Selling - Can;t get Building Control Certificate for old works (>10 years)

Moobathon

Hi Everyone,

A few different moving parts here so very grateful for any suggestions / out of the box ideas.

We're selling our house - conveyancing has thrown up we didn't get a BC completion certificate for an extension we did 11 years ago (dunno why - we simply forgot to chase up). Lacking a certificate, it turns out it would have been simple to get an indemnity but in our innocence we contacted the council to get the cert - and you can't get indemnity if you've contacted the council. We involved BC throughout the works 11 years ago - and as far as we knew the whole process was complete and just awaited final sign off. But it seems their records are in a mess - they can see the original application but little more. So effectively we're back at square one and have to prove the whole shebang - roof structure / underfloor structure etc etc. In fact worse than square one cos a lot of these things now have finishes on top of them.

The council provided a list of what would need checking - we could answer some points - others we got from the architect - but the builder no longer exists. Council visited last month, which threw up additional items - particular fire issues which have become much more pressing post-grenfell. Communication with them is very difficult - we have had several conflicting lists of items to resolve, and every time we reply / ask additional questions they take weeks (or months) to get back.

Does anyone have a suggestion of ways forward? Getting completion certificate from the council is proving very laborious and time consuming. If we can just agree a set of works / processes we could bite the bullet and pay - but we still haven't got to that point (after 4 months). Alternatively is there any other route. As far as we know our buyers have no concerns with the structure or anything else.The issue is the lender which requires either a certificate or indemnity. I believe this is to counter any possibility of the council requirement enforcement works - but my understanding is this is quite unlikely - if not impossible given how long it takes them to do anything?..

Thanks

WIAWSNB

Very frustrating.

Any chance the BCO you used still works there? And do you have any record of the visits that were carried out - I'd imagine one at foundation, stage, possibly walls built, and certainly before the roof construction was covered. There should be records of these visits, and that would then only require the 'completion' visit.

I've been there - loft conversion which was my job to complete internally. Neglected to contact BC until fairly recently, and new BCO - who knew the old one (now with an office job) - pointed out a couple of minor things to do, and passed it.

Your issue appears mainly down to their record keeping. Perhaps time to 'reluctantly' escalate ("I really don't want to do this, but..."), perhaps after getting a local councillor onside too?

But get everything you do know written down first - any dates of recalled visits, the stages, etc. Were you given cards to prompt when to call the BCO out at each stage?

Moobathon

Many thanks for getting back @WIAWSNB - all good points. Unfortunately all the BCOs involved in our project (4 of them!) have since left and are apparently uncontactable. BC suggested it should be possible for IT to access their former email accounts but this hasn't happened (in four months - no explanation why). We're in the process of escalating as you suggest.

mills112

not sure if this will help, but there is this 10 year rule?

Building Regulations (10-Year Rule):

 As of October 1, 2023, local authorities can serve a Section 36 notice to remove or alter non-compliant work up to 10 years after completion. At 11 years, this protection also generally applies.

Bigphil1474

OP, even if they can't access their emails, they should have records of site visits on some sort of system showing every action from first application. Do you have a reference number, as these are normally computer generated? I work for a council and do have access to BC records even though I don't work in that department, and can look at records going back nearly 50 years. I'd be definitely making a formal complaint if I were you.