No Archeological Survey before house build, implications!

tazplug

We are in the process of about to sign contracts on buying our first house. The solicitor has got on to me this morning to say that from the documentation she has received it seems the original builder of the house omitted to get an archeological survey done on the land before constructing the house.

Can anyone please advise on this issue, is it a major problem, can a survey be done at this stage as the house it 7 years old, what implications will we have if we go ahead and buy the house and later want to sell or the approx. cost of getting a survey done even if we can get one done??

Thanks

smashey

Archaeological?

tazplug

The planning permission that was granted when the house was built 6 years ago stipulates that an archaeological survey must be conducted.

CJhaughey

We had to do one, basically it involves a digger and the archaeologist inspecting the ground where any groundworks will be done.
It is usually because you are close to a historical structure (In our case a castle)
The fee was <€1000 from memory + diggerman.
Nothing to be scared of really but I am not sure how you go about doing it retrospectively.

muffler

I think you should contact your solicitor and ask her to check the details in relation to the guy who initially built the house. At the time he built he would have been expected to have had a Certificate of Compliance with Planning permission and building regulations but in any event he would have to produce one now as strictly speaking you should not buy a house that has been constructed in non compliance with the original permission. Its up to the seller or his solicitor to produce the appropriate paperwork to show that everything was done in accordance with the permission.

If its not then he will be responsible for it. In any event it shouldn't cost more than a couple of thousand to get the assessment carried out. But bear in mind if the assessment shows up any relics or artifacts (even dog bones that are sometimes mistaken for human ones ) or traces of an old settlement or burial ground then there will have to be more detailed inspections and excavations carried out.

ircoha

tazplug wrote:

We are in the process of about to sign contracts on buying our first house. The solicitor has got on to me this morning to say that from the documentation she has received it seems the original builder of the house omitted to get an archeological survey done on the land before constructing the house.

Can anyone please advise on this issue, is it a major problem, can a survey be done at this stage as the house it 7 years old, what implications will we have if we go ahead and buy the house and later want to sell or the approx. cost of getting a survey done even if we can get one done??

Thanks

Good spot by ur solicitor: earning here fee:rolleyes:
good advice by Muffler: get it sorted before u sign.

Sorry Muffler: self banned for 1 week

muffler

ircoha wrote:

good advice by Mellor:

Eh???

10-10-20

Admit it muffler - you robbed your post content from one of Mellor's posts...

Victor

Start deducting €10,000 a week until it shows up.

smashey

Intellectual property rights ftw.

muffler

Victor wrote:

Start deducting €10,000 a week until it shows up.

Thats an interesting idea

smashey wrote:

Intellectual property rights ftw.

Correct on the first word

ircoha wrote:

Sorry Muffler: self banned for 1 week

Ah, a mind reader

antoinolachtnai

I'm not so sure. I think the OP needs to get legal advice on this.

I think that the worst case in this scenario is that the vendor will get prosecuted for carrying out building work without following the conditions of the permission. They are unlikely to prosecute the OP, because the OP didn't even know the house was being built when it happened.

I can't see that there is any value in doing the archaeology now. Anything valuable that could have been saved from destruction is already destroyed. Anything that wasn't destroyed is better left in place.

For the same reason, I can't see that the house would be torn down.

If a planning enforcement notice isn't served before a certain period (7 years I think) then it is very difficult indeed for the LA to have the building demolished or modified. It seems like more than happy coincidence that your vendor has waited 7 years to sell this property.

So the OP needs to talk to the solicitor. He could also go and talk to the planning department of your local authority and try to get an informal view on it.

Another thing to ask the solicitor is whether the bank giving you the mortgage is going to have an issue with this.

All this is just a view, I'm not a solicitor or an archaeologist. It's a big purchase, so get professional advice.