Are we being unreasonable?

lyndasharp

The conservatory is fairly small (2.5 x 2.2 m) and has external doors dividing it from the main house. However it is on the central heating system with a radiator connected to the main system. It is also on the side of the L shaped end of the house, rather than at the back, and so we're not sure where that stands in terms of planning consent. There is no vendor consent as far as we know, and that is the other issue we need to get some clarity over, and what we're trying to ask for at the moment!

After 2 days complete silence from the sellers and their solicitors, our solicitors got a letter today saying our completion date of 21st April was acceptable and they were 'taking instruction' from their clients re. conservatory and boiler. It looks like they aren't going through with their threat to withdraw! Funnily enough, there's no mention of it in their letter at all.

We've had a sit down and written out pros and cons of going ahead and decided to stick with the purchase at the moment. We've said that an indemnity policy will be acceptable to us if they don't have any proofs of anything like the consent.... so now we're waiting again to see what they say! We've already closed all the ISAs etc, so I'm going to CHAPS over the deposit today, as we'll then be ready to exchange once they come back with an acceptable reply.

F_T_Buyer

Conservatories come under permitted development if it meets certain criteria (which yours probably will) - i.e. not more than 3meters (for terrace/semi) or 4meters for detached in depth from the house and not bigger than the width of the house. Also, it must have doors to the main house and not protrude higher than your roof. I'm sure it doesn't need building regs as it's not a habitable room.

Regarding consent from vendor, do you mean it has a covenant? If so, do you know from who? If it's an owner from decades ago which cannot be found I think you can have an indemnity policy for this.

For the boiler, just get it checked now (request a valid safety certificate i.e. within a year) and get an indemnity policy for building regs if they don't have it.

sonastin

Orpheo wrote: »

It is utter fiction, it is so riddled with the worms of, "I've just pulled this statement out of my a$$," as to be one of the most unconvincing fairy stories ever furballed.

Well, it sounds pretty accurate to me. And the additional explanations make it even more convincing. And it tallies with my understanding of the planning and building regulations for conservatories. And you can't be bothered to share with us what is true in your reality. So my conclusion is that you are the one talking out of your a$$.

lyndasharp

Well, the second letter of the day says that the conservatory was built on an existing base, and that the base was in place before they bought the house. They have lost the boiler log book and can't get a duplicate. Plus a note that we exchange by close of business tomorrow or they re-market the property.

I think the fact that the conservatory has the brick base with central heating means it may be a bit borderline on the 'habitable room' part of planning, but from our reading on websites etc it's not really clear whether that might class it as an extension or not. It's certainly OK regarding size.

F_T_Buyer, the vendor they need consent from is the council (yes it is a covenant), so they aren't exactly difficult to contact!

These threats to pull out all seem a bit daft to me - after all, it's them holding up the process! Anyway, we've sent our deposit over to the solicitors, and as long as they agree to provide the indemnity we'll exchange tomorrow. As they have sent through a gas safe cert for the boiler - admittedly from 2009 - we'll just take the chance on that being OK.

peaches48

If you are concerned regarding building regs for the Conservatory, then the best place would be the Planning Office in your Area. They will not only confirm whether the Conservatory should have had Buildings Regs/Planning but will be able to check that they are in place.
If not, you might be able to get retrospective Planning/Building Regs done for a fee (which they should pay, if they were in error).
For the covenant, if the Council are the ones that can only give this agreement, then once again, check direct with them.
All this waiting and to-ing and fro-ing of letters with your solictors is only going to increase your costs and your frustration.
Solicitors for the main are usually very slow by their very nature (no criticism for any ones on here), but if you knew of the paper trail that goes on during a conveyance, then you would completely understand, it's a total nightmare. So, by helping with these issues you are also helping your poor overworked solicitor as well.
I do sympathize with your current situation and hope everything does go smoothly from hereonin....:)

lyndasharp

Peaches48, we've seen the size of the file already! If the sellers solicitors would just give us straight (and accurate) answers to questions it'd be a lot easier. It's only after the 4th time of asking that the sellers have admitted to losing the boiler documents... I guess we just have to trust that they did have some....

The council just directed us to their website guidance about conservatories, wouldn't give a yes/no over the phone unless we pay for them to investigate (I dread to think how long that would take, certainly not in time for exchange tomorrow).

stormCat99

peaches48 wrote: »

If you are concerned regarding building regs for the Conservatory, then the best place would be the Planning Office in your Area. They will not only confirm whether the Conservatory should have had Buildings Regs/Planning but will be able to check that they are in place.

I believe if you actually make the council aware of the existence of the conservatory on this specific property, then it would render any indemnity policies invalid. Although generic enquiries regarding rules around conservatories, with no mention of this property, should be ok.

traineepensioner

Regarding building reg's for a conservatory - I assume the following will apply in most areas

Building Regulations

Building regulations will generally apply if you want to build an extension to your home.

However, conservatories are normally exempt from building regulations when:

They are built at ground level and are less than 30 square metres in floor area.
The conservatory is separated from the house by external quality walls, doors or windows.
There should be an independent heating system with separate temperature and on/off controls.
Glazing and any fixed electrical installations comply with the applicable building regulations requirements (see below).
You are advised not to construct conservatories where they will restrict ladder access to windows serving rooms in roof or loft conversions, particularly if any of the windows are intended to help escape or rescue if there is a fire.

Any new structural opening between the conservatory and the existing house will require building regulations approval, even if the conservatory itself is an exempt structure.

Hope this helps

lyndasharp

There should be an independent heating system with separate temperature and on/off controls.

It's this bit that's causding us concern, as 2 years ago they updated the central heating and added a radiator in the conservatory. The rad is at the end of the central heating system pipe run, and has a thermostatic radiator valve, but it's not what I would call independant.....

Ah well, just waiting to hear back on the indemnity policy, and if the sellers are prepared to get that sorted out then we'll be exchanging today.

lyndasharp

Sellers have agreed to the indemnity policy so that's it now, all exchanged! Still having slight 'aargh are we doing the right thing' thoughts, but it's too late now :-) I'll just have to have another look at the pros and cons sheet we wrote, and then I'll feel much more reassured.

I guess I'll be off to the mortgage free wannabe thread shortly :-) Our plan was to pay the mortgage off in 3 years as we've already got a fair amount of equity in the house we're selling (just not enough to be mortgage free straight away). Just have to hope our house sale goes through without any stress and hassle!

Thanks for everyone's help and opinions, it was really useful x