No building control certificates but I still bought..

Rs667

Hi all,
It looks like I've made a huge error in my house purchase, there wasn't much building control certification for works done in 2014 (removing an internal wall) and some FENSAs. I was confused at the time and was under immense pressure to exchange so did so anyway. I'm now really regretting this and don't know what to do to get anywhere close to being in a position where I could sell. Any advice?  
Thanks

canaldumidi

More information needed.

You could offer your buyer an indemnity insurance.

Or apply for retrosective Building Regs.

Though these 2 are mutually exclusive- apply to Building Control and any insurance will be invalid.

user1977

Rs667 said:

I'm now really regretting this and don't know what to do to get anywhere close to being in a position where I could sell. 

What do you mean? Do you actually have a potential buyer with whom you are negotiating, and they've brought this up as a problem? Or are you just fretting about selling the house in the future?

None of this sounds a fundamental problem anyway.

aoleks

first, whatever you do, do NOT contact your council about this. in fact, don't contact anyone un til you understand what you're dealing with.

second, lack of a building control certificate is not a problem if the work has been done correctly. you shouldn't worry about the certificate, you should worry about the structural integrity of your house.

get a structural report and put your mind at ease. as for selling, as long you DON'T tell anyone about it, you can get an indemnity insurance for your seller, might cost £50 or something...

Rs667

canaldumidi said:

More information needed.

You could offer your buyer an indemnity insurance.

Or apply for retrosective Building Regs.

Though these 2 are mutually exclusive- apply to Building Control and any insurance will be invalid.

I just bought the property and realised I didn't get all the completion certificates - for an internal wall and some sky lights and a new front door. Now I'm really worried I'll never be able to sell the property and I overpaid.

Rs667

aoleks said:

first, whatever you do, do NOT contact your council about this. in fact, don't contact anyone un til you understand what you're dealing with.

second, lack of a building control certificate is not a problem if the work has been done correctly. you shouldn't worry about the certificate, you should worry about the structural integrity of your house.

get a structural report and put your mind at ease. as for selling, as long you DON'T tell anyone about it, you can get an indemnity insurance for your seller, might cost £50 or something...

Okay thanks, I got a survey done when buying but do you mean an separate structural report? The beam in the living room where the wall was removed is covered by a dropped ceiling. Is this going to be a problem for any structural survey? 

Section62

Rs667 said:

aoleks said:

first, whatever you do, do NOT contact your council about this. in fact, don't contact anyone un til you understand what you're dealing with.

second, lack of a building control certificate is not a problem if the work has been done correctly. you shouldn't worry about the certificate, you should worry about the structural integrity of your house.

get a structural report and put your mind at ease. as for selling, as long you DON'T tell anyone about it, you can get an indemnity insurance for your seller, might cost £50 or something...

Okay thanks, I got a survey done when buying but do you mean an separate structural report? The beam in the living room where the wall was removed is covered by a dropped ceiling. Is this going to be a problem for any structural survey? 

At the minimum a structural engineer will usually want both ends of a beam uncovered to check the bearings are adequate. Typically you need to get a builder to do that before the SE arrives, and you'll usually need a builder to make good after the inspection.

Also aoleks post is not quite right, in that lack of BC signoff can definitely be a problem if a future buyer or their mortgage company refuse to accept an indemnity policy as an alternative to regularisation.

HHarry

RS,

As others have said this isn’t an insurmountable problem and it’s definitely not worth any sleepless nights.

When you come to sell and are asked about the windows, you could just say “these 2 were changed before I bought the house, but I don’t have any certification”.  I’d suggest that a lack of a Fensa certificate for windows that would have been fitted X number of years prior at the point is unlikely to be deal breaker.  You can always buy an indeminty policy.

The lack of a cerificate for the beam is more likely to scare buyers - because it’s structural.  But at the point you come to sell you can get this approved by Building Control. You’ll probably need to knock some plaster off, to allow an inspection and for a Structural Engineer to approve the size, and then make good but that’s unlikely to be thousands of pounds.

So for now just enjoy your house.  And we’d all like to have paid less for our house - it doesn’t matter in the long run!

ciderboy2009

What signs are thee that it's not been all done properly?  After 8 years I would expect you to be seeing some problems if there was anything to worry about.

At the end of the day then there's always the option of offering indemnity insurance when you come to sell providing that you don't contact the council about building regs.

Section62

HHarry said:

....I’d suggest that a lack of a Fensa certificate for windows that would have been fitted X number of years prior at the point is unlikely to be deal breaker.  You can always buy an indeminty policy.

The lack of a cerificate for the beam is more likely to scare buyers - because it’s structural....

Windows are sometimes 'structural' too.

Lack of any documentation for the windows if obviously fitted after the BC requirements came in would cause me as much concern as having no documentation for the knock through beam.

jonnydeppiwish!

Have you checked the fensa register for the new door?