Property I'm purchasing has had no planning permission

Jasjeet54

Hello,

I am very close to exchanging on a 1930s house, which the sellers have occupied for past 20 years.

The mortgage valuation report stated that the rear ground (ie kitchen) extension - which includes the removal of chimney breasts at ground floor level, plus building over a drain -   looked to be completed within last 10 years, so we would need to confirm whether planning permission and building regulations are in place. However, the sellers stated in their Property Inform that they have not carried out any alterations to the property, so I assume the extension was carried out by previous owners.

I have discovered on the local council website that there is no planning permission or building regulations for the extension (plus removal of chimney breast and building over drain), and this was confirmed by the sellers' solicitor. As of this, they are purchasing indemnity policies to cover these.

My question is should I be concerned about the lack of building regulations on the extension and maybe ask a qualified surveyor to more closely examine the extension? I am particularly concerned about potential risk of the removal of the chimney breasts. This would obviously delay the process, which I am sure seller would not be happy about (it has already been a few months), and they may pull out.

Also, are indemnity policies satisfactory solutions to lack of building regulations? Would I need to find out if the policy they are purchasing covers any potential damage/repair required?

Many thanks

Section62

Jasjeet54 said:

The mortgage valuation report stated that the rear ground (ie kitchen) extension - which includes the removal of chimney breasts at ground floor level, plus building over a drain -   looked to be completed within last 10 years, so we would need to confirm whether planning permission and building regulations are in place. However, the sellers stated in their Property Inform that they have not carried out any alterations to the property, so I assume the extension was carried out by previous owners.

When was the property last sold, and is that consistent with the claim the work was done before the current ownership?

There's a difference between straightforward historic lack of planning/BR, and vendors telling a fib about when the work was done.

Jasjeet54

Section62 said:

Jasjeet54 said:

The mortgage valuation report stated that the rear ground (ie kitchen) extension - which includes the removal of chimney breasts at ground floor level, plus building over a drain -   looked to be completed within last 10 years, so we would need to confirm whether planning permission and building regulations are in place. However, the sellers stated in their Property Inform that they have not carried out any alterations to the property, so I assume the extension was carried out by previous owners.

When was the property last sold, and is that consistent with the claim the work was done before the current ownership?

There's a difference between straightforward historic lack of planning/BR, and vendors telling a fib about when the work was done.

They bought it in 2003. Other than their Property Information Form stating that they made no alterations, I have not seen a confirmation from their solicitor on whether they did or did not carry out the extension work.

user1977

What advice has your solicitor given about it? Have they queried it with the vendors' solicitor yet?

daveyjp

Google Earth has a timeline function.  It is very useful in situations such as this to see when changes happened to a property.

Mutton_Geoff

Jasjeet54 said:

Hello,

the sellers stated in their Property Inform that they have not carried out any alterations to the property

I assume the extension was carried out by previous owners

Dangerous assumption. I'd think the other way and that the sellers are guilty until proven otherwise.

Can you knock on a neighbours door to introduce yourself as a prospective new neighbour and bring this up in conversation?

GDB2222

If it’s ten years, you don’t need to worry about planning. But, lack of building control would worry me a lot! The indemnity insurance is useless, as it doesn’t pay for any remedial work. 

I’d be wondering why anyone has done major work like this without planning or BC? It’s not something that they have forgotten about. It’s because they wanted to cut corners. 

The investigation work to check will be very intrusive, and the sellers won’t let you do it. 

Is there really no other property that you can buy?

dimbo61

Can you see chimney breasts upstairs in the photos of the house ?
Did you check when you viewed ? 
Signs of brick pillars and heavy steels in the property ? 

dimbo61

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=chimney+gallows+brackets&prmd=simvn&sxsrf=ALiCzsaWxjNmYl40tPDHL2Phpqo1B9r-tQ:1652561313863&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiT_9PQ7t_3AhVJecAKHSNMA6UQ_AUoAnoECAIQAg&biw=360&bih=630&dpr=2#imgrc=f9F62mOxV4YwPM

30 seconds in the loft will tell you if the builders installed Gallows brackets when they removed the chimney breasts downstairs.

Complete lack of chimney breasts sticking out of the roof might also give the game away !

Jasjeet54

user1977 said:

What advice has your solicitor given about it? Have they queried it with the vendors' solicitor yet?

I think he is still working his way through the indemnity policies that they have sent over; I am trying to schedule a meeting to discuss in more details

Jasjeet54

dimbo61 said:

Can you see chimney breasts upstairs in the photos of the house ?
Did you check when you viewed ? 
Signs of brick pillars and heavy steels in the property ? 

We had a homebuyer's report done, and it stated that there is a chimney stack above the left side of the roof.  There are also chimney breasts in the upstairs bedrooms, fireplaced removed and breasts sealed. It is only downstairs where they have been removed; the surveyor could not see the structural support but presumed that it could be provided by way of steel beams concealed within the floor structure. As mentioned above, seems like you could only check this in a more intrusive way, which they probably would not agree to.