Fensa Certficate

monkeydo

I bought a house last year and am now having problems with the conservatory and need some repairs done.
We had a survey done before buying and its stated that our legal advisor should check to see if FENSA cert etc in place.
We have never been sent this and I am now worried that there wasn't one.
Is it the solicitors responsibility to check one is in place and inform us if there wasn't one.
Or are we supposed to chase them for it??

m0bov

Check your paperwork, your sol should have advised to take out a policy if there was no certificate.

silvercar

You can check on the FENSA website to see if there are certificates.

Your solicitor should have asked for the certificates from your seller. If there were none, seller's sometimes pay for an indemnity policy to cover the lack of certificate.

What is the problem with the conservatory? Is it something that your surveyor should have spotted? Is it a problem with the windows themselves or could it be something more structural? Did the conservatory have building regulation sign off?

benjus

I would have expected the solicitor to obtain this. What did the vendor say about the conservatory in the property information form? Have you been on the FENSA website to see if one exists?

The_Palmist

FENSA will only cover the panel anyways, correct me if I am wrong on this.

If the conservatory is from a decent company they would have given you some form of guarantee.

Mines from a local company which is FMB approved but not FENSA yet.

They have been here for long and have given 10 years guarantee.

monkeydo

ON the property information form they stated the conservatory did not require building regs, we asked solicitor to check this as we did not know whether it was required. The conservatory was battered in the storms and has come away from the outside of the wall slightly, house insurance are refusing to pay out as its down to poor installation. We want to get it repaired but feel that our solicitors may not have done their job properly if there are no FENSA certificates, I'm sure they have a duty to advise to take out indemnity insurance. Insurance company want us to pay for an Engineer if we want to challenge their decision, but I think the the surveyors report would do this, provided we have a FENSA cert!

monkeydo

I've contacted the company that supplied the conservatory but they did not install it so are not liable. I'm waiting to hear from my solicitor to see if they have the info and have asked the previous owner, but again, no response. Starting to think that I'm not getting a response because it wasn't installed by a professional and solicitor has failed to do their job properly.

The_Palmist

Monkeydo....as far as I know conservatories are exempt from building regs unless yours is different to standard ones.

How old is the conservatory, can you get in touch with the installers and get their view on it?

Is it still under any form of guarantee?

ging84

inspectors will come round with powers to smash all the windows and detain the person indefinitely until they stump up the £10+vat it cost for a duplicate.

at least that is what the people selling the indemnity insurance for them must be telling people who buy them

monkeydo

I have no idea who installed it.

silvercar

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.

If the conservatory didn't need building reg approval and the glass panels themselves are fine, then the only place to seek help is the installers (if it is relatively new and within guarantee), your own home building insurance policy or your surveyor (if a problem has occurred that it would be reasonable to expect a survey to have spotted).

If none of these 3 will cover it, then the costs of maintaining your home are down to you.