Window company registered project with FENSA and no certificate was issued

MarktheHarp

I’m not sure where to go with this!

Had a window company install 20 replacement windows, 2 French doors and one exterior door in 2022 (not the entire house, but a biggish job - total £30k) and they registered the project with FENSA on completion in Feb 2022. I was looking through the paperwork for an impending EPC inspection (I’m selling soon) and after the assessor asked me in advance if I had certification for the job, I realised FENSA never issued the certificate.

Window company is no longer a member of FENSA and window company has pointed me at indemnity insurance and say they will reimburse me for it. Their email:

“After management looking into this there was an error in the registration by FENSA to registering this, and now with the time elapsed, we are unable to get FENSA to cover this.

Management have advised if you take out ‘countrywide building regulation indemnity’ we will reimburse the cost if you send an invoice to us.”

But I don’t know if this is exactly equivalent of what FENSA should have done in the first place. And what are the consequences of accepting this situation and doing as they suggest? Is theirs an acceptable response? Do I have any better options or is this the best I can accept given the circumstances? Where would I stand with the guarantee, or is this something that I need to question the company about separately? They came back to do the odd repair / adjustment but the job was very good, so I’m not concerned about the quality of the work – at least from what I can see.

Grumpy_chap

Have you looked on the FENSA website? If the installation was registered with FENSA at the time, it is easy to obtain a copy certificate.

Alternatively, the indemnity insurance that the window company are offering seems a pragmatic way forward. Ask your Conveyancing Solicitor if the Buyer will accept that in lieu of the FENSA certificate. Indemnity policies are common in the house buying process.

Aylesbury_Duck

I would have thought that the indemnity insurance is the best, and only, route available. It's then up to your buyers as to whether they're happy with that or not.

user1977

As I understand it, FENSA certificate simply certifies that the windows comply with building regulations - but isn't essential in order for compliance. Whereas an indemnity policy covers the risk of building control trying to enforce a breach of building regulations - which is immensely unlikely to happen, especially if there isn't a breach!

Unless there's a serious concern that the windows do not in fact comply with building regs, I would expect the indemnity policy to be accepted.

eddddy

MarktheHarp said

Window company registered project with FENSA and no certificate was issued

Just to clarify, it sounds like the window replacement wasn't registered with FENSA at all. If it had been registered, you could obtain a copy certificate from FENSA for £25.

MarktheHarp said

I was looking through the paperwork for an impending EPC inspection (I’m selling soon) and after the assessor asked me in advance if I had certification for the job

Indemnity insurance will be of no interest to the EPC assessor.

My understanding is that the EPC assessor wants to know when the windows were installed, and whether they met building regulation thermal insulation requirements on the installation date.

• If they are relatively new, they will have the highest thermal insulation - so will add a few points to your EPC score
• If they are older, they'll probably have lower thermal insulation - so will drop a few points off your EPC score
• If they didn't meet building regulation thermal insulation requirements when they were installed - they'll drop a few more points off your EPC score

A dated FENSA certificate would answer all those questions.

Instead, the EPC assessor might inspect the windows for date stamps, or you could try showing them paperwork from the installation company.

But those few points might not make any difference to your EPC grade anyway.

But indemnity insurance will probably be relevant when you eventually sell your house.

In simple terms, you buyer's mortgage lender will probably insist that there is indemnity insurance.

But the lack of a FENSA certificate might make some buyers nervous. The FENSA certificate is evidence that the windows were installed by a competent installer, and they met building regulations at that time. Without a FENSA certificate, the buyers might worry that the windows might be substandard, and/or installed by 'cowboys'.

Again, showing the buyers paperwork from the installation company might reassure the buyers.

And/or showing the buyers a letter from the installation company, confirming that they were FENSA members at the time and that the installation met FENSA standards - but due to an admin error, they failed to register the installation with FENSA.