Building regulation certificate missing

HouseHuntingAmy

House-hunting FTB here so take this as fellow-buyer thinking rather than advice - your solicitor will have the proper view. One thing that might untangle the sellers' position: permitted development and Building Regs are two completly separate regimes. PD only means planning permission wasn't needed; it says nothing about whether the structure was inspected and signed off. Sellers often say it didn't need permission as if that covers everything, and it doesn't.

Practical route I'd ask my solicitor about: either the seller applies for regularisation (retrospective sign-off from building control, opening up what's needed), or the seller pays for an indemnity policy against enforcement. Both are their cost to bear, not yours - the missing certificate is their problem to cure before you take it on. And worth asking your lender early too, since some are picky about uncertified works and it's better to know now than at mortgage offer stage.

The single-storey scale works in your favour as others have said, but the principle stands: you want the paper trail sorted, or priced, before exchange.

stuart45

There's 3 main issues buying a property that's had an extension built without Building regs.

The most important one is that the question of whether the works were done properly, especially the foundations.

The second is that you might encounter the same problems with a buyer when you come to sell.

The least important for an extension built in 2020, is that the council apply to the High Court for enforcement. This is highly unlikely, as the time limit has passed for normal enforcement. This is the only thing that an indemnity policy will cover for, and they are normally relatively cheap as the insurance companies know there's little chance of it being used.

janders4

Worth knowing that permitted development only covers planning permission; Building Regulations are a separate set of rules. A single-storey rear extension is building work, so building control should have been given a building notice or full plans before it started, and once satisfied at the end it issues a completion certificate. The only exemption is narrow: a conservatory or covered way at ground level of no more than 30 square metres, and a glazed one only if it has safety glazing. So unless the extension is that kind of small conservatory, a certificate would normally be expected. Note that is the national rules for England as they stand now, and only building control can confirm what applied to this extension, so it is worth asking the sellers and the council's building control whether one was ever issued before you go further.

[Removed by Forum Team]

(I help build that site.)

FreeBear

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82173252#Comment_82173252

Asking the council or BC about this specific extension is not recommended. Doing so would scupper any chance of getting indemnity insurance. The correct way would be to ask the council what records they have for the property in question. Keep it a broad & general request without mentioning specific changes.

(I also build "stuff".)