Where can I buy an indemnity policy from for decking in garden

mallen

Currently selling a property that has decking over 10 years old which is above 30cm. I have lived here for 5 years and didnt get an indemnity policy when I purchased. The buyers solicitors are now asking for one. Anywhere online I can get quotes for this?

user1977

Is there a reason you’re trying to buy one yourself? Usually the solicitors sort it out.

ThisIsWeird

Surely any possible retro planning enforcement has looong since elapsed?

mallen

No reason I am trying to buy one myself, just thought if I could find a couple of quotes online I could potentially save money..

loubel

You won't be able to buy this yourself. Let the solicitors deal with it - although for ten year old decking I'd suggest that the buyer should be paying for this anyway. Presumably the decking is coming to the end of its life after ten years (based on my own experience of decking in gardens) so they can apply for and comply with Building Regs when they replace it.

FreeBear

loubel said: Presumably the decking is coming to the end of its life after ten years (based on my own experience of decking in gardens) so they can apply for and comply with Building Regs when they replace it.

Anything over 300mm above the ground is a planning issue - Building Control is unlikely to get involved unless it is considerably higher and needs guard rails.

ProDave

Solve the issue by applying for a certificate of lawful development from the council. That is basically an acknowledgement that you got away with it for long enough that no enforcement action can be taken.

I would have done that before marketing the house as it may take a while.

ThisIsWeird

This is almost certainly a non-issue. You can presumably demonstrate that the decking is around 10 years old?

I cannot think of any circumstance whatsoever where Planning would or could take action on this, and if they tried, they'd surely fail (which is why they won't even try, even if they wanted to - which they won't). It just won't happen.

Have a chat with your conveyancer, and assuming they agree with the above, ask them to inform the buyer's solicitor to be sensible. If their client really wants an indemnity policy to hug to their chest, then they can go ahead and sort that themselves.

There - how much saving is that?!

(Of course, if they stupidly insist, then you need to decide whether to capitulate to keep the sale...)

loubel

FreeBear said:

loubel said: Presumably the decking is coming to the end of its life after ten years (based on my own experience of decking in gardens) so they can apply for and comply with Building Regs when they replace it.

Anything over 300mm above the ground is a planning issue - Building Control is unlikely to get involved unless it is considerably higher and needs guard rails.

Planners aren't going to be interested in ten+ year old garden decking either. Applying for a certificate of lawful use for an aged deck seems a bit overkill. If the buyer wants a comfort policy they can pay for one. 

I'm assuming we are just talking about common garden decking providing access to the back door? If we're actually talking about a massive structure looking out over the neighbour's gardens I might change my answer...

user1977

ProDave said:

Solve the issue by applying for a certificate of lawful development from the council. That is basically an acknowledgement that you got away with it for long enough that no enforcement action can be taken.

I would have done that before marketing the house as it may take a while.

Well, quite - it only solves the issue after you get the certificate, and as soon as you contact the council you rule out getting an (enforceable) indemnity policy. It's probably not an issue worth everybody twiddling their thumbs for.

Tiglet2

Indemnity policy providers deal directly with solicitors, not with individual clients, so you won't be able to compare quotes, let alone pick one that suits your budget.