Seller refuses Building Regs Regularisation on 2-storey extension. Solicitor says proceed, but I’m w

diuyeah

Hi everyone,

I’m currently in the process of buying a house in South England and have hit a major wall regarding Building Regulations. I’m looking for some perspective on whether I’m being too cautious or if the seller is being misleading to avoid an inspection.

The house has had several major works over the last 15 years. All have Planning Permission. However, the largest project—a two-storey rear extension and garage completed in 2016—has a Building Control record but no final inspection and no completion certificate. My survey has also identified some visible cracks in this specific extension.

We asked for the Completion Cert. The seller contacted the Council, who replied: "We are unable to issue a completion certificate as no final inspection was carried out. Due to the time elapsed, the Council has no legal basis for further action and considers the matter closed."

We then asked the seller to apply for Regularisation. The seller/solicitor replied: "The Council will not issue a regularisation certificate because of the amount of time elapsed and changes to Building Regs. They will therefore only issue the 'No Further Action' letter."

The seller has now stated they will not discuss this further.

My Questions:

1. Is Regularisation still possible? Is the seller’s claim that "time elapsed" prevents Regularisation actually true? My understanding is that you can regularise post-1985 work regardless of age.
2. Is "No Further Action" enough? The solicitor argues that since the Council closed the file, there’s no legal risk. Does this provide any actual assurance of structural safety, or is it just a "we won't fine you" letter?
3. Should I notify my Mortgage Lender? My solicitor says it’s okay to proceed and the mortgage is approved, but the lender hasn't been explicitly told there is no sign-off for a 2-storey structural build with visible cracks. Is my solicitor right to stay quiet, or should I confirm with the lender?
4. Resale and Future Work: I eventually want to put a loft conversion on top of this. Aside from safety and resale value, are there hidden risks? Would indemnity insurance even be valid if the Council has already issued a letter saying they "know" about the lack of sign-off?

I’m at the point where I might walk away, but I want to make sure I’m not overreacting to "standard" paperwork issues.

Thanks in advance!

TroubledTarts

What exactly did your survey say

My survey has also identified some visible cracks in this specific extension.

Section62

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6667948/seller-refuses-building-regs-regularisation-on-2-storey-extension-solicitor-says-proceed-but-i-m-w

Is Regularisation still possible? Is the seller’s claim that "time elapsed" prevents Regularisation actually true? My understanding is that you can regularise post-1985 work regardless of age.

You are right, the seller is wrong.

Is "No Further Action" enough? The solicitor argues that since the Council closed the file, there’s no legal risk. Does this provide any actual assurance of structural safety, or is it just a "we won't fine you" letter?

There is zero assurance of structural (or other) adequacy in a "No Further Action" letter. In fact it isn't a promise of 'no further action' as it doesn't allow for the potential for the structure to be found to be unsafe and possibly requiring action to be taken by the council to deal with this. All they are saying is they won't take enforcement action in relation to historic process-related issues, not that they won't take any action.

Should I notify my Mortgage Lender? My solicitor says it’s okay to proceed and the mortgage is approved, but the lender hasn't been explicitly told there is no sign-off for a 2-storey structural build with visible cracks. Is my solicitor right to stay quiet, or should I confirm with the lender?

In my view the solicitor is wrong to stay quiet. The lender should be made aware of the situation, particularly if the cracks are deemed to be more than just shrinkage.

It would make me concerned what the solicitor might be keeping quiet from me as well.

Resale and Future Work: I eventually want to put a loft conversion on top of this. Aside from safety and resale value, are there hidden risks? Would indemnity insurance even be valid if the Council has already issued a letter saying they "know" about the lack of sign-off?

You'd need building control signoff for the loft conversion - which might be problematic if the structure below it is of dubious quality. I don't think indemnity insurance would be relevant, unless you intended to do the loft conversion without building regs signoff either.

More generally, in my experience properties which could be described as "The house has had several major works over the last 15 years" often have issues - you may find there was additional work done which also doesn't have BR signoff, that you don't yet know about….

diuyeah

There are cracks at the joint of the extensions and the original building. The surveyor said this is likely due to settlement and looks stable now.

Herzlos

If the council considers it closed then you're fine from a legal perspective.

But I'd be much more concerned about the visible cracks and why it wasn't signed off at the time.

user1977

Dealing with one point, you do not have any obligation to volunteer the information to your lender. Their solicitor (whom I presume is also your solicitor) might do. Normally I'd have expected them to at least get indemnity insurance, but maybe they're not doing so here because such insurance is generally invalid if the council has been approached recently.

I'd be more interested in my surveyor's opinion anyway - no amount of 10 year old paperwork helps you much if there are cracks…

BikingBud

As we have cracks between an extension and the main house through which I can see daylight and following a survey which apparently now provides advice of pre-existing damage, I wish you all the best in trusting your surveyor.

Ask them to put their house on it.

MysteryMe

I am always suspicious of people who have considerable structural work undertaken and don't bother to get it signed off. These are works that are relatively recent and undertaken by the seller. It's not like it's something that happened 25 years ago by previous sellers.

I would personally move onto another property because you are going to get these exact same issues when you come to sell.

Bigphil1474

The house we bought had a double extension built in the mid 90's and a single filler extension built in 2017 (ish). Both had PP, and BR sign off. If they didn't, I would have pulled out. I wouldn't rely on the surveyors opinion on cracks, I would be asking a structural engineer. The surveyor could still be right of course.

When you say the 2 storey extension has a BC record but no final inspection, presumably they did intermediate inspections? The final inspection is usually just a sign off and here's your certificate afaik, so the key visits may have already been done. I think the vendor has misunderstood your needs. From what you say, they seem to think you are concerned about legal comeback, where I'm getting the impression you are more concerned that it was built properly? The second extension on our house wasn't signed off until 2023 as the council inspector had forgotten to do that and the vendor hadn't realised until they put their property on the market. Turns out I knew the guy who had forgotten to issue the certificate so confirmed it was legit.

I think they may be right(ish) about Regularisation - I could be wrong but my understanding was that it's only for work that hasn't been notified to BC before, whereas yours as. I still think it's worth pursuing, because somebody at the council should have noticed the work wasn't signed off.

MattMattMattUK

If you do not like the risk then walk away. Also advisable to not use AI to write your posts.

diuyeah

Thanks everyone.

I got an update building control, that they confirmed they won't do regularisation since an existing application exists, and they will not carry out a final inspection when the application is 10 years old or older. So this extension would never be signed off.

I asked my solicitor whether the lender is aware of it, and he said given it has been built over 10 years, and the risk is low, he won't notify the lender.