Selling Listed House - No Building Consents

zosie66

I am desperate need of your knowledge!

We are currently selling our grade 2 listed property but UPVC windows were put in January 2003. We are having issues as we know that these windows should not have put into this property and are getting conflicted reports as to whether we can get indemnity insurance to cover this.

Can anyone advise if they know whether we can or not please!!?? Or perhaps an alternative???

thanks in advance
Zoe

timmyt

breach of listing has no time limit. indemnity insurance - if you can get it - is really a solution to the hassle for a buyer, only financial. so it is a hassle the buyer will need to decide if they are prepared to accept. simple as that.

there are a dozen or so indemnity companies and I think - though not in the office at the moment - that you can get insurance, though possibly a bespoke (write in for a quote) policy as I would not be too happy for desk top insurance as a listed building is more serious a breach and I would want to make sure the company really does cover it.

take no action until your lawyer comments.

Fire_Fox

If you have installed the type of uPVC window that is indistinguishable from the original - rare and expensive - you may be able to apply for retrospective consent. If you have installed bog standard uPVC windows the best thing you can do is get down to a reclamation yard and try to match the originals. In most cases uPVC windows massively devalue a period or listed property so for many reasons the second course of action makes sense. I cannot understand why people buy listed buildings when they don't want to preserve it's beauty.

MissMotivation

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I cannot understand why people buy listed buildings when they don't want to preserve it's beauty.

My thoughts exactly!

zosie66

we live in a row of 5 back to back millers cottages that are listed with no other properties around us listed. We were advised at the time to keep it in line with everybody else in our row, so that is exactly what we did, everyone else in the row has upvc.

timmyt

zosie66 wrote: »

we live in a row of 5 back to back millers cottages that are listed with no other properties around us listed. We were advised at the time to keep it in line with everybody else in our row, so that is exactly what we did, everyone else in the row has upvc.

in practice you might be ok then - though did they all get consent which you have failed to do?

zosie66

none of us have consent. One of the properties has a bay UPVC window!!!

timmyt

zosie66 wrote: »

none of us have consent. One of the properties has a bay UPVC window!!!

then perhaps indemnity (if you can get it) will meet with acceptance based on your stated belief about everyone else without consent. Ithink I would put that to my buying client and they could take the risk. Sounds palatable.

Fire_Fox

zosie66 wrote: »

we live in a row of 5 back to back millers cottages that are listed with no other properties around us listed. We were advised at the time to keep it in line with everybody else in our row, so that is exactly what we did, everyone else in the row has upvc.

Advised by whom? Verbally or in writing?

zosie66

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Advised by whom? Verbally or in writing?

we were advised by the local planning department verbally. Our conversation today with the planning department said that they were extremely unlikely to enforce the removal of the windows and even more unlikely as we are all the same.

leveller2911

timmyt wrote: »

then perhaps indemnity (if you can get it) will meet with acceptance based on your stated belief about everyone else without consent. Ithink I would put that to my buying client and they could take the risk. Sounds palatable.

TBH I don't underestand indemnity insurance as why would a company insure you when its an obvious problem that anyone can see if they just turned up and had a look.Its not like substandard footings/foundations.

I'm a joiner and often deal with listed planning officers and from my experience some will aow Upvc whilst many won't even entertain the idea,even if all the houses around it have Upvc......

Without wishing to critsize the OP I do find it strange why someone would bother to buy a Listed property without investigating the many pitfalls of owning one.......

One helpful point for anyone thinking of buying a Listed property ,if it does have Upvc windows if you replace them with wooden ones which are acceptable to the Listed building people all the work is VAT free.........But Not VAT free if your replacing existing wooden windows....