Building Regs Approval missed by solicitor

chrisyb

timmyt wrote: »

well you are sorted if there is no record of telling you the consequences of the absence of consents.

Absoloutly nothing and believe me I have read every page of every letter, document and fax and there are hundreds if not thousands of pages! The only references made to the regs are as mentioned previously. The only letter to us that mentioned searches and other factors to consider is the basis of the environmental report and something about a smoke free zone or something and a consideration about right of access for next door.

AdmiralX

You do not know if work had been undertaken during various stages and had been completed at different years. You do not know when it had started, The regulations were different at the start, changed over the years. It is complicated to prove when and if something wrong had been based on a structure done the wrong way earlier say in 1965... How can you prove/find out? A surveyor told me his job could be made difficult sometimes by the fact that "evidence can be destroyed"

A surveyor may some times recommend a structural engineer but survey is done for valuation predominantly. Some buyers do employ a structural engineer for peace in mind. The SE sometimes offers verbal advice which is less pricey than a written report and you may start there.

justaconveyancer

Hi crissyb. Ok, you need to get your file to your solicitor who is acting for you now, they will know what to look for and will probably have a litigation department who can act if they can see that something was missed. Dont panic. Do not contact the Council or you will not be able to get indemnity insurance for lack of planning permission/building regs. Your old solicitor may have got a policy already to cover the defect. Its your surveyor who would have pointed out any structual issues. All reports say 'solicitor to check the necessary regulations have been applied for' blah blah blah but each section of the report is for a different area of the house. So if there was something wrong then the report should have brought this up.... the only difference is, was it a Homebuyers or structual? I know that you are probably very concerned so ask your new solicitor to guide you. Fingers crossed you can get a new buyer.

chrisyb

Just an update, solicitor has looked through the whole file produced by the solicitor at the time. They never put us on notice or comminicated in any way re the building regs and possible impact. They are going to take it on on a CFA basis as they feel we have a very strong case for negligence:)

Lala1971

Hello am really interested to find out where you have got with this issue I am in a similar situation where I have just found out that although our solicitors obtained the building regulation approval for the loft conversion they did not subsequently ask for the proof of final sign off which we have now found out was never given. As far as we are concerned the solicitors are negligent as they should have know that building consent wasn't enough and obtained the relevant final approval, they too are no longer trading and we too face huge costs to put it right. It would be great if you could provide an update or advice.