Buying a house- Enquiries show unauthorised works to the property

myrealusernameunavailable

hi all,

We are in the process of buying our first house.

Our solicitors have informed us of the outcome of the enquiries made and there is one thing that stands out and requires to be dealt with.

1. The sellers were unable to provide evidence of planning and building regulations approval in relation to Partial removal of an internal wall and glazing works. The works which required planning permission but for which planning permission was not obtained were carried out in 1984 and it was a breach of planning legislation.

In order to check if the work was carried out to the necessary standards, we commissioned a full building survey and according to the report from the surveyor, they were informed
that an RSJ has been installed across this opening but there was no way to confirm this without an invasive
investigation. The report also said that there was no current sign of a structural issue (eg. cracking) in relation to this and it would be expected that if a lack of support were a significant issue that some indication would have shown up by now.

So that gives us some level of comfort.

However with regards to mitigating risks in future, our solicitors have advised taking out indemnity insurance.

But this still does not rule out action from local authority to assess if work had been carried out in contravention of build regs.

Has anyone on the forum had to deal with a similar situation?

Would this have an impact on future planning permissions i apply for?

We are not unsure about progressing with this property now and thinking of stepping away.

Any feedback/experience would be appreciated.

thanks

davidmcn

The council is not going to suddenly turn up and enforce a 35 year old breach of building regulations. Get an indemnity policy if you like, but we're talking about pretty much irrelevant ancient history.

Surrey_EA

I really wonder what your solicitor thinks the insurance policy they are suggesting will indemnify you against. Chances of enforcement action now occurring, approximately 0%

myrealusernameunavailable

davidmcn wrote: »

The council is not going to suddenly turn up and enforce a 35 year old breach of building regulations. Get an indemnity policy if you like, but we're talking about pretty much irrelevant ancient history.

Thank you for your reply.

But do you think this be a potential issue when i apply for planning permission for something else at a later date?

davidmcn

myrealusernameunavailable wrote: »

Thank you for your reply.

But do you think this be a potential issue when i apply for planning permission for something else at a later date?

Firstly, planning and building control are different things run by different departments. But in any event, no, they're not going to care about something this old.

myrealusernameunavailable

Surrey_EA wrote: »

I really wonder what your solicitor thinks the insurance policy they are suggesting will indemnify you against. Chances of enforcement action now occurring, approximately 0%

Thank you for your reply.

I was unclear myself and having asked the solicitor to explain, they responded with the following

1. this policy is designed to activate in the event of the Local Authority taking enforcement proceedings in respect of the unauthorised works.

2. the insurance will only extend to enforcement and compensation in the event they mandate demolition of the work that was carried out with the appropriate regulations.

myrealusernameunavailable

@davidmcn - Ok. That makes sense and puts our mind at ease. I still have a follow-up scheduled with our solicitors, so will see how this goes.

Thank you for your response. It is much appreciated.

Mutton_Geoff

myrealusernameunavailable wrote: »

do you think this be a potential issue when i apply for planning permission for something else at a later date?

The only thing a planning application will do is invalidate any indemnity policy you take out since these almost all have a “let sleeping dogs lie” clause.

It’s my belief these policies, being sold in the thousands, will be the next PPI scandal.

myrealusernameunavailable

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

The only thing a planning application will do is invalidate any indemnity policy you take out since these almost all have a “let sleeping dogs lie” clause.

It’s my belief these policies, being sold in the thousands, will be the next PPI scandal.

Interesting.

Does this also not pose a catch-22?

So if i
1. Take out an indemnity policy and then
2. Apply for planning permission, i invalidate it as you say

In the future, when i sell the house, i can not take out an indemnity insurance, and so now have to rely on the prospective buyer to do so which they may or may not be keen on doing.

Does this make sense or have i got this mixed up? Thank you.

davidmcn

myrealusernameunavailable wrote: »

Interesting.

Does this also not pose a catch-22?

It might do if we were talking about a situation where an indemnity policy would actually be of value. In this case, you're well beyond the timescales where the council could do anything legally in relation to the lack of consents, even if they wanted to (which they won't). So there's no point getting an indemnity policy in the first place, never mind worrying about what might invalidate it.

jimbog

Mutton_Geoff wrote: »

It’s my belief these policies, being sold in the thousands, will be the next PPI scandal.

Very interesting point