Documents not provided

Jumblebumble

Jordec said:

Hi again, lots of replies here. Firstly, I did specifically ask, by email, that all certificates, including Fensa and building regs were in order. My solicitor ignored most of my emails, but did say that copies of everything had been obtained and she could see no reason for us to be concerned. 
Re completion, our vendor told us verbally that the money had transferred and handed us the keys on the day. It was only when we were chasing documents that were promised upon completion that we realised that we had not even had a phone call from our solicitor and had nothing in writing. I raised this and they said they had ‘posted’ a completion letter and it must have got lost!
Re the guarantees, these aren’t for the windows, they are for the solar panels that have a 25 year guarantee on them. The panels, 17 of them, added considerable value to the property and we were assured the guarantee paperwork had been provided, but it hasn’t. We have a copy of the cert for the electrics re the solar, but no receipt, contract, guarantee.
It is late in the day to be still chasing, but we have been asking for these since we completed. You don’t get them prior to completion, that is what conveyancing is for, to check everything is in order and warn you before exchange if it’s not.
I get the feeling that some of you think I am asking too much, not being reasonable, or at the very least that i was naive, but we paid a solicitor to do our conveyancing, we instructed them in writing to cover these elements, they were not cheap. We have bought several houses before and our solicitor was excellent but retired a few years ago. We have never experienced anything like this before.

I think there must be more to this story than you are telling us.
Without verbatim copies of any correspondence no one here can advise
At the end of the day I think you authorised exchange with what ever information the vendor cared to supply your solicitor.
I imagine that if you look into the whole picture you will find that  solicitor will have covered their back and you are wasting your time. A solicitor who does not do so will not be in business very long

Jordec

I have kept a very thorough audit trail and I assure you that the solicitor’s actions were worse than I have mentioned here. The complaint has been looked into and while they don’t admit any wrong doing, they have offered me a partial refund. I have rejected this and the directors are looking into it, in an effort to avoid the ombudsman. This issue with the documents is just the icing on the cake. Hopefully they can sort out this mess. We really love the house and no matter the outcome, the house is what we wanted. The missing documents can affect the value though and could cause issues when we re-sell, so I will push this. 
Thank you for the advice and help. I’m not sure what I expected when I posted, but some of the responses have been really helpful.

TBG01

Certificate etc are usually sent out once the updated Title has been received from the Land Registry. 

Jordec

Well, I have an update. The solicitor says that as the Fensa cert is not available, but as the windows were installed over 10 years ago, ‘she decided’ to take no further action. She didn’t feel that she needed to inform me and advised that everything was in order! I am speaking to building regs and Fensa tomorrow.
”There is no Fensa certificate available for the windows installed in 2007 but, as the works are over ten years, no further action was taken.”

Tiglet2

Jordec said:

Well, I have an update. The solicitor says that as the Fensa cert is not available, but as the windows were installed over 10 years ago, ‘she decided’ to take no further action. She didn’t feel that she needed to inform me and advised that everything was in order! I am speaking to building regs and Fensa tomorrow.
”There is no Fensa certificate available for the windows installed in 2007 but, as the works are over ten years, no further action was taken.”

All FENSA-approved installers offer 5 to 10 year guarantees on their installations.   Your windows are now 14 years old so the guarantee will have expired.  Your solicitor was right not to pursue this.  Time to get new windows?

 

Jordec

It’s not about the guarantee, it’s the law to use registered installers or get it signed off by building regs. This hasn’t been done and the solicitor did not make me aware. Even if she felt it wasn’t important, it was my decision. The windows are in good condition and don’t need replacing. 

Tiglet2

Jordec said:

It’s the Fensa, building regs completion and guarantees that I am concerned about. I checked planning before we got close to exchange, but completion certs clearly say to keep the original. The guarantee is likely to be worthless too, unless we have receipts and dates etc. I think if the vendor had these docs, he’d have at least provided copies. My solicitor didn’t check they existed and advised that everything was in order. There were no searches, no survey, no mortgages to surrender or secure, just a few docs to check. It was the easiest transaction for them and still they messed up.

If you had searches done, your solicitor would have seen if building regs and certificates were showing on the local authority search, along with the Fensa etc.  They would then expect the seller's solicitor to obtain the documents recorded in the local search, but according to your post above, you didn't get searches and there was no lender to satisfy.   Your solicitor can't really check that they exist if they don't have the local authority search to refer to.

Jordec

The searches don’t cover building regs, just planning. However, I now know that building regs breaches are only enforceable for 2 years after the work. This has made me realise what a waste of money it was paying for building regs and having all the inspections over the years! We have just paid for building regs again and now have to have the beams inspected. If I’d known it wasn’t enforceable after a couple of years, I wouldn’t have bothered. The structural engineer and builder were both top draw, so I knew there’d be no safety issue. Anyway, the original concern over the windows has now gone, so that’s a relief.

chalky_white_2

I would highlight that certificates relating to building regulations are only evidence as to compliance with said building regulations (a third party having signed off relevant works as compliant).   So whether a certificate is original, a copy or merely an entry on a register, such as the Local Authority's website or search, if evidence of compliance is shown then that is satisfactory.   Even with a certificate, if the works were not up to the standard prescribed, they would still be illegal.
Also, lack of building regulations does not technically have a limitation period and lack of evidence can harm your ability to sell a property.
The guarantees are dependent on the individual guaranteeing company's policies as to whether they are (1) transferable at all and (2) what should be done to assign the benefit of a guarantee.

Jordec

Firstly, the windows were never registered with Fensa, or building control. It wasn’t that I only had a copy, it was that even a copy hadn’t been provided. When I checked with Fensa, they had never been registered. I wasn’t made aware and my solicitor has said that no further action was needed as after 2 years it is not enforceable. I checked with building control and lack of building regs ‘does’ technically have a limitation. The rules state that ordering any corrective work is not enforceable after 12 months and legal action/prosecution is not possible after 2 years (provided public safety is not at risk). Indemnity policies only cover you for costs relating to the local authority’s enforcement action, so if the work is over 2 years old, they are not covering you for anything. Mortgage companies can insist on indemnities, but only because they don’t realise that they are useless. They should insist on independent checks by surveyors or electricians etc.