Two storey extension- no building regs

ripley81

Hi all

I am buying a house which has a double side extension to make it a 4 bed rather than 3. I was a little nervous about the small gap of 5 inches between this extension and next doors, but as planning and building regs were approved, I decided to proceed. 

Now I have found out that there is no building regs completion certificate after all. Vendor not offering solutions (they claim building control came out at various stages). So, my concerns are

- should it have been advertised as a 3 bed? It’s not a loft conversion, but do the same rules apply? 

- is it structurally sound? How would I know without an invasive survey? The quality of the internal finishes aren’t great. 

- is it worth less / should I revise my offer?
- an I buying a problem house that I will struggle to sell? 

Any advice / knowledge? I know all about indemnity policies, invalidating them etc, my concerns are just about buying an overvalued house / losing money / buying a problem house. 

Thanks

 

davidmcn

When was it built? Have you had it surveyed?

lincroft1710

Why hasn't the vendor applied for Building Control sign off?

ripley81

davidmcn said:

When was it built? Have you had it surveyed?

House 1988, extension 2007. No structural survey, no. This would possibly be one of the next steps. I need to be happy it’s still a 4 bed at the same value before I spend anymore money on surveyors, structural engineers etc. 

AdrianC

ripley81 said:
I need to be happy it’s still a 4 bed at the same value

Count the rooms with beds in. Four? Then it's a four bed.

It's exactly the same property you viewed, liked, and put an offer in on. It's just that there's no piece of paper going back nearly a decade and a half...

If it had been built badly, that'd be showing by now.
There is zero comeback from the local authority.
What else are you worried about with it?

lincroft1710

ripley81 said:

davidmcn said:

When was it built? Have you had it surveyed?

I need to be happy it’s still a 4 bed at the same value before I spend anymore money on surveyors, structural engineers etc. 

Well until you spend the money, you won't know 

davidmcn

ripley81 said:

davidmcn said:

When was it built? Have you had it surveyed?

House 1988, extension 2007. No structural survey, no. This would possibly be one of the next steps. I need to be happy it’s still a 4 bed at the same value before I spend anymore money on surveyors, structural engineers etc. 

It's a 4 bed if the number of bedrooms adds up to 4. There's no magic rule about building regulations affecting the number of bedrooms, in the same way that it's fairly pointless looking for paperwork for the original construction of the rest of the house. You're way beyond any chance of the council enforcing lack of regulations.

I would concentrate on what your surveyor says.

DoaM

davidmcn said:

I would concentrate on what your surveyor says.

/gets coat  

AskAsk

we had the same problem on our house when we bought it.  the sellers had a single storey extension done and they didn't have the building regulations sign off certificate.  we insisted that this was done before we complete the purchase as we didn't like the idea of an indeminity.  the sellers got the certificate, as apparently it was available but the council didn't put it on the website or gave it to the owners.  or maybe the owners forgotten about it.
you can buy the property without the certificate, but you would need to get it certified once you have bought it and that may cost a lot of money.

DoaM

AskAsk said:

we had the same problem on our house when we bought it.  the sellers had a single storey extension done and they didn't have the building regulations sign off certificate.  we insisted that this was done before we complete the purchase as we didn't like the idea of an indeminity.  the sellers got the certificate, as apparently it was available but the council didn't put it on the website or gave it to the owners.  or maybe the owners forgotten about it.
you can buy the property without the certificate, but you would need to get it certified once you have bought it and that may cost a lot of money.

Why?

davidmcn

AskAsk said:

you can buy the property without the certificate, but you would need to get it certified once you have bought it.

No they wouldn't.