Building notice for Replacement Windows

[colinbaisden]

Hi,

I plan to replace windows in my house room by room as I go round redecorating /overhauling them. This means there could be 6 months or more between each window replacement (some need plenty of work and like a break to get on with life between projects!). Submitting a building notice for each replacement window make it expensive (=A390 a go in my area) so I wondered if ayone could tell me if there is an expiry period of such notices allowing me to cover more than one window in a submission? or does it vary from council to council?

Cheers,

[EricP]

Are they likely to notice?

[colinbaisden]

When I go to sell the house a solicitor for the would-be buyers will ask to ensure they have building regs certification - could do without that hassle

[Cicero]

=============================== Confirm with your supplier that the windows comply with regulations and then do the work at your leisure. When complete apply for a 'Regularisation Certificate' which is effectively a retrospective application for permission.

Check details of 'Regularisation' with your local council.

Cic.

[Tim S]

Doubt they'll care if you tell them to take it or leave it...

Now, IIRC, once a building notice has been received by the council, work must be started withing a certain time frame (6 months???). I have been told by a BCO over the phone that there is no legal requirement to complete the job in any amount of time.

So BNA for the whole job, start the first one then you can take 100 years to finish if you want.

Not sure what happens if the regs get "upped" during that time though.

Tim

[Owain]

I think there is an expiry date, but it will be in the order of years rather than months - even a small house build is likely to last ~10 months using 'traditional' methods.

I've checked several council websites and none mention a deadline.

Owain

[Owain]

I think there's a grace period during which work already can be completed to the former regulations; if it runs over that then the new regs apply.

Owain

[chris French]

There is always someone. We had the buyers solicitors going on about building regs for a 30 year old carport that didn't need them anyway.

No it didn't stop the sale of the house, but it was yet another thing to slow things down.

[Ben Blaukopf]

My solicitor (when I was buying) was querying planning permissions for various stuff built >10years ago. I argued it made no difference, because after 10 years no enforcement can be made. She argued that the mortgage company still cared, and that she was acting for them as well as me. Bah. But she was happy to accept my estimates of size as indicating that it didn't need pp, so I think that was a more a case of "needed to be seen as acting for the mortgage company".

Ben

[Ben Blaukopf]

Work needs to start within 2 years for my current buildings notice [1] No expiry after that that I'm aware of.

[1] Which I'm assuming means 'have the BCO come round to inspect something'. Plenty of work has been done, but nothing is *quite* ready for inspection yet. Will be real soon now. I've got 7 months left...

[colinbaisden]

Thanks for all the replies. Think I'll put a building notce in and let them wait until I'm done, they'll be bored by then anyhow!

[Bypass]

A Building Notice allows you to start the work in advance of giving any details to the Local Authority for approval. By this method you proceed at risk. And I would go so far as to say, that if the Building Regulations changed before you finished the job, then you might very well find yourself in the position that the completed work, at the time of change, is no longer compliant. Consequently, the Building Notice route is best placed for works of short duration or of an urgent nature.

By far the safest solution is to make a Full Plans Submission and once that application is approved, you should be able to proceed with the work at your leisure.

As with all these things, you should always take the opportunity of discussing your project with the LABC. Now that there is real competition in BR services, you should find them to be quite helpful.

[The Natural Philosopher]

All you need is a FENSA certificate.

You can pretty much get that from the DG suppliers.

I am still under mine 7 yeares later...

The regs that apply are the regs when you applied.

I am still working to 2000 regs.

[Tim]

Most interesting - didn;t know you could do that.

Way to go :)

That's also useful knowledge.

Ta,

Tim

[Hugo Nebula]

On 17 Apr 2007 11:31:23 -0700, a particular chimpanzee, [e-mail] randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

Work must commence within three years of submitting the notice, otherwise it's null & void (& you don't get your money back).

Once work has been commenced and been notified to the Council (and inspected so that it can be recorded as such), then there is no limit on how long it can take before completion.

Some changes in Regulations have Transitional Provisions that apply the new Requirements to existing applications, but up to now they have never applied to work already commenced, and never applied retrospectively (ie, requiring work already carried out to be upgraded).

The Building Regulations apply across the whole of England & Wales (Scotland & NI have their own Regs), so they are the same from Council to Council.

[Hugo Nebula]

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 10:14:37 +0100, a particular chimpanzee, Tim randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

No you can't. FENSA applies to the installers, not the windows.

[Hugo Nebula]

On Wed, 18 Apr 2007 09:49:54 +0100, a particular chimpanzee, The Natural Philosopher randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

As is everyone else. The current Building Regulations came out in

2000, and were in effect from January 2001. There have, of course, been several amendments since, but the underlying legal Regulations are the 2000 ones.

[Stuart Noble]

Seems slightly crazy when it's only the windows that have to comply. AFAIK nobody inspects the installation so the manufacturer should be able to to self-certify that they have supplied compliant windows.

[Andrew Mawson]

....mmmm .... I seem to remember in the recesses of my mind that one of the requirements of a FENSA installer is that they check that the old frames were in no way structural, as is sometimes the case in Victorian terraces.

AWEM

[Bypass]

I wonder, what do you do for a living?