Architect made a mistake, trying to get it fixed on her insurance

mavenmim

One final afterthought question: I know when buying a house where there isn't a record of planning permission for some change that has been made (eg a garage or loft conversion) you can buy an insurance policy to protect against any later enforcement action. Is there a way we could buy a policy to protect us against enforcement action, either now or after a certain amount of time has elapsed?

Speaking to a planning advisor, it might turn out to be a moot point, as I think with the gradient of the site, the error is much less than we thought (as there is a rise of over a metre in the levels from one side of the building to the other, and we excavated to make the foundation level; whilst the planning rules for height appear to apply to the difference between the highest point of the ground before starting work to the highest point of the finished building) and with no neighbours to be annoyed about it, the planners would have to be unusually sadistic to enforce on an error of under 50cm - so they might struggle to prove the breach, or to justify that massive rebuilding work is merited by something that doesn't cause any visible harm to anyone.

davidmcn

mavenmim said:

One final afterthought question: I know when buying a house where there isn't a record of planning permission for some change that has been made (eg a garage or loft conversion) you can buy an insurance policy to protect against any later enforcement action. Is there a way we could buy a policy to protect us against enforcement action, either now or after a certain amount of time has elapsed?

Yes, generally you need to wait at least a year from completion of the works (and obviously have had no contact with the council about it). I was about to suggest that the cheapest option is simply to build the thing and hope that nothing happens! Reasonable to expect the architect to indemnify you against any enforcement (and get an indemnity policy whenever that's feasible).

mavenmim

Thanks. I bet the architect would love to come up with a plan that doesn't involve her insurance company (as apart from the £5k excess it will make her almost uninsurable as a sole trader going forward) and would happily cover our costs (eg excess costs in scaffolding and surveyors etc) if we are prepared to take the gamble, and/or to buy us a policy to protect us after 12 months. As a fellow female small busines owner I have no desire to see her suffer or have to close her business and return to working within a firm.

On an environmental front, I'm keen not to waste materials - especially that massive metal joist that was custom made - and on a design front, the pitched roof is more attractive and better for the solar panels.

So the idea of carrying on and taking the risk is attractive now that I see that we can show it is a small error and understand that planning enforcement has to demonstrate the harm done by the breach and be proportional to what was done wrong. Given the advantage of being able to finish the building without negotiating with either insurer or planning department, it feels like a relatively small risk that anyone would notice or complain - particularly given that the building is not visible from the road, and sits right in the middle of our land, so you'd have to know where the curtilage line is drawn to even know the lower height should apply.

But is it possible for her to withdraw her insurance claim and not lose her excess or impact her future insurance if we change tack now?

paddyandstumpy

She can advise her insurer no claim will be forthcoming, I doubt she's paid an excess at this point. 

She will be required to disclose a potential PI claim to any prospective insurer, due to the way PI works, a new PI insurer picks up the historic exposure. 

Given the state of the PI market at the moment, it will most likely effect her ability to secure expiring terms at renewal regardless. 

mavenmim

I thought I'd update on this. We finished it as drawn and the ridge was only 28cm above the limit according to the survey of levels done in 2015, and I found a photo of my 6'2" husband with his hand raised standing on the hillside next to the excavation before we did the landscaping, and his hand looks to be nearly at ridge height, so I suspect the discrepancy is too small to prove. Also, given it is tucked behind our house and more than 200m from anyone else's land nobody has noticed or cared. So this story had a happy ending.