I can’t believe my solicitor did this

[TipsyPeachSnake]

So I accepted an offer on a terraced house which I bought over 10 years ago. Double glazing was put in back then, similar to others on the street. However, it has now come to light that the house is a listed building and there is no listed building consent.

I could purchase indemnity insurance to cover this for buyer but have found out that my solicitor contacted the council asking for retrospective LBC!!

Because of the actions of my solicitor the council have been made aware of unauthorised work on the property which could potentially lead to significant penalties and loss of sale.

I’m shocked a solicitor acting on my behalf would do this. What can I do? Anyone had similar experience? Please, any advice would be appreciated.

This happened to me - although it was the seller who contacted the council to try to get retrospective permission for work they’d done. The council advised it would be 18 months before they could inspect. Our bank would no longer lend to us because of the risk that the council would demand the extension was torn down. We had to pull out of the purchase after months and £4k in legal fees.
Replacing windows and reverting to how they were though is less expensive than the risk I was faced with though, so maybe you could still go ahead. Unbelievable your solicitor has done that though. Take them to the small claims court.

Thank you for this. It was a trainee solicitor who contacted the council and clearly oblivious of the possible consequences. I’ve raised my concern about their action with a senior solicitor who has referred it to their compliance team. I don’t know if i should be making a formal complaint to another body or wait to see how this plays out?

This is exactly why I don’t want to go down the retrospective permission route, it would take far too long and I don’t want to risk buyer losing out if they still want to go ahead as they’ve already spent out on surveys and solicitors. As you say replacing a few windows to how they were is not major work and could be done once sale goes though without it all being held up by the council. Sorry that happened to you though.

I don’t see how they’re making this a Compliance issue; it’s a supervision issue.

The firm’s complaints procedure is likely in your initial client agreement letter, and most will list the managing partner as the internal kind of ombudsman. If the firm itself doesn’t resolve this in a way you find satisfactory, then you go to the SRA (Solicitors’ Regulation Authority).

That’s is extremely unprofessional! I would make sure to tell him/her this was not your request and you will not pay any fees related to this . Please raise a complaint

Its not the buyers fault!

This happened to me really late on in an already stressful sale. It’s time-bared. Most councils don’t give a fuck. We had the council put in writing that they wouldn’t pursue as the building had been modified 10+ years ago.

OP did you authorise the new windows?

How on earth could you miss that it was Listed?

No, of course it's not. But if it wasn't the current vendor that had the windows altered (and - rather like the OP on this thread - you were somehow blissfully/inexplicably unaware that anything was amiss), you'd be pretty pissed off if suddenly not only had your potential sale fallen through, but you suddenly had to find ££££ to replace them with timber ones or risk prosecution.

Yeah this! How did you not know it was a listed building? Did you authorise the replacement windows or did someone else?

It was the OP who installed the windows when she bought the property!

If it is the cheapest UPVC and not following original sight lines then it has changed the character. If it is nice wooden windows keeping in style to the originals with eg sashes but double glazing instead of single, then it would be different.
If it is completely out of character it is potentially criminal and I would get it sorted anyway asap and replaced with what is required.

I agree that the seller should get it sorted either way, especially that she is now on notice that unauthorised alternations have been made to a listed building - which would be a required disclosure as part of the property sale anyway

How did your previous solicitor and estate agent for your purchase miss that it was a LISTED BUILDING

Yes wooden type windows keeping in style to what I believe were more in line with original. The existing windows that I replaced were actually UPVC double glazed!

Anyway that’s not the point of this thread. It is the unnecessary and damaging action taken by my conveyancing solicitor without even speaking to me first.

Yes they should have asked for your instructions and explained the implications of going down either route and asked for you to confirm your required approach. If you have a lender it could be that the lender requires the actual consent but even then, the solicitor should have explained that to you and sought instructions. If you’re requirements were then at odds with the lenders they likely would have had to decline to act for one or both parties as there would be a conflict of interest between the two clients

It is a good point, was your original solicitor negligent too then OP? Or did you just not spot it in the original paperwork. Normally this would have been disclosed by the person you bought from too. Or your solicitor would have done a local search to check.
Kind of interesting to know if everyone messed up here.

Maybe your solicitor has reported that the building has had work done (by you) without LBC. I report building works like this quite regularly. You are the custodian of a nationally listed building, you don’t get to choose to do works without consent. And yet this is someone else’s fault?

Actually, reading your OP again, what’s happened is your solicitor has seen that YOU have done works without LBC and is trying to protect you by asking for consent retrospectively. They have acted entirely properly and in your interest. This is all of your own doing.

Given that the OP apparently was unaware that the building was listed (chinny reckon) it’s perfectly possible that she didn’t read the solicitor correspondence either. Or chose to ignore it and just thought “I fancy new windows.”

Yes mine were done over 10 years ago so council may not be arsed, services are already under a great deal of strain with skeleton staff. But thanks to my solicitors contact with them I now have to wait it out a couple months more before sale can proceed, if indeed it does.

“ The existing windows that I replaced were actually UPVC double glazed!”

Did you not do a full survey? Again, would have expected the original surveyor to highlight this as a breach too!

That’s simply not true to say “most councils don’t give a fuck.” And even if the council isn’t bothered, your local history group or historic buildings group will absolutely be bothered.

No and no mortgage. The house was about £70k at the time and bought with inheritance + all my savings.

My understanding is that the 10 year limit does not apply to listed buildings, and unauthorised work can be subject to consequences at any time