Buying a house without building regulations sign off

AnnaNd_2

Hi, could you please help me as I can't find more recent questions about similar problem on the forum.
I found a really nice 3 bed flat and am very keen to make an offer but it was brought to my attention that when thr extension was made in 2004 (for 2 extra bedrooms and 1 living room), planning permission was received from the council but after works were completed, the vendor at the time never got planning sign off. The current vendor never knew about this and it only became an issue when he wanted to sell the property now to someone else (they have consequently pulled out).
I read there's 4 year time limit when the council can demand to knock down the extension- does it still apply? The current vendor has indemnity insurance. Could you please advice on what my options are and whether it's a deal breaker? I understand I can either get indemnity or possibly ask council to sign off now ( but it's been 14 years), but if I let the council know that indemnity is invalid? is that so? Also what does indemnity usually cover? Is it just the cost of me knocking down the extension that council may demand? In which case I'll be left with only 30% of the property- not a very good investment for me then. I hope I'm wrong here. Please help.

Davesnave

The indemnity policy would just cover you for legal expenses if the council tried to enforce the buildings regulations; a most unlikely scenario now. Councils are short-staffed and have more pressing things to do.

If the build had planning permission and followed its brief, there would be nothing to enforce from a planning point of view. After 4 years, anything built in contravention of planning law, and not hidden deliberately, becomes immune to enforcement.

Planning and building regulations are seperate things.The building regulations and inspections ensure that work is done to an appropriate and safe standard as it progresses, so it's hard to achieve compliance after work is complete without 'invasive surgery' to check hidden elements. If the council did inspections and it was just the last sign-off that's missing, you might be able to get a retrospective sign-off, but it's a long shot and you'd only know by asking them. You've heard correctly that contacting the council on this matter would invalidate the indemnity insurance, so it's a Catch22.

The bottom line is that if weaknesses aren't showing by now through things like damp or cracking, it's likely that the structure's OK. The regulations in 2004 were different anyway from what would be required now.

davidmcn

AnnaNd wrote: »

I hope I'm wrong here.

You are. It's not a deal-breaker. If you want to know what the terms of the indemnity policy are, you'd need to read it. Though the sellers can (probably) get another one if what they already have isn't up to scratch. This might be a good point for you to get legal advice, if you don't already have a solicitor.