Lack of planning permission/building regs

Mlruirod

Hi,
We are buying a house that was built in the 1960s. We are close to exchange but have just found out that the sellers didn't get planning permissions and building regs for kitchen extension (built in 1978), first floor extension (in 1983) or conservstory ( built in 1996)- they say planning permissions were not needed when they did the work. The survey has not shown any major problems. They are happy to pay for an indemnity policy, however this lack of permissions/ regs is worrying us a lot as we are first time buyers and don't want to make a bad decision when making our ever biggest purchase. Are we worrying too much or should we actually walk away? Even though the survey hasn't flagged up anything to worry about, it is not a check in depth so we are concerned about how safety and compliance. 
Also, if we were to make changes to the house in the future, would this invalidate the indemnity insurance if planning permissions were required and could we get in trouble if they realise that we don't have build regs for the work that is already done?

Thank you in advance, 

davidmcn

They're all ancient history - they're as (ir)relevant as whether or not you've seen consents for the original construction of the house. Nothing can be enforced after this length of time.

AdrianC

43 years ago to 25 years ago. Forget it.

Building Regs standards have changed massively since then.
Any inadequate construction would have been evident long ago.
There is no enforcement possible after this long.

greatcrested

The kitchen extension was built in 1978 without Building Regs sign-off yes? So you have no way of knowing it was done properly, not by a cowboy builder.

OK, maybe it has stood there for 43 years, but the 44th year might be the tipping point when it collapses......

Mlruirod

greatcrested said:

The kitchen extension was built in 1978 without Building Regs sign-off yes? So you have no way of knowing it was done properly, not by a cowboy builder.

OK, maybe it has stood there for 43 years, but the 44th year might be the tipping point when it collapses......

This is our main concern. We may ask for a structural engineer to have a look.

davidmcn

Mlruirod said:

greatcrested said:

The kitchen extension was built in 1978 without Building Regs sign-off yes? So you have no way of knowing it was done properly, not by a cowboy builder.

OK, maybe it has stood there for 43 years, but the 44th year might be the tipping point when it collapses......

This is our main concern. We may ask for a structural engineer to have a look.

Seriously? If you really want (are there any signs of problems?). It's not a normal thing to spend money on.

Bear in mind that even if you did have a sheaf of paperwork from the 1970s, that wouldn't prove anything about the current state of the construction (or any undocumented things which might have been done to it since).

And as I alluded to above, what have you got for the original construction of the house? 

Jeepers_Creepers

greatcrested said:

The kitchen extension was built in 1978 without Building Regs sign-off yes? So you have no way of knowing it was done properly, not by a cowboy builder.

OK, maybe it has stood there for 43 years, but the 44th year might be the tipping point when it collapses......

Stop it, Crested!

You bad bad boy.

Doozergirl

Just lost my post that I'd typed out.  

The Building Regulations Act was 1984.   Your two extensions predate the regs!  Conservatories are exempt from the regulations.   No paperwork required for any of them! 

Planning permission is deemed to be granted 4 years after an extension goes up if it wasn't applied for in the first place.   No paperwork required for that either.   Houses have permitted development rights that allow certain extensions to be built without planning permission anyway.  It's highly likely that the kitchen and conservatory never needed permission in the first place.  There's a possibility that the first floor didn't. 

This is such a non issue.   You note that no one is asking for the PP and BC certificates for the actual house?!  

You should always rely on your survey to know if the house is safe.    There's nothing to say what's been done to or happened to a house in 40-50 years.  

FreeBear

Mlruirod said: We may ask for a structural engineer to have a look.

For a structural engineer to give a comprehensive and worthwhile report, he (or she) will need to look at things like foundations and supporting steelwork (where fitted). Both will involve invasive examination (a test pit dug for foundations, plaster knocked off for any steelwork). Your vendor is very, very unlikely to agree to any of that. So the report is likely just going to consist of "no (or minor) cracks observed, yadda, yadda, backside covering".

Mlruirod

Thank you very much for your comments. We feel more reassured now. We didn't know much about the topic and panicked a little but after reading your comments and talking to our solicitor we feel much better. Thank you again 😊

917700

If there is/are structural defect(s), your surveyor should easily spot them. 

Building will not collapse suddenly like a car accident. 

Building regulations certificate questions were asked many time, but this is a very common issue to many many properties. I haven’t heard any solicitor advised their clients not to buy a property because of missing Building regulations certificate