Solicitor flagging up something about building regulations compliance certificates

[GurlWithACurl]

We are in the process of selling our house that we have lived in for more than two decades. Over the years we did various renovations and improvements. In the last two years we changed the leaky wooden porch door and windows to UPVC and also had the roof redone. Our buyers have asked a set of questions that have been forwarded to us by our solicitor. This includes asking for building regulations compliance for those last two works.

This is the first time we have ever heard of this! We are now worried that we might have broken some law or other and might get into trouble. Or we might lose the buyers. Can anyone give me any advice please? TIA

That's a job for your solicitor to advise you on.

For the roof you would likely have needed building control sign off in the works and a certificate even if it was done under permitted development. You could speak to the council and see if you can get it checked retrospectively.

Windows and doors if done separately should have a Fensa certificate.

if you don’t have or can’t get these an indemnity policy would likely cover you.

Edit to add that @justinhawkinsnavalfluff is right to suggest you check with your solicitor.

The company that replaced the windows and doors should have been FENSA registered and should have signed this off, they normally provide a certificate when installed. For the roof you would have required building regulations if more than a certain amount replaced. You can do a retrospective application but may need to open up and expose the work to be checked. The solicitor may suggest an indemnity policy but if done recently it would be better to get it signed off to reduce risk of selling

As others have said. You can check online whether there is a FENSA certificate (same with alternative schemes)

You should have had building reg approval for the roof definitely - the windows technically yes but no one does these days

For the windows and doors, it’s these are normally done by the installer via the Fensa or Certass schemes. You can check on both websites to see if a certificate was issued.

Neither the roof nor the windows are a show stopper though. If the BC permission is not in place then the buyer will probably just accept an indemnity policy. DO NOT raise the issue with the council though. If they become aware that work has been done without BC sign off then you will not be able to get an indemnity policy.

Regarding the roof, you have two issues to consider: did you use exactly the same roof covering? Did you upgrade the insulation to the required standard?

So, if you replaced a light slate roof with heavy tiles, did you consider the load bearing capabilities of the structure? Like for like won’t be an issue at all. If you have used a much heavier roof material, I’d get your own survey to check it’s safe. With insulation - did you upgrade to modern requirements? The solicitor should know what to do if you uncover any issues.

Thank you all so much for your comments and advice. DH and I will have a chat about it tomorrow and answer the solicitor, asking her advice.

Expect your buyer to want the warranty too, UPVC don't last long so I'd be expecting their solicitor to ask for this to be transferred to them

We don’t have a warranty for the UPVC work because the company disappeared just after they completed it. The work was done well, thank goodness, but the company was dodgy as it turned out!

Oh no! They may want an indemnity then.

Yes, it was a nightmare! Apparently they owed lots of money to people in the area. But they did do good work.

@GurlWithACurl Lots of people don’t expect a warranty for windows. Would you for wooden cheap ones? Probably not. Upvc are ok if a decent make and well installed. It’s just not possible to have warranties for everything!

Warranties are useless for precisely the situation the OP had.

I asked our local council about needing building regs approval before getting a new roof and they didn't have a clue what I was talking about. So I'd leave this for your solicitor to resolve. You don't have any paperwork so what options have you got to remedy this so you can sell your house?

@SwedishEdith You must have a fairly stupid council then. The roof issue is about structural integrity of the house. So BR should have known. If you replace a roof, has it compromised the roof timbers and foundations? It’s not rocket science.

FENSA certs act as building control sign off. And lots of people have them.