House Purchase-No papers given for the extension

E

Electra83

Guest
I bought a 3bed semi just over a yr ago, which has a small extension to the rear. At the time, I asked my solicitor did i need some form of paperwork with regard to the extension on the property and I was told no (as it is less than 40sq metres, which is the limit for exemption from planning permission).

It's 1yr on, and I'm now looking to sell. My new solicitor is telling me I need to apply for a certificate of exemption in relation to the extension if want to sell. Appling is only 80 euro which is fine, but the council office are telling me it could take up to a year to come through! (I'll also have to fork out for an engineer to do drawings).

Does anyone know if i can avoid this? My property is already on the market and I have a lot of interest. Am I being naive in thinking that a prospective buyers solicitor won't insist on the cert? If anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it.
 
A prospective buyers solicitor may or may not insist on a certificate. I would imagine most solicitors would be happy with a certificate from a suitably qualified engineer certifying that the extension is exempt.
 
Perhaps you could contact the vendors to see if they were supplied with this certificate? We got one automatically from the Architect even though our extension was under the limit. It really was remiss of your solicitor not to ask for it when you were buying.
 
Thanks for the replies- yes my last solicitor was a mess, I believe he was struck off recently. I've been in contact with a recommended engineer who is sorting this for me. Hopefully this will be sufficient for the purchasers needs.
 
You might do a search on archiseek.com regarding this.

I think it should be possible to get a letter from the Local Authority ok'ing it - sometimes even without plans submitted. (i.e. just submitting photos etc.)
 

Futher details

As you can see, the rules are very simple, hence very simple for anybody to get a measure tape and check.
Do not bother with certificate of exemption if you are 100% sure to be 100% within these simple rules with confortable margin (i.e. if extension is 39.8spm, then you may need cert).
Just do a drawing and pass it on to solicitor. He probably has never seen your house and his position is therefore entirely understandable. With drawing in hands, he may not insist on this cert.
 
The correct papers for the extension are

(a) confirmation from a suitably qualified person that the extension is an exempt development by virtue of ( and then set out why- if ther has been a previous extension for instance may affect ) and
(b) confirmation either that the extension was constructed before Building Regs came in ( or alternatively that Building Bye Laws were in existence and it might have complied with them if applicable) or that as constructed, the works comply with Building Regs.

If I was buying a house and there was a small extension recently built I would want to know that it was built in accordance with Building Regs and I would not be to be heading off with my tape measure to work out the measurements for myself. It is a vendor's legal obligation.

mf
 
1990 is the Act but I think the commencement date was 1.6.1992

mf
 
Yes - Building Regs were effective from '92.
They then changed in '97. (A further complication, when looking back on work that has not been properly certified.)
 
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