Buying substantially refurbished house without cert of compliance

Hi All, I have gone sale agreed to a house in Dublin which was originally constructed in 1980 but bought by an investor last year and substantially refurbished and extended. The work that he performed on the house are as follows:
1) Complete new insulation, state of the art air to water heating, underfloor heating, etc. everything seems fresh and new on the original build.
2) Extended to the rear which does not exceed 40 sq mtr.
3) Attic extension to be used as storage only.
4) Original house was E rated and now the fresh BER cert issued with B2

I have done a structural survey and nothing major comes in the report - though the structural survey was also a visual inspection along with dampness, pyrite test, etc.

So for the above refurbishments and extensions, the builder hired private contractors and did work on his own without the supervision of any qualified architect. Now at the time of sale, our solicitor asked for the Cert of Compliance with Building Regulations which he initially was not providing but after putting a wee pressure and a warning that we may not proceed without it - he got it arranged from a qualified charted engineer. Even this cert issued clearly states that the architect/engineer did not supervise the works and his inspection is visual only.

Such a substantial refurbishment has happened without any architect opinion is what I am doubting now (may be vendor wants to save few quids here). Vendor is ready to provide 20 years of structural guarantee on the rear extension which he sent an email to the selling agent confirming the same.

I liked this house a lot and don't want to withdraw my offer. What would you all suggest - shall I ask for any further info or legal detailed documents/ compliance certs from the vendor? What would be potential challenges in future if I buy the house without detailed cert of compliance? TIA

Most people who would buy a house without the proper certs would be cash buyers. If the house is structurally sound and you have the electrical and gas installation certs, I can't see a bother with it. Lots of builders/handy people renovate houses themselves without ever getting the breaucrats involved.

No expertise in this, but as far as I am aware it is only posssible to obtain an Opinion of Compliance with Building Regulations in situations like this. That is because the construction/renovation was not under the supervision of a qualified professional. It should be possible to obtain a Certificate of Exemption from Planning Regulations in relation to the rear extension and attic conversion (along with Opinion of Compliance with Building Regulations).
I don't think it would be unusual to proceed once these certs are in order, but get your solocitor's advice.

The Opinion on Compliance is perfectly acceptable by the law society. However if the purchaser feels unease he should walk away. We should bear in mind of incidences in the past when all these certs were available yet we ended up with the pyrite issue, priory hall etc where the certs were as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Early Riser said:

No expertise in this, but as far as I am aware it is only posssible to obtain an Opinion of Compliance with Building Regulations in situations like this. That is because the construction/renovation was not under the supervision of a qualified professional. It should be possible to obtain a Certificate of Exemption from Planning Regulations in relation to the rear extension and attic conversion (along with Opinion of Compliance with Building Regulations).
I don't think it would be unusual to proceed once these certs are in order, but get your solocitor's advice.

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An Exemption Certificate will be required for any exempted builds. An exempted build is one where planning permission isn’t required.

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thanks for this useful info. I think what I am going to ask the seller to provide us opinion of compliance with Building regulation along with Certificate of Exemption from Planning Regulations. Separately I will request them to provide us the plumbing and electrical certs.

Your solicitor will advise and your bank will likely accept an opinion on compliance so long as their valuer is happy.

I'd be suspicious why someone in the trade who would have the necessary connections didn't engage someone to provide certification when they should know having that instantly makes the property easier to sell. Were they taking shortcuts?

Leo said:

Your solicitor will advise and your bank will likely accept an opinion on compliance so long as their valuer is happy.

I'd be suspicious why someone in the trade who would have the necessary connections didn't engage someone to provide certification when they should know having that instantly makes the property easier to sell. Were they taking shortcuts?

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Thats what my suspicion and worry is all about. I am not sure if he is hiding something which I don’t see from outside. I spoke to a next door neighbour and they mentioned that all the work done on this house by local people from the same locality. So seems like seller tried to save few quids (thats my optimistic mind says afterall)