The lack of building regulations for work carried out on the property we are buying is continuing to cause us a headache. Our estate agents and our vendor’s solicitor are strongly advising us to obtain building regs after we move in, should the need arise. Such reckless behaviour might befit somebody with barrels of money to spare but to us, it just smacks of people wanting to push the sale through as quickly as possible. Without building regs, our buildings insurance is rendered void. We also have a potential resale problem as the issue will raise its ugly head once again.
We’re now in a tug of war with the vendor to ensure that we don’t have to pay for obtaining building regs (£60) or pay to replaster and redecorate the dining room (£?00) after Aylesbury Vale District Council hack away the plaster to expose the lintel.
This morning I received this from Aylesbury Vale:
*start*
Mr Carberry,
I would advise you to ensure a sum is retained if you go ahead with the purchase before the regularisation application is made as otherwise further work may be required and you could end up with the bill.
I am not certain how you can say that the person who carried out the work is a qualified builder! There are no qualified builders as there are no qualifications for them to take. He could be a bricklayer, a carpenter or a plumber or one of the other trades. Hopefully he was a structural engineer and able to work out the size of beam required.
Adam Heeley
Building Control and Access Manager
*end*
We think it’s a fairly reasonable request to make. Many agree with us. Our vendor and their estate agent and solicitor do not. Surprised?