Advice needed: Indemnity insurance

highkarona

So close to exchanging, but my buyer's solicitor insists on an indemnity insurance policy for the conservatory on my house (built in 2009.)

I don't think this is possible because I emailed my Council to ask about the need for building regulations (there is a plug socket and water output pipe that most likely needed permission - but being young and foolish I didn't check this out at the time of the build.)

Question is, could I propose my buyer gets this insurance themselves, since I've shot myself in the foot by making an enquiry, or can no-one now get a policy against the oh so dangerous plug and pipe (they are safe, no cowboy building going on.)

I really want the sale to go through without a hitch, but this is frustrating. My solicitor is not being super helpful either.

Can anyone advise?

Many thanks
Karen

eddddy

Did the council ask for your name, address and the building work in question? If not, it would have been a general enquiry about building regs, rather than a specific enquiry about work done at your property.


TBH, based on my understanding of building regs indemnity policies, your buyers could only claim if

- the council took out an injunction against them
- and the council would only do that if there is a risk to health and safety
- and the policy would then pay for an electrician to correct the wiring (i.e. probably a couple of hundred pounds)

So even if you've invalidated the policy, I'd say that all you could ever be sued for is a couple of hundred quid.

SevenOfNine

Are you sure this is related to the lack of planning consent? There may be a covenant in the deeds indicating you need permission for certain things, your conservatory being one of them, dishes, fences & various other weird & wonderful (& obscure) things.

It may be that the indemnity is to protect against the covenant being enforced - & nothing to do with planning consent.
It will be for the seller to pay for it £150 perhaps.

dc197

The buyer will benefit from the policy should it need to be used. The buyer's end is insisting on its existence. They buyer should obtain it, not you.

HappyMJ

highkarona wrote: »

So close to exchanging, but my buyer's solicitor insists on an indemnity insurance policy for the conservatory on my house (built in 2009.)

I don't think this is possible because I emailed my Council to ask about the need for building regulations (there is a plug socket and water output pipe that most likely needed permission - but being young and foolish I didn't check this out at the time of the build.)

Question is, could I propose my buyer gets this insurance themselves, since I've shot myself in the foot by making an enquiry, or can no-one now get a policy against the oh so dangerous plug and pipe (they are safe, no cowboy building going on.)

I really want the sale to go through without a hitch, but this is frustrating. My solicitor is not being super helpful either.

Can anyone advise?

Many thanks
Karen

Check out the FENSA site and see if you may have a certificate for the works completed.

http://www.fensa.co.uk/asp/certificate.asp

Brightspark87

Hi just to say we had a massive issue with this to the point the sale nearly fell through (although windows) from 2013. Vendor really unhappy and refused to pay thought it was a waste of time etc etc etc. Turns out it cost £45. Have you looked at how much it would cost?

eddddy

Brightspark87 wrote: »

Hi just to say we had a massive issue with this to the point the sale nearly fell through (although windows) from 2013. Vendor really unhappy and refused to pay thought it was a waste of time etc etc etc. Turns out it cost £45. Have you looked at how much it would cost?

I don't think the issue is cost.

I think the issue is that the OP has potentially invalidated the policy.

Nobbie1967

Just pay for the indemnity, they don't cost much and it's extremely unlikely that the purchaser would ever claim on it. It's then also unlikely that the insurance company would know you had contacted the council. It's then unlikely that the purchasers would pursue you for the small amount it would cost to remove the socket and cap the pipe.

If it was to indemnify against a massive cost then I'd be wary, but in this case it seems like a bit of pointless paperwork to make the issue go away.

Onawingandaprayer

We had a similar issue purely regarding windows we'd had installed and could not provide a Fensa certificate. Cost of Indemnity quoted to us was £220, which we thought outrageous. Found a legal website which proffered the following suggestion to send via our solicitors. Maybe a rejigging of this might apply in your case?


we have also investigated Fensa and how it applies to Building Regulations. This leads us to believe that the time for enforcement action ended some considerable time ago and unless the Local Authority can show that the installation presents a danger to the public then there is no scope to argue the purchaser will be exposed to enforcement action.

Indemnity insurance is therefore unnecessary in our opinion. If the purchaser and her solicitors disagree then we would ask them to cite legal authority to support their argument that indemnity cover is necessary and indeed essential in terms of protecting their client’s interests.


After we sent it, we heard no more...

Hoploz

What indemnity is being suggested?

When did you contact the council, recently, or when the conservatory was built?

Generally a conservatory doesn't need building regs although it has to conform to certain descriptions.

Often a conservatory will not require planning permission as it will be under permitted development.

It could be in breach of a covenant on your house.

What is the actual problem, have the buyers said it is for building regs, and that led you to check it, or what?