Buying/altering a house without building regulation certificates

rf_ldn

Myself and my partner are first-time buyers, we've had an offer accepted and we were expecting to exchange soon. Would love some advice on the below if possible please!

Our solicitors have found that the sellers have no building regulation certificates / other documentation to cover a rear extension. The rear extension is a wide corridor which provides the only means of access to the kitchen and only bathroom. The seller's solicitors have said: Works where carried out to adhere to building regulations to replace existing buildings rather then an extension, these works where completed in roughly 2003/2004 commencing in 1997 by council. 

We don't know why sellers didn't get building reg sign off. Our solicitors have advised we get indemnity insurance policy. But I'm concerned about the lack of documentation, and the possible repercussions / costs for us down the line. On one hand:

• The surveyor didn't find any major structural issues so it looks like we are fine from a safety point of view. 
• As the undocumented works were carried out 10+ years ago, I think we are beyond the period where the council could take enforcement action requiring rectification works.
  

However on the other hand:

• I read online that an insurance company may refuse to pay out under a Buildings Insurance Policy if there is inadequate Building Regulation Consent for alterations to the property.
• We are planning to do some renovation works to the property, including knocking down a load-bearing wall in this extension area. So we will be encountering building control during this process, hence my concerns about whether the works are up to scratch in terms of the regulations. 

I am wondering if an indeminity insurance policy is the best solution, or whether we should be asking the sellers to apply for retrospective regulation consent from the local authority. But I appreciate that this 2nd option is risky in terms of risking remedial works being enforced which could jeopardize the sale...therefore the sellers probably won't want to go down this route.

So my main questions are: 

• Will we be able to get buildings insurance without building regulation certificates?
• Will we be able to do new works in the extension area without having to retrospectively apply for the building regs sign off? or spend more on getting the existing works up to scratch?

Thanks in advance!
Becca

jonnydeppiwish!

When was the extension completed?

user1977

The buildings insurance point is a red herring (though a common misconception - where online did you read about it?). You only need to tell insurers what they ask about when you take out the insurance, which won't include this. A huge proportion of buildings have had unauthorised alterations of one sort or another made to them - it doesn't mean they're uninsured!

As for your new works - if building control are out of time for enforcement then it doesn't really matter whether or not you've invited them round to deal with the new works. And in reality, they're not going to be interested in enforcement unless there seems to be an actual problem, such as something in danger of collapsing onto third parties.

Also, this doesn't make grammatical sense - is it actually what the solicitors said? " Works where carried out to adhere to building regulations to replace existing buildings rather then an extension, these works where completed in roughly 2003/2004 commencing in 1997 by council. "

rf_ldn

Thanks @jonnydeppiwish! and  "@user1977"

@""jonnydeppiwish!" the sellers said the extension was completed 2003/2004.

@user1977 Thanks for this info, very useful. I read about the buildings insurance on this solicitors website ( can't post full link as i'm a new user):  amdsolicitors.com/buying-property-without-building-regulations-consent/#:~:text=An%20insurance%20company%20may%20refuse,they%20could%20be%20structurally%20dangerous 

Also good to know that the new works won't be effected. Surveyor thought everything looked safe.

That's a copy and paste from the seller's solicitor's emails, so grammar mistakes are all there's - not great! I assume they mean "works were carried out" rather than where....

Thanks both!

user1977

rf_ldn said:

@user1977 Thanks for this info, very useful. I read about the buildings insurance on this solicitors website ( can't post full link as i'm a new user):  amdsolicitors.com/buying-property-without-building-regulations-consent/#:~:text=An%20insurance%20company%20may%20refuse,they%20could%20be%20structurally%20dangerous

I would say they're mistaken. There used to be a general principle that you had to disclose everything which might be relevant to insurers even if they didn't ask about it, but that no longer applies to consumer products.

But bear in mind that in any event the insured risks don't include "extension falling down because it was badly built". So you want to rely on your survey about the current condition of the extension (in the same way that you do for the rest of the house!).

rf_ldn

Thank you @user1977. I am going back to the surveyor to check in but he seemed happy originally which is good!

rf_ldn

P.S @user1977 - from another look online it appears that the home insurance issue isn't about actually get the insurance, it's about getting them to pay out if you need to claim:

Can I get buildings insurance without building regulations?

Even if you successfully arrange building insurance, in the event of a claim, your insurer could refuse to pay out because the property did not have the requisite legal approval for its construction or subsequent building works (as applicable). 

From this site: bobatoo.co.uk/blog/home-insurance-without-completion-certificate#:~:text=for%20non%2Dcompliance-,Can%20I%20get%20buildings%20insurance%20without%20building%20regulations%3F,building%20works%20(as%20applicable). 

housebuyer143

rf_ldn said:

P.S @user1977 - from another look online it appears that the home insurance issue isn't about actually get the insurance, it's about getting them to pay out if you need to claim:

Can I get buildings insurance without building regulations?

Even if you successfully arrange building insurance, in the event of a claim, your insurer could refuse to pay out because the property did not have the requisite legal approval for its construction or subsequent building works (as applicable). 

From this site: bobatoo.co.uk/blog/home-insurance-without-completion-certificate#:~:text=for%20non%2Dcompliance-,Can%20I%20get%20buildings%20insurance%20without%20building%20regulations%3F,building%20works%20(as%20applicable). 

If the extension fell down them off course they wouldn't pay out if you don't have building regs. If the house burnt to the ground they are not going to deny your claim because you didn't tell them about something they didn't even ask about when you took out the insurance

user1977

housebuyer143 said:

rf_ldn said:

P.S @user1977 - from another look online it appears that the home insurance issue isn't about actually get the insurance, it's about getting them to pay out if you need to claim:

Can I get buildings insurance without building regulations?

Even if you successfully arrange building insurance, in the event of a claim, your insurer could refuse to pay out because the property did not have the requisite legal approval for its construction or subsequent building works (as applicable). 

From this site: bobatoo.co.uk/blog/home-insurance-without-completion-certificate#:~:text=for%20non%2Dcompliance-,Can%20I%20get%20buildings%20insurance%20without%20building%20regulations%3F,building%20works%20(as%20applicable). 

If the extension fell down them off course they wouldn't pay out if you don't have building regs.

The point being that they wouldn't pay out even if it did have building regs, because it isn't the sort of thing the insurance covers in the first place.

jonnydeppiwish!

rf_ldn said:

Thanks @jonnydeppiwish! and  "@user1977"

@""jonnydeppiwish!" the sellers said the extension was completed 2003/2004.

@user1977 Thanks for this info, very useful. I read about the buildings insurance on this solicitors website ( can't post full link as i'm a new user):  amdsolicitors.com/buying-property-without-building-regulations-consent/#:~:text=An%20insurance%20company%20may%20refuse,they%20could%20be%20structurally%20dangerous 

Also good to know that the new works won't be effected. Surveyor thought everything looked safe.

That's a copy and paste from the seller's solicitor's emails, so grammar mistakes are all there's - not great! I assume they mean "works were carried out" rather than where....

Thanks both!

I’d be honest and say as long as the surveyor has no real issues with it, I’d not worry about it. Consider the house itself probably had no building regs went it was built.