Legal issue when selling - beware!

rob.jarvis

I'm selling a house.

It has a conservatory, built before I bought the house. It is approx. 6sqm, it didn't need planning permission because it was too small.

My buyer's solicitor wants me to pay for indemnity insurance so that if the conservatory falls down in the future, the surveyor/solicitor will be covered if the new owner decides to sue them.

The buyer's solicitor is refusing to proceed with the purchase until this is in place.

Why should I have to pay for insurance for my buyer's solicitor concerning a structure which was built before I bought the house, to cover the possibility that it may fall down long after I've sold the house?

bs0u0128

when u bought it didnt your solicitor tell u about this? we have just pulled out of a purchase for these reasons, as the vendor refused to pay and we wouldnt because when time came to sell history would repeat itself, cant you prove it didnt need permission at the time or would that not matter?

JennyW_2

rob.jarvis wrote:

I'm selling a house.

It has a conservatory, built before I bought the house. It is approx. 6sqm, it didn't need planning permission because it was too small.

My buyer's solicitor wants me to pay for indemnity insurance so that if the conservatory falls down in the future, the surveyor/solicitor will be covered if the new owner decides to sue them.

The buyer's solicitor is refusing to proceed with the purchase until this is in place.

Why should I have to pay for insurance for my buyer's solicitor concerning a structure which was built before I bought the house, to cover the possibility that it may fall down long after I've sold the house?

but surely it would've required building regulations approval? so if you don't have this then yes, you would have to purchase the indemnity insurance. We had to do it once for an extension.

matto

JennyW wrote:

but surely it would've required building regulations approval? so if you don't have this then yes, you would have to purchase the indemnity insurance. We had to do it once for an extension.

Most conservatories don't require building regs approval as they're exempt under Class VII of Schedule 2 of the The Building Regulations 2000 and many don't need planning permission either.

clutton_2

i would bite the bullet and buy it - probably will cost you £200 or thereabouts or even less - less stress all round and faster completion.

matto

Schedule 2 of the Buildings Regulations 2000 provides various exemptions including:

CLASS VII

Extensions

The extension of a building by the addition at ground level of -

(a) a conservatory, porch, covered yard or covered way; or
(b) a carport open on at least two sides;

where the floor area of that extension does not exceed 30m2, provided that in the case of a conservatory or porch which is wholly or partly glazed, the glazing satisfies the requirements of Part N of Schedule 1 (i.e. is toughened or laminated).

mrsc_4

Can someone help me with a question I have about extensions, the property we are buying is a bungalow with an loft extension (its now 2 bedrooms) this was done by the previous owner to our Vendor.

We know planning permission was applied for (its shown up on a search). We are waiting to final enquiries to be delt with by our vendors solicitor but he can't complete them without paperwork/documtation from the council.

Can anyone advise whether imdemnity insurance would cover this, I don't really know much about it???

Sorry for hijacking your thread Rob

Thanks

densol_2

This is not a newish build house is it ? Often for conservatories when works are done to a newish house permission should be obtained from the original builder- called restrictive covenant. If not obtained then strictly speaking the original house builder can sue to then owner for breach and therefore the new owner requires an "indemnity policy" to cover them should that happen. It is very rare for it to happen as most builders don't care once they are off site so the premuims are rather small - maybe 50 pounds.

I just wonder if this is what they are on about?

barnaby-bear

rob.jarvis wrote:

I'm selling a house.

Why should I have to pay for insurance for my buyer's solicitor concerning a structure which was built before I bought the house?

Because you didn't ask the vendor to do the same when you bought the house!

It now can put a block on conveyancing from mortgage companies point of view, often not to cover falling down but because a lot of estates have covenants disallowing extensions/conservatories and to cover the fees for dispensation possibly payable to original builder.

rob.jarvis

It didn't need PP or BR but did require developer permission. My solicitor obtained retrospective approval at the time of purchase, didn't cost anything.

My argument is it seems unfair that I should pay for something for which I get no benefit. The buyer's solicitor gets covered in case of future litigation from the new owner.

JennyW_2

densol wrote:

This is not a newish build house is it ? Often for conservatories when works are done to a newish house permission should be obtained from the original builder- called restrictive covenant. If not obtained then strictly speaking the original house builder can sue to then owner for breach and therefore the new owner requires an "indemnity policy" to cover them should that happen. It is very rare for it to happen as most builders don't care once they are off site so the premuims are rather small - maybe 50 pounds.

I just wonder if this is what they are on about?

this is what happened to us when we sold in August. We had an extension and we had all the planning permission paperwork, however there was a restrictive covenant stating that permission must be obtained from the original builder. The house was built in the 60's and the building firm were no longer around (let alone alive), however we were unable to proceed unless we took out the insurance. this was the fault of our solicitor when purchasing the property 5 years ago.