Advice on valuation report please

mandgreen

Hi

I am in the process of buying my first home and have just received the initial valuation report from Halifax and I am worried about a couple of points. The house has been extended by its current owners twice, firstly they have put on a large sunroom/conservatory which covers the whole back of the house and also they have built a brand new tandem garage.

Under 'matters affecting value' the valuation states 'some aspects of the design and construction may not comply with current planning and building regulations. You need specialist advice about the conservatory/sun room'

Also under 'matters for your conveyancer' it states 'a large garage has been built and checks should be made to confirm whether all necessary permissions and consents were obtained'

As a complete property novice should I be worried about these points??? In the back of my mind I am imagining the local council turning up and knocking both extensions down and there will be nothing I can do about it!!!

Pete9501

Most councils enable searches for planning applications on line, so start there. Next inform your solicitor there might be problems ahead.

The two issues are planning permission and building control, both separate issues.

Doozergirl

Most conservatories and sun rooms would be classed as outbuildings and are not normally subject to building control. Garages neither.

With regard to planning permission, unless the house is listed or in something I'm refer to as a 'designated area' then,

a) much single storey or garage building will will fall into something called 'permitted development'. Or,
b) if it is older than four years then it would no longer subject to any kind of enforcement and becomes 'lawful development'.

No time to panic yet. Google for the Planning Portal and have a look at their interactive house guide for homeowners. It will provide more info than my post

mandgreen

Thankyou both, really useful advice!

I managed to find the planning permission for the garage on the local council website and I'm pretty positive the sun room is older than 4 years which I will check with the agent so hopefully panic over!!

Hoploz

To be exempt from building regs a conservatory has to meet certain criteria, such as the percentage of glass in the structure, whether it has separate heating to the rest of the house, whether it is open plan to the rest of the house etc. you would need to check these factors, or check whether it has building regs approval.

Hoploz

Your solicitor will as a matter of course ask for all completion certificates from the seller. It is when these are not forthcoming that the problems can start!

JimmyTheWig

Planning Permission is a piece of paper from the council to say that the work is allowed to be done. Other than it (sometimes) being required it serves very little purpose for the homeowner. If they've got it then fine. If they don't have it and don't need it then fine. If they don't have it and don't need it they should be able to pay around £200 to get a policy that means it won't be needed.

Building Regulation Approval is another piece of paper from the council. This says whether building work is up to standard or not. It includes, for example, whether the roof is now going to fall down due to the building work and whether the right fire safety standards have been implemented.
Like Planning Permission, if they don't have it and need it then they can pay for a policy.
But beware that this policy doesn't make an unsafe building safe!