House has no final paperwork for loft conversion.

[AlwaysIntrigued]

We’re in the final stage of buying a house and my solicitor has just flagged up that the seller has not had the final sign off for the loft conversion which was done about 4 years ago. They had the planning permission etc but obviously never got round to getting the final paperwork.

Is this a big deal? What are the risks if I go ahead? And what could the seller do to remedy and how long will it take?

It’s not too late. We did just that for the house we sold recently. The work was done 8 years ago and we asked the council to come back in. We needed to provide up to date electrical certificates and they had to visit the property again. Building control issued the completion certificate and it was not a difficult process. Definitely doable and not a huge hassle provided the work was done properly. I would push for that.

As I understand it you have to be able to prove insulation is adequate as well as all the other parts of building regulations. If the builder has records and photographs it should be okay. If not it will be harder to prove it has been done to standards.
We had storage and a staircase added to our loft and had to take it all out in order to sell. The council also told us if left as it had been without BR sign off it could invalidate house insurance. Wasn’t worth the risk so we took it all out and paid £3000 for undoing the work.

We have just come across something similar in the house we are looking to buy. Although ours was a single residence (chalet bungalow) that was demolished and a brick bungalow built in its place. The build was given planning permission but no completion certificate was issued, so no final sign off inspection was carried out. We have no idea if the bungalow was actually built to plans and was built properly with all the correct insulation etc and no corners cut and so on.

We have asked for our sellers to get it signed off retrospectively but have no idea what is happening, and what their response was to that request, as typically we have been unable to get any sort of communication with our solicitor since despite chasing, calling and emailing several times 🙄

We are very very close to just walking away and finding something else.

I was selling my house last year with an extension . All the applications were done by the builders company,there was a planning application granted, building warrantt, etc. To my surprise the company didn't get a completion certificate CoC .The only thing I had as an applications for CoC via email where I was in a copy . It all had been done during pandemic . The applications had been " lost" somewhere in planning department , so I had to contact them and reapply. Local authority did acknowledge that there was an applications and fast tracked it.
The inspector came within two weeks to check the work. I had to produce some docs and certificates and it was approved.

Certificate of completion only shows that work done is matching the plans submitted but doesn't guarantee the quality of works.
My personal perspective is that the conversion has been finished few years ago and defects if any would be visible now
Best of luck, I hope all works with the house

I hope you get some good news soon! It’s so frustrating when you think you’re nearly there.

I bet they are !!!

Do not proceed without it being signed off

if it isn’t a big deal they can get it done

if it is a big deal. You don’t want the house as will find it hard to sell or get insurance for