Certificate of compliance for Home extension

Hi,

I'm getting an extension of about 24sq m done at the back of my house in north dublin. I have been told planning permission is not required given the size.

A friend who is architect in UK is doing plans but cannot advise us on requirements over here.
Another friend is doing the building work and I have a few questions about certificates of compliance.

Is a certificate required for all extensions regardless of size?
Who can give a certificate of compliance?
Can it be given after the job is complete or does someone have to monitor work through out construction?

We are not getting loan so we dont have to provide a bank information on work completed.

I have reviewed other posts and I am a bit confused as I have seen arguments on whether architects, arch technician, engineers or engineering technicians or structural surveyors are the people to certify work?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

I am not sure exactly who is qualifed to issue a cert of compliance.

If an engineer or archictect does not see the foundations, they cant certify them. Our engineer had to make 4 or 5 sites visits at various stages to give a cert of compliance.

A cert will be required by any future buyer of your house.

I have a big problem with 'Certificates of Compliances', as far a s I can make out they dont exist.

If they do, they're not worth the paper theyre printed on. Am I wrong?

B

Its not that hard.

If you build something you either need planning permission or you don't because its exempt.

If you need planning permission, you must build what you have permission for ( you would be amazed at the number of people who build something else). If you are ever selling, you will need an Opinion on Compliance with the planning permission from a suitably qualified person ( architect, engineer,etc.,etc) as proof of what you have done. They should also confirm that the works have been done in compliance with the Building Regulations.

If the works did not need planning permission, you will still ( if you are ever selling) need a similarly qualified person to certify that the works did not need p.p. because they were exempt and also that works were done in compliance with Building Regulations.

A lot of people do not understand this and have works done by builders with zero regard for relevant legislation. When they need to sell they then look for an Opinion on Compliance from someone anyone. Personally, I do not understand why anyone would offer such an Opinion if they had not been involved in the works.

Having just gone through the process and having paid a lot of money for professional fees ( steep but very well worth it in the end) I can see the reasons why you would and why you wouldn't use a professional during the process. And grand if you can get someone to sign off months or years later. But what happens when no-one will sign off on the Cert/Opinion?

mf

mf1 said:

Personally, I do not understand why anyone would offer such an Opinion if they had not been involved in the works.
mf

Click to expand...

There is a standard RIAI certificate that states the certificate is issued
only on a visual basis and that the Architect (in this case) did not
supervise the works. [SIZE=-1]Caveat emptor[/SIZE]

mf1 said:

But what happens when no-one will sign off on the Cert/Opinion?

Click to expand...

your buggered, and should have done things by the book in the first place !!

I built my house in the late 1990's direct labour. It "more or less" complied with planning but my solicitor writes to me every couple of years looking for a certificate of compliance - he says the EBS need it to certify the title.

When I was building the house I had an engineer sign off on the stage payments and he faxed these through to the EBS building society.

For the final payment the EBS sent out their own person to confirm the house was complete so I never bothered with the engineer for the last stage payment.

Over the years I have built on a shed and converted the attic so the house does not conform with the original planning although the additional works will be able to get retention in time if necessary as they were done a long time ago.

What do I need to do if I want to sell my house?

Surely if the house is standing nearly 10 years it is obvious that it is structurally sound?

Now this is a perfect classic example of how easy it is to stuff your solicitor! That file will sit on his desk until you deal with it. The biggest mistake he made is in not getting that Engineers Cert. from you before the last major drawdown.

Part of your mortgage deal is that you agreed to build the property in accordance with planning permission and building regulations. You need a Final Certificate of Compliance with both to (a)enable your solicitor to complete their file ( they undertook that this would be obtained and filed with the lender so that if they have to repossess your house, that is one thing they do not need to look for) and (b) if you ever need to sell.

"Surely if the house is standing nearly 10 years it is obvious that it is structurally sound?"

This is not what its about - its whether or not you built in accordance with the planning permission. Anyone can build something and it can be structurally sound but its not saleable with the Certificate of Compliance.


mf

Can you tell me if Certificates of compliance are required for work carried out prior to 1990? Would answer alot of questions for us if we knew that.

Thanks

The plannng laws came in in 1962, so anything built after that had to comply with these laws and as such, would require 'opinions on compliance'....

so the answer to your question is yes....

I am interested in buying an old house in need of renovation. There is an extension on the back. It's size is under 40sqms. It was built 30 years ago and to be honest it is very ugly looking. I suspect there is no cert of compliance. Could this be a problem with my mortgage lender?

between you and me terry, i would be getting someone to state in a letter that the extension was pre 1963.... therefore it would have permission by default......

also, another important thing for people to remember is the 40 sq m rule only came in in 2000..... before that it was only 25 sq m of an extension that was exempt.....

A friend of mine was advised by a solicitor to pull out ofa sale because there was no Certificate of compliance on a porch that was added to the house...

puffin said:

Can you tell me if Certificates of compliance are required for work carried out prior to 1990? Would answer alot of questions for us if we knew that.

Thanks

Click to expand...

The classic answer..maybe,maybe not

If the work is pre 1990 then at least you need not worry about certs of compliance with building regulations(really only relevant from 1992).
You generally speaking will need a cert of compliance with planning permission or exemption from planning.
If it was exempt due to size etc... it should be easy enough to get a suitably qualified architect engineer or building surveyor to certify this. If you needed permission it can be more difficult depending on whether the permission was actually complied with,whether you actually got permission and even if the local authority still has the paperwork!

There is a type of amnesty in existence to the extent that you cannot be forced to undo the work if it is that old(but this does not cure the problem) and from a practical point in a sellers market a lot of people were willing to settle for less than perfect paperwork in the buying stage. Things have changed however so buyers will be less inclined to accept gaps in the paperwork now.

i have to disagree with your 'maybe, maybe not' answer there..
to be honest, the only answer is YES, ...........

the only situation in which work carried out prior to 1990 needs no cert is if was carried out prior to 1963..... regardless to building regs....

if the work was exempt it still needs a certificate of exemption, if it wasnt exempt, has no cert and build after 1963 it needs retention permission, and thereafter a cert of compliance.....

i agree that you cannot be forced to take it down, but a cert is required in every single case apart from pre-63 development...

Hi
I rang the planning office for advice. I was told that if the size of the extension was exempt the vendor would need to provide a certificate of exemption. The onus is on the vendor to sort all this out before the sale. If I want to knock this eyesore down I will need planning permssion.

As i stated in my first post Terry, all that needs to happen is that a letter be produced by a competant professional to state that the extension is pre-1963 (assuming planning had not been applied for it).....

if this is left to the vendor i wouldnt be surprised if this happens....