Help! No conservatory planning/building permission & cannot get indemnity

NMCI

Help!

We are in the middle of a house purchase and the vendor does not have planning permission for the conservatory, and having read the criteria for exemption, I do not believe that it would be exempt.

I initially suspected this when we got our offer accepted and I made an inquiry with the Council (both planning and building control) – who confirmed that they had no record of anything for the house. I also understand that because the Council are now aware of the conservatory that an indemnity policy will be invalid (the vendor has agreed to take out an indemnity policy).

I should also add that the extension does not seem to be a great job – there is some damp on the other side of the joining wall. We had a builder look at this and he believes there is a hole on the top of the extension which is causing leakage. Additionally, our surveyor does not seem to think this is a huge issue. We are also getting a damp specialist in to view this.

I am not sure what the best course of action is, should we demand the vendor to have the extension assessed? Any advice on what to do would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

Doozergirl

Is it an extension or a conservatory?
Why do you think it needed planning permission/building control?

They are two separate departments, by the way. You could need both, one and not the other, or neither.

NMCI

Hi - thanks for the reply.

It is a conservatory on a Victorian terrace. I assumed it was standard procedure to obtain permission or building control. In recent correspondence the solicitor said:

The problem with requesting this from the council is that they may not grant an exemption and may require the conservatory to be knocked down, and also once you have advised the council that works have been carried out without their consent you cannot put an indemnity insurance into place as it will be invalid.

We can certainly ask for retrospective consent however I think the seller will probably refuse to supply it as it may run the risk of creating further problems for them.

The issue is here that I had already contacted the Council, so the indemnity would not be valid. I am not sure what the best action is.....

G_M

Well who's a silly-billy!?

If I were the vendor I'd be pretty ****ed off that you made the council aware. And invalidated any future indemnity policy.

However, more to the point, how old is the conservatory? If it's passed the time limit for enforcement, what would be the point of insurance anyway?

As for the condition of the conservatory, that is the same as any other issue with the property - up for negotiation.

I suspect it's a case of 'buy the property as seen'. Presumably on viewing you could see it did "not seem to be a great job – there is some damp on the other side of the joining wall." and your offer was thereofre on that basis?

Lord_Baltimore

Ask the Council about a retrospective planning application? You're not going to know for sure if it will be successful though but it should give you an idea of where you stand.

System

your actions have meant that it's now impossible to get an indemnity cover, so demanding anything of the seller is not going to go down very well imo!
For planning related issues sometimes you can get an independent expert (planning consultant) to confirm that either it meets permitted development criteria or that enforcement action is unlikley but that isn't always acceptable to solicitors, however it really is an issue that you have created so you're not in the strongest position to force the seller to spend more money
a retrospective application is the least likely way a seller would resolve this, expense of preparing drawings, 8 week turnaround and risk of being turned down etc

NMCI

Thanks for the replies, perhaps it was silly to contact the Council, but I was not aware that this may have effected anything. It is the vendors fault for not obtaining the permission in the first place and then not disclosing this in the first place..

Regardless, I am in this situation now and want to know the best course of action. The vendor is so eager to move quick and we are on good terms with them...

3mph

On our sale didn't have bldg reg Cert but work was checked OK only realised when buyer asked for it! But council bldg control dept excellent came that day same and emailed Cert. Swansea Council. Your story sounds like a house in Woodville Road Mumbles that went off the market end last week.

stator

Are you sure it needs planning permission?
Most small conservatories don't.
Are you sure it needs building control sign off?
If it's past the enforcement date you needn't worry about it.

If you had to knock down the conservatory, would you still want the house?

Proceed as if the conservatory was not there and you won't be disappointed.

NMCI

Thanks again, the comments are really helpful.

It is a conservatory & extension if that makes sense - it is at the back of a Victorian terrace and sort of fills the gap where there would have been a yard it doesn't go any longer than the back of the house or wider than the width of the house. It is quite badly done, with plastic type material for the roof - there seem to be a lot in the street with this.

NMCI

@stator - I am not sure if either are required, but it seems to be that they would. In any case the vendor offered to pay for indemnity insurance up front - we did not even ask for this, so they must know it is required

We really want the house, and would hopefully look to extend anyway in the future...The conservatory did not change the original walls..