Solicitor doesn't believe the freeholder - Building Safety Act

Doozergirl

Count the bricks! 

Can't count it from that photo but you can either do it in person or take a better photo of the tallest part. 

Measure one brick plus mortar - will be around 75-85mm each.

Then multiply.  

Endless entertainment.  

subjecttocontract

GDB2222 said:

It’s frustrating that you can’t just buy it, but I don’t think you should assume that your solicitor is wrong and other solicitors acting for other buyers are correct. For a start, you don’t know how many sales fell through because the buyers' solicitors agreed with yours. 

But we know from this thread that the OPs solicitor is doubting the accuracy of the freeholders response based on there being 5 vertical windows/5 floors to the building. This in itself does not mean the building needs a certificate.  If that's the only element that's causing the OPs solicitor to doubt the response it's has no merit. 

The OP needs to question their solicitors position and understand what else is causing a problem. Simply disbelieving the freeholders is not sufficient.......what's the evidence......and it's not the OPs job to provide it.

user1977

Drawing excerpt from the 1988 planning application I linked to earlier. If the chimney is 27m high, how high is the ridge of the roof?

GDB2222

subjecttocontract said:

GDB2222 said:

It’s frustrating that you can’t just buy it, but I don’t think you should assume that your solicitor is wrong and other solicitors acting for other buyers are correct. For a start, you don’t know how many sales fell through because the buyers' solicitors agreed with yours. 

But we know from this thread that the OPs solicitor is doubting the accuracy of the freeholders response based on there being 5 vertical windows/5 floors to the building. This in itself does not mean the building needs a certificate.  If that's the only element that's causing the OPs solicitor to doubt the response it's has no merit. 

The OP needs to question their solicitors position and understand what else is causing a problem. Simply disbelieving the freeholders is not sufficient.......what's the evidence......and it's not the OPs job to provide it.

Maybe, the height is the issue, rather than the number of floors, but the OP still ends up with a massive problem. Maybe, you are right that the solicitor's thinking is not 100% correct, but the main thing is the final conclusion. 

The OP should not browbeat the solicitor into submission, buy the flat, and then find out the solicitor was right after all - even if for the wrong reasons. 

GDB2222

user1977 said:

Drawing excerpt from the 1988 planning application I linked to earlier. If the chimney is 27m high, how high is the ridge of the roof?

Measuring on my screen :

Roof height = 27 x 6.5 / 8.4 = 20.9m

Is there something in the regs to say the height is measured to the roof top, rather than the top of the tower? 

subjecttocontract

I wouldn't want to determine wether a building does or does not meet the certification criteria by looking at a rough sketch containing hardly any dimensions and the absence of a note confirming it's accuracy and scalability.

lis1320

Our solicitor told us that according to the Building Safety Act 2022, a qualifying building is one with 5 storeys or 11m tall. The managing company just kept saying that it was not a relevant building which was not enough info. We ended up organising a height survey, which the seller paid for. The solicitor was happy with the report and the process could finally proceed 

subjecttocontract

If that's the legal position then the OP has a problem.......the building is definitely over 11 metres.

littlemissbliss

Thanks Everyone.

As it stands i am being ignored by everyone 
No response from my solicitor or the estate agents.

I have contacted Chelmsford Council to see if they have any planning documents with the height recorded, but their records started in 1948
So i have contacted both Land Registry and Essex Records Office to see if they have these documents. 

I am thinking about drafting a serious but polite email to everyone involved just stating that if i am not given more updates and transparency then i will consider pulling out. I had to wait 2 months for the vendors to find a property and now this. I think i have been more then patient over the past 6 months. The issue is there is nothing else on the market and i am currently having to live my my parents up north while the sale goes though - which at 42 is very uncomfortable. That said, i have saved an additional 10k.

So what are we saying, that the building should have a height survey?

subjecttocontract

My take on the situation is this:-
IF the height limit is 11 metres (that's 36 feet in old money) then you have a problem. Logically you cannot fit 5 floors into a building that's 36 feet high so therefore the building exceeds 11 metres......measuring it won't change anything. Presumably if it exceeds 11 metres it needs a certificate. We suspect the freeholders dont have one. It's likely to take a considerable time for them to provide one.

It also likely means that all 400 flats on the development are currently unsaleable except to cash buyers but at a significantly reduced valuation. No one will be able to raise a mortgage if the building doesn't comply to regulations.

I suggest you talk to the e/agents & solicitor. Let's hope I'm entirely wrong.