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solicitor, surveyor & possible illegal extension
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bobber
Posts: 59 Forumite
Hello
Really hoping for some advice please.
The house we bought and moved into in August had a substantial 2 story extension attached to it. We asked the surveyor (Home buyers survey) & solicitor to check the extension thoroughly as we noticed a couple of little things when we viewed. Both declared eveything absolutely fine and legal etc.
Three weeks ago all the solicitors paperwork was forwarded to us & we discovered that there was only planning permission paperwork for the first floor extension (on brick pillars with patio underneath!). The solicitor then told us that he had seen permission for a second extension (to 'fill in' underneath) but cant find the paperwork to forward onto us. He is in the process of requesting paperwork from the council he tells us - this was over a week ago.
We have now removed the pine cladding from this extension to discover that the walls are just bare brick width pillars, and are not cavity wall insulated. Our corgi man has also just told us the fire in there would never have passed building regs and he was concerned about the damp proof course there too. The surveyor originally said in his report that this room was cavity wall insulated and verbally told me at the time there was absolutely nothing wrong with the extension. It now appears to be basically a badly built conservatory (possibly illegal too) and not a sitting room, as it was called on the estate agent details and survey.
Where do we stand on this legally? As the extension is over 20yrs old we know it cant be taken down if it wasnt passed, but where do we stand for selling it on? Also, do we have grounds for asking the surveyor to cover the costs for making the room habitable?
we'd really appreciate some advise please
Really hoping for some advice please.
The house we bought and moved into in August had a substantial 2 story extension attached to it. We asked the surveyor (Home buyers survey) & solicitor to check the extension thoroughly as we noticed a couple of little things when we viewed. Both declared eveything absolutely fine and legal etc.
Three weeks ago all the solicitors paperwork was forwarded to us & we discovered that there was only planning permission paperwork for the first floor extension (on brick pillars with patio underneath!). The solicitor then told us that he had seen permission for a second extension (to 'fill in' underneath) but cant find the paperwork to forward onto us. He is in the process of requesting paperwork from the council he tells us - this was over a week ago.
We have now removed the pine cladding from this extension to discover that the walls are just bare brick width pillars, and are not cavity wall insulated. Our corgi man has also just told us the fire in there would never have passed building regs and he was concerned about the damp proof course there too. The surveyor originally said in his report that this room was cavity wall insulated and verbally told me at the time there was absolutely nothing wrong with the extension. It now appears to be basically a badly built conservatory (possibly illegal too) and not a sitting room, as it was called on the estate agent details and survey.
Where do we stand on this legally? As the extension is over 20yrs old we know it cant be taken down if it wasnt passed, but where do we stand for selling it on? Also, do we have grounds for asking the surveyor to cover the costs for making the room habitable?
we'd really appreciate some advise please
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Contact the surveyor and explain the situation as you've explained it to us.0
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