Building regs/Indemnity insurance

Minstadave

Minstadave

Minstadave

Caporegime
Joined
8 Jan 2004
Posts
32,582
Location
Rutland
Currently buying our first house and an issue has come up.

The house was originally built with an internal garage. The current buyer has modified the house by:

Converting half the garage into a utility room/toilet, moving a supporting wall
Adding a wood burning fire and modifying the chimney
Replacing the windows

None of this work has building regulations sign off, which our surveyor has flagged up.

The vendor has taken out indemnity insurance which I understand only really covers the unlikely possibility of the council telling you to put it back the way it was.

I'm not sure how significant this is? Anyone know? I'm not sure whether to:

- accept as is
- ask the vendor to seek retrospective approval (involving pulling the plaster off the moved supporting wall and any remedial action)
- renegotiate the original price based on this
 
Last edited:
Minstadave said:
I'm not sure how significant this is? Anyone know? I'm not sure whether to:

- accept as is
- ask the vendor to seek retrospective approval (involving pulling the plaster off the moved supporting wall and any remedial action)
- renegotiate the original price based on this
Click to expand...


Certainly wouldn't accept it, neither would I renegotiate on the price.

Get the vendor to get retrospective approval & make good the work needed to obtain it.
You have no idea what wasn't built to code, what bodges were done, could cost thousands to correct any faults.

And I've seen some really bad conversions done without planning permission over the years, missing supporting steel work, lintels, beams barely supported,etc,etc.
 
Last edited:
personally I would never accept any house which didn't have the proper building regulation approval (have dealt with clients who have needed retrospective approval so they can sell their property through my work though)
 
Thanks guys, helpful advice, the seller keeps telling me it's fine, but I'm unconvinced and don't want to have to struggle with the same issues again at sale time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom