Chimney removal certificate

raminahmadi

Hi all,

I’m a first-time buyer and would really appreciate some real-world advice from people who’ve been in a similar situation.

We’re in the process of buying a semi-detached house in London. A survey has just been carried out, and it’s confirmed that the chimney has been removed on all floors. The seller says this was done around 2019 and supported using gallows brackets.

I contacted the local council’s Building Control directly, and they’ve confirmed that the only Building Regulations application on record is for a different piece of work (removal of a wall). There is no Building Regs approval or completion certificate recorded for the chimney removal.

The estate agent is saying this is very common and is suggesting a Building Regulations indemnity policy, pointing out that enforcement action is unlikely given the age of the work. However, my concern isn’t really enforcement — it’s:

• lack of independent sign-off on a structural alteration,
• potential issues with lenders/solicitors,
• and the risk this comes back up again when we sell in future.

At this stage the seller:

• can’t find any Building Regs paperwork,
• hasn’t offered retrospective approval,
• and is pushing indemnity as the solution.

For those who’ve been through this:

• Did you proceed with indemnity only, and how did it work out?
• Did lenders/solicitors accept it without issue?
• Did anyone push for regularisation or a price reduction instead?
• Any regrets (or reassurance!) a few years down the line?

I know there’s no single right answer — just trying to understand how others handled the risk in practice.

Thanks in advance.

theartfullodger

Do you do the lottery? Another gamble but much longer odds …

user1977

I contacted the local council’s Building Control directly

Did you seek legal advice before doing so? You've now ruled out indemnity insurance as a solution, as they don't cover situations where you've recently "tipped off" the council about a potential breach.

Section62

We’re in the process of buying a semi-detached house in London. A survey has just been carried out, and it’s confirmed that the chimney has been removed on all floors. The seller says this was done around 2019 and supported using gallows brackets.

By 2019 many local authorities no longer accepted gallows brackets as suitable…. this could be why the builder/owner opted out of getting building control signoff.

My main concern in a situation like this is whether the chimney is adequately supported and if the party wall still has adequate lateral stability. You'd need a structural engineer to investigate and confirm.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6656273/chimney-removal-certificate

Indemnity Insurance is there for if matters are unclear, you now know there is no buildings regs so insurers won't touch it unless you are willing to commit fraud and claim you dont know.

You need to be guided by your lawyer, not an estate agent, bloke down the pub or person on a forum. There are many important things that need to be done correctly and you can innocently mess them up if you dont know what you are doing.

I'm no lawyer but nearly had a real mess on massive deal once because someone in Ops told people to go looking for data errors because the contract said we had told them about all the data errors we know about. It didnt say we had run an extra search or promising there were none.

Albermarle

However, my concern isn’t really enforcement — it’s:

• lack of independent sign-off on a structural alteration,
• potential issues with lenders/solicitors,
• and the risk this comes back up again when we sell in future.

Plus the risk that one day the chimney might fall on your head !

As already mentioned you need a professional to go have a proper look at it and they may well recommend expensive remedial work. What did your survey actually say ?

lincroft1710

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81892831#Comment_81892831

Either follow the advice in the final sentence or walk away

Section62

MyRealNameToo said:

Indemnity Insurance is there for if matters are unclear, you now know there is no buildings regs so insurers won't touch it unless you are willing to commit fraud and claim you dont know.

In a case like this the unknown is whether the council might take enforcement action for lack of BC signoff. In this specific case, the risk of enforcement action might be deemed higher now the council is aware of it, albeit the normal time limit for enforcement has passed.

You need to be guided by your lawyer, not an estate agent, bloke down the pub or person on a forum. There are many important things that need to be done correctly and you can innocently mess them up if you dont know what you are doing.

I wouldn't completely disagree with the advice to be guided by a solicitor, but in this situation they are likely to limit their advice to getting an indemnity policy (if possible) to tick a box, whereas a person on a forum might point out that the structural safety of the building is really more of a concern than box ticking, and a structural engineer's report saying the chimney (and related structure) is safe (or not) would be of more value than an indemnity policy which is unlikely to ever be claimed on.

MyRealNameToo

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81892899#Comment_81892899

https://www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/landlord-insurance/building-regulations-indemnity-insurance/

It doesn’t cover:

• the cost of correcting or repairing the work
• new building projects – only past, completed work
• situations where you’ve already contacted the council about the work (which invalidates eligibility)

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81892918#Comment_81892918

Yes, you said:

Indemnity Insurance is there for if matters are unclear, you now know there is no buildings regs so insurers won't touch it unless you are willing to commit fraud and claim you dont know.

That is incorrect, because knowing there is no building control signoff doesn't preclude getting an indemnity policy. This is because the unknown factor being insured against is whether enfocrement action might be taken.

In the OP's case the contact with the council is likely to make them ineligible for an indemnity policy due to that contact, not because they know there is a lack of building control signoff.

doodling

Hi,

The real issue here is one of safety. If a structural engineer says it is safe then the odds are you will be able to get retrospective approval for it (although I would ask the structural engineer both questions - is it safe? could I get retrospective approval?).

If a structural engineer cannot confirm that it is safe then I would be cautious about sleeping under it - that may make the house unappealing as a place to live. The question then is how much would it cost to get to a point where a structural engineer is happy.

Indemnity policies are generally a distraction in cases like this - they won't stop a couple of tonnes of brick killing you in your bed. The only benefit is if you need one to make a mortgage company happy so that you can buy the house and then get work done to resolve the issue.