Lees Solicitors - Lack of Building Regulations - Beware! - Tania Coventry

Residential Conveyancing News

Lack of Building Regulations - Beware! - Tania Coventry


Lack of Building Regulations - Beware! - Tania Coventry

All too often a buyer is confronted with the scenario where work has been done to a property, which would have required Building Regulations Approval, and on raising enquiries / carrying out searches it becomes clear that no such approval has ever been obtained.

Frequently indemnity insurance is looked upon as a solution for perfecting the property's title on completion. However, before agreeing that indemnity insurance is the answer to a potential problem, please consider the following case scenario:

"My client was purchasing a house for her and her young family without mortgage finance. The house was built in the 1940s and it was clear from her viewing of the property that there had been substantial alterations made to the property over time. The sellers also confirmed within the property information form that alterations had been made to the property, however, they were done prior to their ownership and they had little knowledge. All that was known was that the work was carried out in the 1980s. A Home Buyers survey was carried out and this revealed that, amongst other work, certain structural work had been carried out involving the removal of a feature of the property. The surveyor who did the survey was unable to establish if any structural supports had been put in place on removal of the feature in question.

The local search result was received and, despite further searches, no Building Regulation Approval could be traced. The sellers were not prepared to assist further or obtain retrospective consent from the Local Authority.

I advised my client that the primary purpose of building regulations was to preserve the health and safety of those who occupy or use the property and without the necessary approval she could not be certain that the work had been carried out to meet building standards at the time. I explained to my client that whilst indemnity insurance would cover her in the event that enforcement action was taken, it would not provide her with the comfort she required which was to ensure that the property was safe for her family to live in. My client was very concerned about this and obtained a structural engineer's report which revealed her worst fears - there was insufficient support in place where a load bearing feature had been removed and the wall above it was unstable. My client then, armed with this knowledge, was able to agree a suitable reduction in price to enable the necessary remediation work to be carried out."

The above case goes far in highlighting the importance of a client receiving correct legal advice when faced with a property where Building Regulations Approval is lacking. Indemnity Insurance should not be the only solution and a client should be armed with the full facts to enable them to make the right decision.

If you would like advice on the process involved in buying or selling a home please speak to a member of our Business & Property Services Team on 0151 647 9381, 0151 342 6273 or 0151 625 9364.

Tania Coventry

 


This article provides a summary of a recent case/change in law/news item. It is intended for general information purposes only and is not to be relied upon. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated under any circumstances as a substitute for legal advice. Lees Solicitors LLP does not accept any responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance upon the information contained within this article. The copyright in this article is owned by Lees Solicitors LLP and permission must be sought before reproduction or publishing.


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