’s structural damage due to inadequate changes made without approval.