Lack of planning/building permission

Trizt

Hi all,

I recently moved into a property and took out Indemnity insurance against a lack of planning/building permission for the garage extension from the previous owners.

The extension is dodgy to say the least. In an effort to get an order to take it down, am I able to report this extension to the local building authority myself? And would I be able to claim any loss of this against the Indemnity insurance?

Thanks,

Trizt

Grenage

The indemnity policy was to protect you in some way if the council decided to follow up the lack of building control. Why would you need to report or get an order to take it down? It's yours.

foxy-stoat

You saw that the extension was dodgy but you bought it anyway, hope it was at a discounted price.

You can do what you like, its your property now, but applying to get an order to take it down against yourself would be a little pointless, just do it youself.

You wont be able to claim against the indemnity poilcy no.

Trizt

Thank you for the response Grenage. The reason is that after further inspection we found that it's been built very poorly, I wouldn't be surprised if it falls down itself soon. More importantly it leaks, rather a lot.

Ideally we'd like it taken down so we can build something properly and I wondered if the Indemnity insurance could help alleviate some of the cost?

Trizt

We didn't notice how bad it was until after we'd purchased the property. It was disguised well.

eddddy

Trizt wrote: »

In an effort to get an order to take it down, am I able to report this extension to the local building authority myself? And would I be able to claim any loss of this against the Indemnity insurance?

No - that plan almost certainly won't work.

Your claim will almost certainly be invalidated if you contact the local authority. You need to check your own policies, but here's extracts from example ones:

PLanning Consent Indemnity Policy

The policy does not cover loss arising from
- you or anyone on your behalf communicating without our consent with the planning authority about the works or the use of the property

Building Regs Indemnity Policy

The policy does not cover loss arising from or in respect of
- you or anyone acting on your behalf communicating, without our consent, with the local authority concerning the works or applying for a regularisation certificate

Trizt

Thank you eddddy. Assuming the indemnity insurance just covers you in the off chance the council decide to do a check themselves then, I'll contact the provider to check my own policies.

Thank you all.

davidmcn

It's a fairly basic principle of most insurance policies that they don't cover you for claims which you have deliberately brought on yourself!

Ithaca

Just theoretically (as this tiptoes towards insurance fraud) would an "anonymous" tip be acceptable? A "concerned relative of a near neighbour" phones the council and provides the info after ear-wigging through a gap in the fence but is reluctant to give their name for fear of repercussions... how would the insurance firm prove they were acting on OP's behalf?

Dan-Dan

Ithaca wrote: »

Just theoretically (as this tiptoes towards insurance fraud) would an "anonymous" tip be acceptable? A "concerned relative of a near neighbour" phones the council and provides the info after ear-wigging through a gap in the fence but is reluctant to give their name for fear of repercussions... how would the insurance firm prove they were acting on OP's behalf?

When you say tiptoe towards insurance fraud , you mean take a massive leap straight into it?