Selling house extension imdemnity insurance and planning permission

itsalldrivingmemad

OK Need your guys help please.

We were just ready to exhange on our house when the buyers solicitors came to us about our extension - it was built pre 1973 so no planning permission or building regs was needed at that time. When we bought the house 3 years ago our sellers at the time but imdemnity insurnace for this and our solicitor said that was perfectly fine.

Now our buyers are not happy exceptingthis imdemnity and say thay have been told if they want to put a slanted tiled roof on (currently it is a flat roof) they have been told that they will need to get retrospective planning permission and would risk having to pull the extension down???

To me this sounds very far fetched.

The extension is a bedroom over a garage with a bit added on at the end for a larger kitchen.

Our solicitors have said we can pay to extened the imdemnity cover our sellers originally bought or purchase antother one for approx £25.00 but our buyer solicitor says that it is not worth the paper it is written on and advised our buyers to come in at a lowere price, we have already accpeted a very low offer and cannot afford to drop any further - HELP don't know who is right?

Any advice or directions to any ionfo on the net would be very much appreciated.

Doozergirl

itsalldrivingmemad wrote: »

We were just ready to exhange on our house when the buyers solicitors came to us about our extension - it was built pre 1973 so no planning permission or building regs was needed at that time. When we bought the house 3 years ago our sellers at the time but imdemnity insurnace for this and our solicitor said that was perfectly fine.

Now our buyers are not happy exceptingthis imdemnity and say thay have been told if they want to put a slanted tiled roof on (currently it is a flat roof) they have been told that they will need to get retrospective planning permission and would risk having to pull the extension down???

That's not true. After that length of time, the extension will be treated by both planning and building control as part of the original house. No retrospective anything should be needed in this case.

If they want to replace the roof then unless it's a conservation area or the house has had it's permitted development rights removed, then only building regs would be required to look over the roof. Not planning permission.

The indemnitities are worthless because there is no risk. You will never be asked to rip it down after this length of time - it was obviously made to be structurally sound.

I would contact your local council's planning department and just talk generally about a house with a 35 year old extension, probably without any consents. Make a list of questions for them.

Ask about the likelyhood of being asked to rip it down (perleese)
Ask about whether it would require retrospective planning permission
Ask about the general location of the property and what permissions, if any, would be required to change a flat roof for a pitch.

Then you might want to speak to a building control officer.

Ask them about changing the flat roof on a 35 year old extension and what sort of checks building control would need to be carried out if the roof were to be changed to a pitched one.
Ask whether after 35 years, whether retrospective building regs would be required for the existing and whether they would request that something this old be knocked down.

As an addendum, unless you want to change the look of the property, it's pretty pointless changing a flat roof to a pitched one because of the cost compared to simply replacing the flat roof. A flat roof is cheap to replace and whilst it may not last as long as a pitched one, they are still good for a long while. A pitched one will cost considerably. You would probably have rip out part of the roof on the main building to join the extension roof in for the new roof to look sensible, more bricks, roof trusses, all sorts.

I'd find out who's been feeding them this rubbish or whether they are trying to feed it to you

itsalldrivingmemad

Thanks sensible advice nice to be told that I am not going mad!!!

They are first time buyers and their solicitor seems to be spoon feeding them and scaring them.

Doozergirl

I can't believe a solicitor would spout rubbish like that

itsalldrivingmemad

No me neither - warning signals are ringing somethings not right here.....

silvercar

We replaced a leaking flat roof with a pitched one, on an extension that had been done approx 40 years earlier without PP.

We asked the council and they said no PP was required, though a build regs cert should be obtained for the work done.

Incidentally the replacement of the flat roof would have been approx 2-2.5k (including removal of asbestos sheets) and a pitched roof cost 7k including replastering. We went for the latter in order to raise the height of the room internally. Should last 30 yrs +.

itsalldrivingmemad

Thank you for your inputthere I was wondering about that but I can see the points although quite expensive.

chappers

As has been pointed out by DG and Silvercar they are talking out their ar5es, this building would only require PP if you wanted to raise the roof above the ridge line or the extension was to the front of the property.
Even if it did require planning it would only be an application to change the roof, the existing extension would now be classed as part of the main structure of the house.
As DG says any indemnity policy would be a waste of time as this extension was built outside of the timeframe for retrospective enforcement.

They are just trying to squeeze some extra cash out of you I would stand firm and just get your solicitor to reply stating your case, get him to speak to the planners as you need to confirm the legal likely hood of any enforcement, and after all legal stuff should be his speciality.

Richard_Webster

A solicitor always has to point out a possible, theoretical, risk, but I would normally emphasise that it is really very small indeed and I would give a buyer the kind of sensible advice suggested by Doozergirl about phoning up the Council and putting a hypothetical case to them.

Trouble is that now and again you get buyers who are neurotic heaps and lie in bed at night fearing that if they go ahead the Council planners/building inspectors will come round and line the family up against a wall and shoot them....

There are also stupid solicitors who won't be told about the practicalities. Yes, we often do end up with indemnity policies, but that is only because the mortgage lenders expect us to check every little theoretical risk and won't apply common sense. if anyone finds my website and looks up my Jargon Buster page there's an explanation there about "Lender Bureaucracy" which explains the point in more detail.

itsalldrivingmemad

Thanks all for the advice - I went in there guns a blazing this morning spoke to solicitor and estate agents stuck to my guns ...... got some more storeys of them that they want to turn the agrage into a living room.....said in no uncertain terms are we reducing any more.....

12.03 I have another phone call from the sols I though OMG but WHEY HEY we had exchanged!!!!

Just goes to show how some people try it on.....

Thanks for giving me the confidence in what I was saying