Buying house with extensions, potentially no building regs and future building plans

Cooper121

Hello,

I am looking at purchasing a property that has two small extensions on the front and rear of the property.

The front one is a small porch built over the front door, the second is a small extension to the rear that is now the kitchen.

It seems there may not be building regs in place or permitted development certifications for these extensions, though the vendor is checking this as they say the extensions were in place when they bought it over 10 years ago.

Both extensions are single storey, around 3 meters square each, so not sizeable by any stretch.

The owner is a sweet old lady and her sons are dealing with the legal side of things, which is fine.

So my issue is, if I did buy the property, I would want to knock down the rear extension and build a larger one, knocking through the exterior wall to create an open plan kitchen diner roughly 3 meters by 5 meters, putting in an RSJ in the old outer wall. But if there are no building regs in place for the existing extensions then I will have to take out an indemnity policy to satisfy the mortgage company in order to buy the property. So if I buy the house, then get the council in to decide if I can knock the old rear extension down and build a new one, then I am basically invalidating my policy, which would also be in place to cover me for the front porch extension as well as the rear one.

I thinking if the council decide that I can’t build the new extension out the back, then this kind of opens a can of worms of if they then decide to look at the existing rear extension with no building regs, and want to make any issues with that. As well as this they then may start to notice the front extension and see no plans or regs are in place there either.

Is it possible to take on this predicament and stay on the right side of the rules with regards to dealing with the council but not shooting myself in the foot with regards the indemnity issues.

Also, if I decided to sell in the future, I’d still not have the right building regs for the porch, and if the council have been involved then will this prevent me getting an indemnity policy to satisfy any future buyers lender??

Any advice would be grateful appreciated

davidmcn

Cooper121 wrote: »

It seems there may not be building regs in place or permitted development certifications for these extensions

What's "permitted development certification"? The whole point of permitted development is that you don't need to get a certificate.

Do you think it's going to be impossible to get planning consent for a new extension (assuming you need planning for it)? If not then I can't see much to be concerned about - and may be some wriggle room as far as the insurers are concerned if you are merely (at first) contacting the planning department about a new development, rather than contacting building control about the old extension.

Cooper121

Thanks for your reply, I guess I assumed you needed the nod from the council to say that the extension is a permitted development and doesn’t require planning, and they would give you some sort of confirmation or “certificate” for this.

Anyhow, I don’t think it would have needed planning in the first place, it’s the potential for lack of building regs that worries me.

I only really want to buy this house if I can do the extension work and add value, though I understand there is always a risk that you can’t get permission if the neighbors decide they don’t like it which you won’t know until you buy and try!

I guess I’m looking to see if people think the whole scenario may be a little too much headache than it’s worth, given all the potential pitfalls of no BR and indemnity policies, in their honest opinions.

davidmcn

Cooper121 wrote: »

I understand there is always a risk that you can’t get permission if the neighbours decide they don’t like it

No, that's not really how planning applications work. The neighbours can make representations, but they don't have a right of veto. If your application fails on planning grounds then it's likely to be rejected whether or not anybody objects.

Have you no idea how old the extensions are? Building control hardly have the resources to do the bare minimum they have to, never mind go around actively enforcing things unless you've actually got a deathtrap. If it's more than about 20 years old then I wouldn't get concerned about it at all.

Doozergirl

Building Control Approval isn't required for a porch of 3 square metres or less, so there's your answer on that one.

As for the back, if you're knocking it down, then why do you need to maintain an indemnity policy when it won't exist anymore? The only reason you need it is to satisfy the mortgage company between purchase and demolition.

As soon as you put in an application for your new extension then you're doing everything right.

There is no problem here.

No certificates of any type required for the front as it is exempt from planning and building control.
Building Control indemnity policy for the back only until it is replaced. The existing extension sounds very much like the sort that fits under permitted development too.

No issues.

Cooper121

Again, thank you for your replies and information, I do feel better about the whole thing now.

I don’t think I can say for certain about the age of the extensions. I looked at google earth pro and they are definitely more than 10 years old as the owner suggests, but the further you go back in time, the worse the satellite photos become and it is hard to see if the extension were there. Until I hear from the sellers about what they have managed to find out from their original purchase documents, I have to assume that they are not as old as 20 years. I have to admit I’m very tempted to ask the council if they know about these extensions though I obviously don’t want to close the door on getting and indemnity policy by doing so.

My main worry is the resale implications of no building regs on the front porch, and then inviting the council to consider my new extension plans for the rear of the property, thus bringing their attention to the existing rear extension which may or may not have the correct building regs applied.

That said, on reading your replies I might just be over thinking it all!

I’m meeting my Solicitors on Monday so il have a good chat to him about it.

Iv not instructed him officially yet as I was worried about paying for search fees and a survey only to find out I might have a lemon on my hands!!