No building regs or planning permission for house we're about to buy

Tomis000

Ok, thanks, I will ask my solicitor about the Hepworth v Pickles case and see what she thinks. I think a structural survey might be on the cards as it would give peace of mind and a better understanding into the support for the property. Apparently the owner prior to the current owners was a builder and he did lots of alterations about the place. The current owners accepted the risk when they bought it.

Yorkie1

If I recall rightly, the case says that after this period of time the council cannot enforce the lack of BR or PP.

So you are down to structural safety. An engineer would need to open up the wall to say for sure whether it is sound. Many vendors would be unwilling to let your engineer do this. So you are likely to be a bit stuck there.

Tancred

Tomis000 wrote: »

Ok, so as the title suggests, me and my wife are about to buy a house that we've just found out has no planning permission or building regs for a two story extension and the removal of a internal wall to open up the living/dining area of a terraced house - as discovered via the solicitor's searches.

I've had a look on some threads here, but still don't know how to proceed. Ideally, I feel like we need protection from a) the house falling down due to lack of correct supports and b) the council making us change it back to original or meeting current building regs.

I feel our options are:
a) Decline to go further with the buy
b) Proceed with an indemnity policy (protection from council) - who pays for this and how much is it likely to be?
c) Request the sellers obtain a regularisation certificate from the council to get a retrospective



We've had a home buyer's report who found no structural concerns and estimates the extension was done in 1975. Although, obviously the surveyor hasn't checked supports and beams due to the nature of the survey.

My main concern is where the living/dining area is opened up the ceiling is completely flat, with no evidence of a supporting beam. Could this be hidden, or has it definitely not got one? Will we have problems trying to sell this in a few years if we buy?

Which option do you think is the most sensible? Or are there any other options that we're not considering?

Thank you in advance

If the work was done almost 30 years ago and there are no obvious or visible signs that there are structural problems then it's very likely that the job was done professionally. To be sure you would need to get a structural expert who would charge c.£500-700. Buying the indemnity policy is very cheap (around £55) and you can buy it or the vendor - it is transferable.

vegasbaby100

We have just had a similar situation with the property we have purchased which had no consent or completion certificates. We pushed for council intervention and was glad we did although the building was sound in its construction they had covered an access point for the water board and a hydrant point at the edge of the property which has been costly to them but necessary, so its not always a case of is the building sound.

Now I imagine this next comment will be un-popular however if you are concerned that they will just refuse once you have informed the council and they are aware of the issues I belive that an indemnity policy cannot be taken out by anyone once the Council is informed meaning if they want to sell they will need to comply with the council.