Further to my other discussion (see "No planning permission or building regs - to buy or not to buy"), we have now been to the council to search all the records for the house we want to buy.
Alas, there is no record of any permissions or building checks for the adaptations and extensions to the house.
Yet, the original owners who had the work done are absolutely adamant that they had permission and that an inspector from the council came out to the property!
Anyone got any ideas about how to locate the records that apparently should exist????? The extension etc were done a while ago in the late 70's.
smudger, as sks said on the other thread, you can't apply retrospectively for an extension done before November 1985.
sks, why are you looking for them? You said in your previous post that the council cannot make you revert the property back, so in your own words you will be absolutely fine.
sks, why are you looking for them? You said in your previous post that the council cannot make you revert the property back, so in your own words you will be absolutely fine.[/QUOTE]
My boyfriend is quite concerned about the resale side of things, as even though the house may be safe, without evidence of the correct building regs etc, he thinks a lot of potential buyers will be put off, and we could end up with the house on the market for ages. We are first time buyers, and don't plan to be in this house for too many years, as we want to make some money and move up the ladder. p.s. Thanks for putting smudger into the picture
I assume you are talking about the lack of any proof of Building Regulations - I would write to that section of the Council, explain your situation, and ask them to put in writing that the works done to your property would be exempt from any future action by the Council.
If its a lack of planning permission, generally speaking once works have been completed for more than 4 years, they become exemp from any Enforcement Action, so you are ok in this respect. Again, the planning department should b able to confirm this in writing so that you could pass this on to future buyers.
Has your solicitor absolutely checked the hosue deeds? I only ask as one of our sales fell through for the same reason. Then when c**tryw*d* mistakenly sent the house deeds to me - instead of to the mortgage company- I found the planning permission simply by flicking through the paperwork....
[QUOTE]Originally posted by planner: I assume you are talking about the lack of any proof of Building Regulations - I would write to that section of the Council, explain your situation, and ask them to put in writing that the works done to your property would be exempt from any future action by the Council.
Thanks, but as I wrote in my other discussion (see elsewhere in forum), I am aware that the council are now unable to ask for the property to be reverted, as the adaptations are now outside the enforcement period. Our biggest concern is the potential loss of future buyers as they may want to see paperwork which confirms that the building was done to the expected standard.
[QUOTE]Originally posted by decca: Has your solicitor absolutely checked the hosue deeds?
That's very intersting, thanks. As far as I know they have been thoroughly checked, as I asked our solicitor to double check them to find the date of the building work to aid us in finding the lost permissions. As yet no joy, but I am now applying for an extended search into the planning regs, at a cost of £35.
Your solicitor can obtain an indemnity insurance against action by the Building Control Dept. I would suggest an independant survey to ascertain whether there are any problems with the extension. It is my understanding that there is no time limit relating to enforcement under Building Regs although it is unlikely that action would be taken becasue they haven't the time to go round checking for breaches. If the vendors say they have consent they must prove it. It is not unknown for papers to go missing at Local Authority offices though.
Your solicitor can obtain an indemnity insurance against action by the Building Control Dept.
Thanks for your comments. As I mentioned in my other post, the adaptations are outside the enforcement period for both planning and building regs (which by the way is within 4 or 10 years). Therefore indemnity insurance, as I see it, would be worthless!
