Nationwide refusing to lend due to lack of building reg cert
Discussion
Hi all,
We offered on a property we are really quite fond of in June.
During the conveyancing process, it has transpired that there were extension/alteration works in 2003 and 2005 for which planning was obtained, however there is no record of building control sign off/ completion certificate.
On this basis, Nationwide have refused to lend on the property unless a 'regularisation' is conducted - essentially a retrospective sign off.
Has anyone been in this position? How invasive is a regularisation process and is it likely the sellers will agree to it?
Is it worth switching lenders as it seems Nationwide are more sensitive to this kind of thing?
We really like the property and are relatively comfortable that the works have been conducted to a high standard.
Thanks
We offered on a property we are really quite fond of in June.
During the conveyancing process, it has transpired that there were extension/alteration works in 2003 and 2005 for which planning was obtained, however there is no record of building control sign off/ completion certificate.
On this basis, Nationwide have refused to lend on the property unless a 'regularisation' is conducted - essentially a retrospective sign off.
Has anyone been in this position? How invasive is a regularisation process and is it likely the sellers will agree to it?
Is it worth switching lenders as it seems Nationwide are more sensitive to this kind of thing?
We really like the property and are relatively comfortable that the works have been conducted to a high standard.
Thanks
We bought our last house in 2016, there was a rear extension with no paperwork at all. The seller said it was done prior to them buying in 2004. No planning, no building regs, nothing. Nationwide lent to us without problem, and whoever our buyer used for their mortgage when we sold last month did the same.
Worst case scenario, get sellers to pay for indemnity insurance, it's a trivial cost for them.
Worst case scenario, get sellers to pay for indemnity insurance, it's a trivial cost for them.
skinnyman said:
We bought our last house in 2016, there was a rear extension with no paperwork at all. The seller said it was done prior to them buying in 2004. No planning, no building regs, nothing. Nationwide lent to us without problem, and whoever our buyer used for their mortgage when we sold last month did the same.
Worst case scenario, get sellers to pay for indemnity insurance, it's a trivial cost for them.
This is almost exactly what happened when we sold our house a couple of years ago. I can't recall how much it cost for the indemnity, but it was peanuts in the scheme of things.Worst case scenario, get sellers to pay for indemnity insurance, it's a trivial cost for them.
Jaska said:
Little Lofty said:
Is you insurance company ok with this?
To avoid the OP worrying in case this is a serious question.Yes, they are OK with it. 'No certificates' isn't the same as something being poorly constructed or maintained...
Great if yours will pay out regardless, but obviously not all insurance companies are the same.
Building regs are a legal requirement, they aren’t optional.
https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...
Edited by Little Lofty on Friday 6th September 22:58
Edited by Little Lofty on Friday 6th September 22:58
The days of buying insurance instead of complying with the law are coming to an end.
The building act was revised at the end of last year considerably extending the time limit for prosecutions in relation to contravention of the regulations which includes failure to submit an application. For the first time now this includes custodial sentences for the worst offences rather than just a fine.
Mortgage lenders are understandably becoming more cautions of this as an insurance policy does not offer protection against criminal liability.
The building act was revised at the end of last year considerably extending the time limit for prosecutions in relation to contravention of the regulations which includes failure to submit an application. For the first time now this includes custodial sentences for the worst offences rather than just a fine.
Mortgage lenders are understandably becoming more cautions of this as an insurance policy does not offer protection against criminal liability.
( me ) I had to get regularisation from building control on an extension on my house which was constructed without building controls involvement. They looked very seriously into the construction and found several significant problems. It cost £10s of thousands to rectify which was an expensive lesson to me not to believe cowboy builders
I've had experience of this. We had to submit an application to the local council who came out, had one quick look (removal of a non load bearing wall / partition - which didn't even need building regs, but thats another completely non-sensical situation we found ourselves in due to buyers surveyor) didn't do anything invasive and said 'yeah, I'll sort you a certificate' and that was that.
I think that once you notify building control / the council of a contravention (which you would do through the regularisation application) then you can no longer purchase an indemnity policy.
It might be easier to try a new lender if you're not that bothered about the paperwork?
I think that once you notify building control / the council of a contravention (which you would do through the regularisation application) then you can no longer purchase an indemnity policy.
It might be easier to try a new lender if you're not that bothered about the paperwork?
stinkyspanner said:
I had to get regularisation from building control on an extension on my house which was constructed without building controls involvement. They looked very seriously into the construction and found several significant problems. It cost £10s of thousands to rectify which was an expensive lesson to me not to believe cowboy builders
Most unlawful loft conversions I come across are the same, it’s usually cheaper and easier to rip it all out and start again, which is exactly what I've just done to this one, the floor was decent ish but not fully supported, restraints had been removed from the truss, the insulation was 30 years out of date, the stairs were a death trap and it had zero fire proofing, it had 12 double sockets fitted and dozens of lights, it certainly wasn’t used for storage.The second photo is how it looks today.The guy who does my structural calcs (he was designing the loft in the photo) and I were just discussing how the regs have changed recently and agreed its long overdue, (but still not strict enough) We both remember a local case where two teenage girls were trapped in an unlawful loft during a house fire, both died as a result. I don’t understand why so many swerve them when they are there to protect you and your property, the cost is peanuts in the scheme of things. I’ll probably spend £100k on this house, building regs will cost me less than £1k, its a no brainer.
DIY loft disaster
.
For what it's worth, online I can see INITIAL building control permissions and MRICS architect plans for the work so I don't think it's a bodge, more likely procedural deviation and admin slip up.
Does anyone know how invasive a retrospective building control regularisation is likely to be for a first floor extension?
Does anyone know how invasive a retrospective building control regularisation is likely to be for a first floor extension?
j4ck100 said:
Does anyone know how invasive a retrospective building control regularisation is likely to be for a first floor extension?
It depends how easily the seller can evidence to building control how the works that have been covered up without inspection complies with the regulations.If they can’t show this such as by very clear and detailed photographs showing every stage of the works and/or inspection reports from their architect and engineer if they were contracted to oversee the building works then there’s going to need to be some opening up.
OK so a good update here - called the local council building control and very helpfully they have advised that on both projects they have detailed records all the way through (have seen foundation, steels, calcs etc) , just they were never called out to issue final certs. So they have confirmed they can visit the property and for ~£75 issue final cert. Phew!
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff