Buying a Property: Needing to Prove Fire Safety to Lender but How?

JessRascal

Hi,

I am currently in the process of a buying a flat in a high-rise building (Bridgewater Place, Leeds) however things have ground to a halt because the lender is requesting that I provide evidence that the building meets fire regulations before they will approve my mortgage application.

I have contacted the estate agent to request this information/report but they have been unable to supply me with it. I also have my solicitor trying to acquire it but he's not having much luck so far.

Specifically, the lender has requested a report on the building that is the result of a "physical/invasive inspection" that has been carried out by one of the following professional bodies:

• The Institution of Fire Engineers (IFE)
• BAFE
• IFC Certification Ltd
• The Institute of Fire Prevention Officers (IFPO)
• The Institute of Fire Safety Managers (IFSM)
• The Society of Façade Engineers (SFE)

Has anyone here had to provide such evidence to their lender and therefore has any advice? Or does anyone just have any advice on where I might be able to get such a report?

This has been holding things up for a few weeks now (very frustrating) and it seems like it's now standard for high-rises in light of the Grenfell disaster however it's still so new that there's not really a process in place so nobody seems to know how to proceed.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you
Jess

martinthebandit

Talking to the prospective new neighbours to see how they managed to get a mortgage would be my first step.

davidmcn

Several threads on the mortgages board about similar problems. If anybody's likely to be able to produce such reports, it will be the managing agents (and I expect they'll have had similar requests already). Up to the sellers to sort out really.

G_M

Surely you don't want to live in a high rise block that is a fire hazard? It seems eminantly sensible to check that a suitable person or organisation has inspected the block and deemed it safe from a fire perspective.

Responsibility for this lies with the freeholder, or their managing agents. Your solicitor should be pressing them for a response.

If there is no such response, you should consider yourself to have had a narrow escape. Move on and find a property in a block knownto be fire-safe, or a low-rise property instead.

AdrianC

JessRascal wrote: »

I am currently in the process of a buying a flat in a high-rise building (Bridgewater Place, Leeds) however things have ground to a halt because the lender is requesting that I provide evidence that the building meets fire regulations before they will approve my mortgage application.

I have contacted the estate agent to request this information/report but they have been unable to supply me with it. I also have my solicitor trying to acquire it but he's not having much luck so far.

Forget the EA.
Your solicitor needs to request it from the freeholder and/or management company.

If it's not available, and your lender won't lend without it, then you aren't buying that flat.

I presume you're aware of Grenfell...? THAT's why the lender are insisting on it.

JessRascal

Oh yeah I’m obviously all for it being safe, I don’t have an issue with that, I’m just struggling getting hold of the report.

Based on my research, it seems all high-rises in Leeds (probably the full UK) were recently checked for fire safety and this building was not flagged as being unsafe, I just need a copy of the documentation that proves it.

Yes I am aware of Grenfell (I referenced it in my original post) so yes I understand why there are now addition checks. These checks make sense, I just expected it to be easier to get hold of the evidence because it must be a common request so I was just hoping someone might have been able to advise on how they sorted this out.

Cheers

Tiglet2

The Fire Risk Assessment report is contained within the Leasehold Management Pack that the seller's solicitor has to obtain as part of the conveyancing. It does sometimes take a while to obtain the pack, since the seller has to pay upfront for it (and the fees are usually quite high) and Management Companies are notorious for being very slow.

It isn't your job to get the report. Your solicitor must request it from the seller's solicitor and they must provide it. Your solicitor acts for your lender so they need to be liaising with the lender and providing the requested document once received from the seller's solicitor.

eamon

Nice website, but no contact details except a gmail address perhaps that is why your solicitor is struggling to get any answers.



Are you sure that you could cope with the wind at that location?

JessRascal

Right ok well it sounds like this lands with the solicitor to get hold of so maybe I just need to have a bit more patience with him because he is apparently trying to get hold of it.

Thank you everyone for the advice and hopefully I will get this resolved soon.

G_M

JessRascal wrote: »

Right ok well it sounds like this lands with the solicitor to get hold of so maybe I just need to have a bit more patience with him because he is apparently trying to get hold of it.

You may not have mean it this way, but we often read people here sayng things likethis.


It is not your solicitor you need to be patient with (or blame); He has almost certainly requested it. It is the seller's solicitor, or more likely the management company, that is the cause of the delay. There is nothing your solicitor can do unless or until they respond to him.

edgex

So your wanting to buy a property that has had at least one previous owner. A fire safety report was (?) done. Yet the seller doesn't have a copy? (that they will have wanted for their insurer & mortgage holder etc)


https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest/high-rise-buildings-in-leeds-city-centre-fail-fire-safety-cladding-checks-1-8656627
https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/latest/these-six-buildings-in-leeds-have-grenfell-style-cladding-1-9638524