Breached building regulations

conorkeating

Hi guys,
I'm in the process of buying a house and have found out that it breaches part b of the building regulations regarding means of escape during a fire.
The problem is a bedroom window which has been covered by a conservatory being added to the back of the house. The son of the owner built the conservatory himself as he is a builder and he seems to be making the decisions regarding the sale of the house on behalf of his elderly mother. There are other small signs of poor workmanship on his behalf which need fixing.

My question is, after agreeing on a price and approaching the closing date on the sale, would it be wise to rock the boat and force him to fix the window problem either himself, or by reducing the price by a suitable amount?

Also, is anybody clear on whether he must legally provide a certificate of compliance to sell a house which has failed building regulations, i.e. must he fix the problem before legally selling the house?

Thanks,
Conor

sinnerboy

conorkeating wrote: »

My question is, after agreeing on a price and approaching the closing date on the sale, would it be wise to rock the boat and force him to fix the window problem either himself, or by reducing the price by a suitable amount?

Is your word not your bond ?

conorkeating

Sorry, wasn't clear enough.
The agreed price was subject to a structural survey which revealed quite a few areas which need work. These include removing locks from bedroom windows, repositioning beams which are too close to the chimney stack (also against regulation) in the attic, a large garden shed which has been found to be structurally unsound etc. To move the window referred to in my first post is estimated at approx €2,000 alone by a number of builders i rang.

sydthebeat

He can sell anything he wants. However if the room doesn't comply with regulations for a bedroom, then its not a bedroom. It can be a storage room / study .. Whatever.

Its up to you to accept it or not. he will be required to provide a cert of compliance but a cert can be offered on the basis that that room is not a bedroom.

did you agree a price without getting a pre purchase report... ?
It may be possible renegotiate on this basis, but you'd want to be sure of your regulations.

conorkeating

I only have a booking deposit payed on the house which is obviously totally refundable. I am conscious of the fact that we are quite far into the process to be changing terms but from discussions with friends etc, it seemed quite common to review the agreed price before completion.
I also have to rely on the bank agreeing to mortgaging a house which is in breach of fire regulations. My solicitor made it very clear that she had to report it to the bank, which is why I figured the seller was required to furnish all knowledge he has of any building breaches. Being a builder himself, I can't help but wonder if he just built the conservatory quickly as a favour to his parents without worrying about meeting regulations. Surely any builder worth his salt would know this was a breach.
It's also the master bedroom that's in question.

Will23

taken from the DoE website re Building regulations...

The primary responsibility for compliance rests with designers, builders and building owners. Building control authorities have powers to inspect design documents and buildings, as well as powers of enforcement and prosecution where breaches of the Regulations occur. There are heavy penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for breaches of the Regulations. In addition, when it comes to sell- ing your property, you may have difficulties if you cannot satisfy the purchaser's solicitor that the re- quirements of the Regulations have been met.

it might be worth a call to the Local Authority building control sections for their view, without mentioning the property or details (a general enquiry...)

hope this helps.

Will.

conorkeating

Will23 wrote: »

taken from the DoE website re Building regulations...

The primary responsibility for compliance rests with designers, builders and building owners. Building control authorities have powers to inspect design documents and buildings, as well as powers of enforcement and prosecution where breaches of the Regulations occur. There are heavy penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for breaches of the Regulations. In addition, when it comes to sell- ing your property, you may have difficulties if you cannot satisfy the purchaser's solicitor that the re- quirements of the Regulations have been met.

it might be worth a call to the Local Authority building control sections for their view, without mentioning the property or details (a general enquiry...)

hope this helps.

Will.

I did see that at some stage but it didn't really clarify whether it is a legal requirement or not. I definitely think it should be made a requirement if not the case.
From my understanding, if I buy this house and an inspector arrives the next day, i'm facing a bunch of potential penalties/fines.
This is why I find it hard to agree with buying the house in light of this information, but as i said, I don't want to rock the boat too much.
In essence, as long as i'm not breaking the law in purchasing the house, I will go ahead with it I think.
And hope that Mr Inspector isn't doing the rounds.

Thanks for all the input guys.

sydthebeat

conorkeating wrote: »

I only have a booking deposit payed on the house which is obviously totally refundable. I am conscious of the fact that we are quite far into the process to be changing terms but from discussions with friends etc, it seemed quite common to review the agreed price before completion.
I also have to rely on the bank agreeing to mortgaging a house which is in breach of fire regulations. My solicitor made it very clear that she had to report it to the bank, which is why I figured the seller was required to furnish all knowledge he has of any building breaches. Being a builder himself, I can't help but wonder if he just built the conservatory quickly as a favour to his parents without worrying about meeting regulations. Surely any builder worth his salt would know this was a breach.
It's also the master bedroom that's in question.

it only breaches the regulations by use... if its used as something other than a bedroom then in theroy it doesnt breach regulations.

you say its the master bedroom?
is there an en-suite? and if so, does it have a window which would comply with the regulations? this may be an acceptable arrangement.

conorkeating

Nope, no en-suite with the main bedroom unfortunately.
I think i'll turn it into my study for simplicity's sake.

archtech

conorkeating wrote: »

Also, is anybody clear on whether he must legally provide a certificate of compliance to sell a house which has failed building regulations, i.e. must he fix the problem before legally selling the house?

At present there is no legal requirement for a seller to provide a certificate of compliance or an opinion of compliance for that matter . As purchaser on the other hand it would be advisable to seek one.It would be an almost certainty that the bank will require one as a condition of your loan offer.

Krispie

OP,
If your survey cropped up a number of issues, would the sensible thing in this climate not be to walk away? You say the sellers son was a builder and a number of regs were overlooked, and thats only from visual inspection.

Dont walk, run......

And the point above about word being your bond on house sales. IMO the price is always open to negotiation until the contract is signed, no matter what. There was enough of Gazzumping and Ghost Bidding in the past so for now let the buyers have their day. Off topic but just opinion.

engineermike

Krispie wrote: »

OP,
If your survey cropped up a number of issues, would the sensible thing in this climate not be to walk away? You say the sellers son was a builder and a number of regs were overlooked, and thats only from visual inspection.

Dont walk, run......

And the point above about word being your bond on house sales. IMO the price is always open to negotiation until the contract is signed, no matter what. There was enough of Gazzumping and Ghost Bidding in the past so for now let the buyers have their day. Off topic but just opinion.

I'd be of the same thinking as Krispie - If a visual survey throws up a lot of issues - then its highly likely there are more hidden issues that your not aware of or you can verify unless you open up sample sections of the structure.

FYI - if the building is more than 6 years old, you won't get much interest or enforcement from build control.
mike f:)

conorkeating

engineermike wrote: »

I'd be of the same thinking as Krispie - If a visual survey throws up a lot of issues - then its highly likely there are more hidden issues that your not aware of or you can verify unless you open up sample sections of the structure.

FYI - if the building is more than 6 years old, you won't get much interest or enforcement from build control.
mike f:)

That's a fair point, the house was built in 92 by the way, but otherwise the house seems fine. Was talking to my bank manager today and he said that it's possible that the bank may want the window moved to another wall before clearing a cheque. Glad to hear about the 6 year time period.