Coal Authority Claim

tyler80

Searches on the house we are buying revealed a claim made against the coal authority in 1981 and was discharged by the payment of compensation. This in itself is not unusual in this area.

The claim was made whilst it was still a council house and a schedule of works was drawn up. However the work was not carried out before the house was sold under right to buy. So far we have not been able to find out any information from the vendors (house inherited, original occupier deceased) about what work, if any was carried out. The survey has not highlighted any problems.

Does anyone know where we stand if no further information is forthcoming?

geoffky

tyler m8...tread very carefully on this one ..it sounds like the money was pocketed and the work not done...try find out the amount to give you a idea of the scale...good luck.

notts_phil

I had a house in Mansfield where the same thing happened.

Full schedule of works, which i got hold of , but money was paid instead. You could tell the house tilted but that was many years ago. This was very common. The works being carried out privately rather then by useless coal board contractors.

I wouldn't be to overly concerned, but would have a proper survey done just in case to cover yourself.

Most problems were things like subsidence and so included things like new ceilings etc. On our upstairs bedroom because the was quite a big tilt, when i sold it you could roll a marble down the floor lol.

Dont worry though!

tyler80

The schedule of work came to somewhere around 1000 pounds, so a fair amount of money back then. All the neighbouring houses (including the attached semi) had work done for similar amounts but I've not really got a clue as to the scale or type of work this would cover.

Anecdotally I have been told that people claimed the money and bought cars/went on holiday etc. rather than carrying out the work!

tyler80

That's useful thanks Phil. We're just down the road from Mansfield.

The survey said "no evidence of structural movement"

Concerned more from a mortgage/buildings insurance point of view.

kingstreet

If I get a questionable mining report I always copy the insurer and surveyor in on it to ensure it doesn't cause them any problems.

notts_phil

tyler80 wrote: »

That's useful thanks Phil. We're just down the road from Mansfield.

The survey said "no evidence of structural movement"

Concerned more from a mortgage/buildings insurance point of view.

No problem. when i brought the house in 2000 i paid 24.5k for it and and sold it for 74k in 2003. I didnt have a mortgage but i did have insurance which wasnt a problem and didnt raise any issues when getting it

Dont forget the schedule of works would have been a slightly inflated price to based on contractor pricing etc.

Even though it was some time ago that amount wouldnt have meant anything serious.

My report ran to a good few pages. I know the house i had needed new ceilings doing and doors/windows replacing..

The subisidence/movement would have come about when they extracted the coal and moved on to a new section allowing the rock to settle in to the void.

Also as all but one of the mines in the area are closed its no longer a problem. The shafts being filled and the tunnels now crushed to from roof to floor.

tyler80

Fingers crossed the vendors are able to provide the schedule of works. Even if the works weren't carried out I'd like to be able to double check the areas of the house that were affected.

tyler80

Good news is the bank apparently aren't concerned and still willing to lend the money (not quite sure how they're able to make that decision on the basis of the information to hand).

Still concerned about the buildings insurance side of things. My current quote for buildings insurance is now invalid due to claim for subsidence in the past.

I think I read that the current insurers should continue to offer insurance in cases like this but I have nagging feeling that it may not have been declared.

notts_phil

Tyler are you talking about this house previous claim affecting your current quote, or a claim you have previously made?

Dont confuse the schedule of works from British Coal with a claim on insurance.

IT will have absolutely no effect what so ever. Just because the is a schedule of works does not mean subsidence was claimed on the insurance. The person at the time wouldn't have claimed on their insurance but gone straight to British coals office at Edwinstowe via an agent.

You can get insurance without worry about the above.

If you want why dont you scan the documents on here and i can have a look if you like?

tyler80

We don't have the documents, this is part of the problem! I only know the total cost through enquiries at the council who were the owners at the time the claim was made. The house was sold without any works being carried out so the council don't have information about what was done.

The insurance question words it as "has your home had any remedial work as a result of subsidence?" to which I would answer yes. Nothing about previous claims. It may be that other insurers word the question differently