Anyone bought/sold a house with conservatory?

wantabetterlife

Has anyone on here bought or sold a house with a conservatory and did solicitors ask for any building reg docs to complete sale?

We put a conservatory on our house a few years ago and when I contacted building control they told me I didn't need planning permission as it was a conservatory. Estate agent thinks we might need something from building control because we took away the patio doors in the kitchen to make it open plan. We are about to put our house on the market and am wondering if this will cause any problems, any advice or knowledge would be appreciated. Thanks

Wooftastic

Hi, we bought a house with a conservatory and the previous owners were under the impression that they hadn't needed planning permission when it was built. Sadly whilst trying to reassure our solicitors that no planning permission was needed they actually proved that it was. The permission had to be applied for retrospectively and it added a 3 month delay to our purchase!

I'm sure yours will be fine, but I'd recommend getting it thoroughly checked out now to save delays later

wantabetterlife

Thanks for the reply wooftastic.. do you know the reason they needed pp.. was it a really large conservatory? I thought as long as it had a perspex roof it didn't need pp. I am just dreading getting into a lot of hassle with building control as I don't have any docs about insulation we used etc.

saverbuyer

You do need building control approval for opening up patio doors.

wantabetterlife

Thanks saver buyer...do you know if building control will look at the whole conservatory when they come out or will it just be the doors that they check...the reason I am asking is that we have insulated the inside of the Perspex roof in the conservatory and I am worried that they will not certify it because of this. Thanks again

Wooftastic

Our conservatory had been built on the footprint of a previous one and unfortunately the new one was slightly larger so needed pp. It was all fine in the end but very stressful for all concerned at the time

RikM

Current NI rules probably don't need planning permission (there's a whole set of descriptions of what sort of extensions are exempt, and a conservatory is classed as an extension).
It may still need building control - that's not clear, and some of it may depend on whether there is a door between it and the rest of the property. NI rules are different to the rest of the country for building control, so be careful that people answering know it's not a mainland property and that mainland rules don't apply (like part P electrics, for example).
Best to get some local advice.

Mollyb

This is from the Belfast City Council's website:
Conservatories

A room is defined as a conservatory if more than three-quarters of its roof area and more than one-half of its external walls are made of translucent material such as glass.
Conservatories do not need an application if the:

• floor area less than 30m
• area is separated from main building by exterior quality doors to retain the thermal performance of the building
• construction gives resistance to moisture and other ground contaminants that may be required by Part C of the Building Regulations
• safety glazing is used if needed (Part V of the Building Regulations), and
• heating is not extended into it and a fixed heating appliance is not installed.

http://www.belfastcity.gov.uk/buildingcontrol-environment/buildingcontrol/buildingimprovements.aspx


So if there's an opening between your kitchen/dining room and the conservatory it will need Building Control Approval. The purchasers solicitors will probably ask for it before exchange so it's better to get it now rather than at the last minute.

wantabetterlife

Thanks you all so much for your replies. I contacted building control this morning and as the conservatory was built prior to 2006 we only need to put on a set of internal doors. After this the regulations changed and it as to be an external door. Thanks again

saverbuyer

Just an FYI but think carefully about contacting government depts. or agencies when querying building issues. Potentially you could limit your ability to get indemnity insurance when it comes to selling if your solicitor requests it. Your buyers can't be indemnified if you raise the issues yourself.

Darola

Hi we requested PP for a side extension and conservatory, just over 4 years ago. Planning advised us we only needed permission for the side extension and duly gave it. All work was completed, under the gaze of the planning officer who, when all was completed, signed off the side extension.

We are now selling and the buyers solicitor is requesting £190 for indemnity on the conservatory due to a lack of planning and regs sign off. Even though it clearly meets all the criteria for permitted development and now falls outside the 4 year rule for retrospective action. The just strikes me as a** covering of the highest order when any risk is clearly zero.

Anybody else had this? Any advice?:mad: