Help with signing off

whizzer10

I have got planning permission for story and a half house in Co.Meath.
During planning the architect was declared bankrupt but allowed to trade.
I dont want to use the architect to sign off on the house as the situation might change. Who can i get to sign off now? I want to make minor changes (put in 2 bay windows on the front that i dont have planning for), do you think someone will sign this off for me or is it asking too much?
Thanks in advance for replies!

archtech

You will need planning for any alterations to the elevations such as bay windows. Nobody should sign off on a building that's in non compliance with planning/building regulations... whether bankrupt or otherwise.

I would suggest talk to you solicitor regarding the legal implications of the bankrupt architect, signing off. there may be issue relating to his PI cover etc.

Poor Uncle Tom

Be very careful here, the following is taken from the forum charter:

Any thread/post that is looking for ways to get around the planning process, or building regulations, or any other statutory legislation, or advising somebody to ignore these legislations and regulations, will be deleted and and the poster will be banned indefinitely.

As archtech said, you will need planning permission for any alterations as you describe.

You can only get work signed off, if it is fully legitimate.

whizzer10

I know they shouldn't. <SNIP>

Will talk to my solictor about signing off, can a surveyor sign off even if they had no input in the planning stage?

Edit: Don't risk breaching the charter.

Poor Uncle Tom

Any Bonded Architect, Engineer, or Architectural Technician should be able to sign off works. Some lending instutions have cryteria for membership of certain bodies.

whizzer10

ok! thanks for reply

mr_edge_to_you

we're building in meath so i am well aware of the situation. i've heard of stories of people who tweaked their build like that and the council have come down hard on them. i've also heard that when other family members applied for pp afterwards it came back to haunt them.

you can get a different architect or engineer of your own choosing to look after the stage sign-offs. however, part of the engineers job is to sign off that the house is built in accordance with the planning permission that was granted. if a bay window is built without planning permission a responsible engineer will not sign off as to do so would professionally irresponsible in the extreme.

onq

whizzer10 wrote: »

I have got planning permission for story and a half house in Co.Meath.
During planning the architect was declared bankrupt but allowed to trade.
I dont want to use the architect to sign off on the house as the situation might change. Who can i get to sign off now? I want to make minor changes (put in 2 bay windows on the front that i dont have planning for), do you think someone will sign this off for me or is it asking too much?
Thanks in advance for replies!

+1 what Poor Uncle Tom has said, plus:

If you haven't built yet, you may have the option of discharging your architect's fees to date and expressing your preference to him for another architect to prepare tender sets, advise on tenders received, assist in selection of the builder, issue working drawings, conduct limited inspections during the works, certify monies due and finally issue Opinions of Compliance. Depending on the terms of his appointment you may be able to force the issue or not.

Unless the existing architect cannot obtain PI cover, or his bankruptcy renders it void, you may be covered by his PI in the event of any defect of design.
A concern arises if his PI cover needs to be maintained continuously to honour past claims because his lack of working capital may prevent him being able to pay for PI cover going forward. That having been said, PI is like any other insurance, only useful when things go wrong and no indication in and of itself that the work has been carried out competently or compliantly.

Changing architects in the middle of a project inevitably leads to increased professional fees, but if you haven't commissioned your tender sets yet, there is a natural handover point just after receiving your first successful planning permission which will minimize these.
Your new architect can carry on from where the original one left off, although he and you may need to issue a formal comment to the old one limiting your use of his work to procuring this particular design on this particular site - if you do this you may be able to negotiate the release of the original architect's electronic drawings to the new one, which will save a lot of drawing up time.

Defects in design on a traditional house build are likely to arise these days in relation to compliance with the requirements of Part L and F, assuming an otherwise competent architect and builder.
Defects in house building occur through defects of the build and these fall to the contractor to rectify.
That having been said, the TGD's of the building regulations and the Homebond book cover many of the working practices.
With an engineer advising on structural items and competent contractors, qualified plumbers, electricians, MHVR installers and FD&A installers carrying out the work, with the design co-ordinated by your authentic and the built work correctly co-ordinated by your contractor you should be able to limit defects to manageable snag items.

If you do nothing else when building in Meath, do your planning by the book. You may have seen an article about the plumbing contractor Michael Murray and the unauthorised house. That was an extreme case, but it serves to show how tenacious the Council can be re unauthorized development. Talk to the Building Control Officer before you start. He will review your proposals and advise on compliance or otherwise.

Take note that a consultation with Building Control is NOT a consultation with Planning and you need to either seek formal planning permission for your bay windows or formally request a section 5 declaration from the Council that they do not need permission. Do not proceed and then fall afoul of Meath Co Co. I would strongly advise you get a piece of paper to deal with this or any other variations as a phone conversation without an agreed minute of it gets forgotten and planners change avery 3 years or so.

FWIW

ONQ.

rocktavern

I have found a house I wish to buy (one off in the country) that has been developed by a small developer (few one offs using direct labour mostly). Problem is the house does not have Home Bond. So I asked which architect/engineer signed off on the build process. Turns out Architect designed the property but was not commissioned to manage the build. Looks like no one was. Developer of the property has said Architect will sign off now....but that’s only signing off on a visual inspection and not the foundations, drainage, insulation, etc. I am keen on buying the house. Is there a bond that the developer could take out that would be called upon in the event of structural failure, etc?

muffler

rocktavern wrote: »

I have found a house I wish to buy (one off in the country) that has been developed by a small developer (few one offs using direct labour mostly). Problem is the house does not have Home Bond. So I asked which architect/engineer signed off on the build process. Turns out Architect designed the property but was not commissioned to manage the build. Looks like no one was. Developer of the property has said Architect will sign off now....but that’s only signing off on a visual inspection and not the foundations, drainage, insulation, etc. I am keen on buying the house. Is there a bond that the developer could take out that would be called upon in the event of structural failure, etc?

You really do need to talk to a solicitor. Its in your own interests.

Unless you are going for a mortgage that is less than 40% (estimated on my part) you wont be entertained by any lender on the basis of a "visual only" certification.