Architects Certificate

bastion_2

Hi,
I'm new to the site so please forgive me if this has already been touched upon.

My partner and I bought our first home 10 months ago and have been happily living in it with our 2 year old girl.
Buying the house was a massive move for us both financially and emotionally as we would be moving away from where we had both lived all our lives. Finding the right house was extremely important to us and the fact that this one had an architects certificate helped us in our decision.

Back in November, I noticed some sort of damp patches arising in the corner of our living room. I called the architect and he came and inspected the damp area. He was quick to let me know it wasn't damp but something called "condensation spotting" which was due to the insulation not being laid to the ground level. He concluded that unfortunately this wasn't covered in his certificate as the certificate doesn't cover materials.

I have since asked him for a written report of what he said that day and am yet to hear back. I have also now found the exact same "spotting" in my daughters bedroom upstairs.

I am confused as I believe this is down to poor workmanship and feel that he should take responsibility for this.

I don't want to pay out for a surveyor to come and inspect if I don't have a leg to stand on when contesting the issue in front of a judge (hopefully, it won't get that far!)

Please help!

Thanks

G_M

There are different types of certificate so it depends what you have.

1 Certificates issued under a Standard Form of Building Contract
2 Certificates of Completion for compliance with the Building Standards
Regulations

3 Certificates for Building Societies and Lenders


See also:

Architect's Certificate

This is not a warranty and should not be mistaken for one. It is simply a statement from the architect that the property has been built in accordance with standard and accepted building principles. You should ask your solicitor to check the architect's professional indemnity insurance to ensure you can claim if a structural defect does arise.
There is no protection in case the builder goes out of buisness during the build period and snagging defects are not covered during the first two years of ownership.
It is not advisable to buy a property without a warranty provided by the NHBC, Premier or Zurich.