Building Regs revisited

[David]

Following on from the previous thread the whole thing looks to be a confused mess.

(1) Some sources say that BC cannot take enforcement action after 12 months have elapsed.

(2) Other sources say that an indemnity policy can be taken out to cover any costs the purchaser may incur due to lack of Building Regs approval. The kicker on this is that the policy is invalidated if anyone asks the council about BR approval.

I can understand that they wouldn't want to issue a policy if someone had asked the council about BR and established that it hadn't been given because this would be an invitation for the council to inspect, with a strong belief that costs would be incurred against the policy.

However this could be even more complicated if a 3d party enquired about BR approval (not unreasonable if more than one person is interested in purchasing a house). An enquiry could have been made without the vendor or purchaser knowing. Where does the policy stand then?

Anyway, most Internet sources suggest that there are loads of properties without BR approval and BC may not be too keen to know about it.

Cheers

Dave R

[Muddymike]

We had an extension built 12 years ago by a local trusted builder. On getting the documents together as we are now selling the house I couldn't find the final inspection and approval documents. On enquiring with the local BC office I was told it had never been signed off so they wanted £120 to come out and inspect! My builder insisted it had so I challenged it with the head of department (very nice guy) who agreed to have the archives searched for the original paperwork. A week later he called back to say there was no original paperwork so would reinspect for no charge.

Inspector turns up at appointed time a few days later saying as its still standing with no signs of damp or dodgy finishing and the door glass is safety glass he is happy to sign it off.

Three hour later I have an email with the necessary document :-)

Do they not follow up when a project is not signed off?

Mike

[Handsome Jack]

David posted

This is 99.9% true. The only exception is that BC can seek a so-called s36(6) injunction from the High Court after the twelve months is up. They never do this because it would cost a fortune and the benefits would be tiny. The only time they *might* do it would be for a large commercial building that is a serious danger to the public. It is unthinkable that injunction proceedings would now be utilised in relation to a minor item of domestic building work that took place years before.

snip

The vast majority of older houses are not compliant with current BRs and never can be.