Getting Building work done "on the side"

tightbarsteward

Im considering getting some building work done (a small extension) by a friend of mine & to keep costs down he will do it as a bit of extra cash in hand (wink wink nudge nudge know what I mean!).

I know him & his associates are capable of doing the job but im just abit concerned about insurance. The work involves knocking an external wall down & I understand I will need to contact my building insurers regarding this. Do they ask who is doing the job etc & what sort of insurance they have?

Im a little paranoid that as they are employed by someone else & may not have any sort of public liability insurance I might be in the poo if something goes wrong.

Does anyone have any experience & advice on this subject as it would be greatly appreciated.

staffie1

tightbarsteward wrote: »

Im a little paranoid that as they are employed by someone else & may not have any sort of public liability insurance I might be in the poo if something goes wrong.

I think you're paranoia is justified and you might be right. You'll probably be on your own if something goes wrong. As well as helping someone avoid taxes. Where is your mate getting the building materials from..?

skinback69

not to sure but i think you wont have to tell them anything its only if your gonna then sell your house it will crop up but then all you have to do is get indemnity insurance which is not alot under 50 quid i think wife out at the moment but keep hearing her going on about this type of insurance as she is a conveyencer
sorry i havent answered ur question have i
if ur gonna cut corners you gonna have to trust the people who are cutting those corners and with it been ur mate n you saying hes well capable just go for it its not that often things will go wrong and if they do im sure he will sort it just the chance you will have to take
i got a big extension don at my last house no come backs on materials or anything builder got paid wink wink nudge nudge even had planning bloke down every thing fine

tightbarsteward

staffie1 wrote: »

I think you're paranoia is justified and you might be right. You'll probably be on your own if something goes wrong. As well as helping someone avoid taxes. Where is your mate getting the building materials from..?

I'll get the building materials. Ive got the cash and contacts at my local builders merchants. I work in the industry to. Why do you ask?

tightbarsteward

skinback69 wrote: »

not to sure but i think you wont have to tell them anything its only if your gonna then sell your house it will crop up but then all you have to do is get indemnity insurance which is not alot under 50 quid i think wife out at the moment but keep hearing her going on about this type of insurance as she is a conveyencer

I dont plan to sell my house for at least 5 years yet. If you could ask your missus about the insurance it would be appreciated.

skinback69

im sure im posotive it wouldnt even need to be 5 years i think you can do it straight away i drive her crazy telling every one about this cause it the only usfull thing i know about her work
just be carefull aboul the taxman above lol

Doozergirl

Someone is confusing indemnity insurance and public liability insurance.

It is not a legal requirement for a builder (in fact anyone) to have public liability insurance. Where is this extension? Are the general public likely to come into contact with the site at all - ie. is it even a risk the a member of the public might come to harm?

Indemnity insurance would cover the lack of building regulations approval. If you are building an extension, you should be doing it to meet building regulations and have Building Control inspect the work. It doesn't matter if you were doing it DIY, they can come out and check the building work for you. You can ask Building control at your local council for advise on the things that will need to be approved.

The only insurances you need legally in business are employer's liability insurance (when you have employees) and car insurance.
(you're not employing him and presumably he's not employing anyone under a proper employment contract, therefore not needed)

What you don't want is to be selling a house with out a Building regs completion certificate when you were the one that instructed the work. Indemnity insurance may not satisfy a buyer in those circumstances.

Employing a friend does not mean cutting corners.

olias

Don't know why all this nudge nudge cloke and dagger stuff? You pay the builder - mate or not - and if he chooses not to declare HIS income, then that has nothing to do with you, that's between him and the taxman. You won't have done anything wrong, he will, and if he chooses to take the risk of defrauding the taxman then it's his lookout. Not sure how this helps insurance wise, but as long as you have planning and building regs approval (and of course he is competent to do the job!) then that is the main thing. The tax matter is nothing for YOU to worry about.

Olias

vaio

As others have said it must have building control approval & inspections but you can get that even if you are doing it DIY. Likewise, whether your mate declares his earnings to HMRC is not your problem.

The only thing I’d be concerned about (and this is not doubting his ability) is making sure he has insurance to cover damage to your house (and next door) caused by the building works

misgrace

I agree with Vaio in a sense, as you need some protection, its all very well getting mates in to jobs for you, but your not talking about a bit of tiling or plastering here, you are taking on a biggish job, and if things go wrong, then you wont have no comeback.
Dont forget also, when you have mates to do jobs, sometimes after the job is finished, they are not mates anymore.

tightbarsteward

vaio wrote: »

The only thing I’d be concerned about (and this is not doubting his ability) is making sure he has insurance to cover damage to your house (and next door) caused by the building works

Yes that is what I am getting at. My concern was if I hire a building company who have provided me with a written quotation etc they should have insurance if something goes wrong & half of my house falls in. Whereas a brickie who is employed by a construction company then does extra work in his spare time might not have the same sort of insurance if any.

After all the job will require the removal of part of a supporting wall.

Planning permission is sorted along with the building regs. In fact my mate knows the building control officer that will inspect the work as he used to be a brickie too. I have met with building control as well. The work is on the side of my house well away from any of the general public.