Do Building Regulations Apply to a House Built in 1992?

hikingjohn31

Hi guys, I am in the process of buying a house that was built circa 1992/1993.

The Planning Permission for this property was granted in March 1992 and the Certificate of Compliance with Planning Permission was signed in October 1993. We are however unsure when the build actually commenced.

In relation to the new building regulations that came into play, concerning all builds commenced after 1st June 1992, would our property be governed by these regulations, or would we be exempt since planning permission was granted prior to the 1st June 1992 ? (regardless of when the build started, pre/post 1st June 1992).

I really would appreciate a definitive answer on this matter if anyone knows for sure........

ABajaninCork

You should ask your solicitor to put the question to the vendor. It should also show up on the searches.

godtabh

ebowdia wrote: »

Thanks for the reply ABajaninCork - our solicitor has repeatedly mentioned this to the vendor's solicitor but he either doesn't know or is avoiding to answer the question.

I would like to find out myself if possible - I imagined it would be a black or white answer, but it seems to be a bit of a grey area.

Why mention it when you ask formally? Also make it a condition of sale.

hikingjohn31

Sorry, to be clear, our solictor has formally requested clarification on this matter from the vendor's solictor - he seems to be avoiding the question, just stating that by-laws were not in affect in the area.

Specifically what I need to know is, since planning was granted in March 1992, does this exempt the house from building regs regardless of when the build commenced - pre or post 1st June 1992?

ABajaninCork

Ah - Then the vendor is probably right. The building regs at the time the house was built would have been exempt if the build commenced before 1/6.

If it was after, then the building regs would apply. You need to push for clarification and check if the Local Authority would know when the build started.

hikingjohn31

The difficulty seems to be determining when exactly the build started, nobody seems to have a record of this.

Does it matter then at all if planning permission was granted before June 1st 1992 or is this irrelevant?

BarryD

Why are you concerned if the 1992 building regulations legally applied? Is there some deficiency and you want to use this to drive down price?

If you are just concerned that the building was constructed according to these regulations, well whether or not they were legally in force, has little to do with whether the builder(s) actually followed them.

I did a bit of self build around 2000 and as you do, I had at look at various places under construction to see how certain points of detail were handled. I saw houses by small builders and large builders with big variations in standards - at worst insufficient wall ties, missing cavity insulation, cavity insulation flopping around in the cavity, lack of damp proofing around openings, half filled mortar joints and so on. I also saw excellent work - neat, tidy and seemed to match the manual of the day. Mostly these poor constructions just got plastered up nicely afterwards and look like any other place.

You can get a surveyor to check out a building etc., but they'll exempt themselves from responsibility for the places they can't access or see. So you just have to use your own head and eyes as well, look for evidence of cold spots, damp ingress, cracks etc. The people who lived there previously or neighbours more likely would be a useful guide or try and find other houses built by the same builder etc.

hikingjohn31

Thanks for the info Barry. The reason I need to know if Building Regs apply to this case or not is that I need to know if I need a Cert of Compliance with Building Regulation in order for the sale to go through or not.

If a cert is definitely required, then the sale can't proceed without it - as far as I know the mortgage will depend on it. If the house is exempt though due to planning being obtained before the 1st of June, regardless of when the build commenced, then at least I know a cert is not required. A definitive answer to this question seems very hard to get though!

BarryD

Well that sounds like more of a legal reason, that's what you pay your solicitor to figure out!!

hikingjohn31

Our solicitor has requested that the vendor's solicitor provide all the necessary paperwork in relation to this - whatever is required - a cert or proof of exemption etc. He just doesn't seem to be playing ball though so just trying to research this myself for my own understanding and piece of mind.

A call to the local authority office on Monday will be required I think......

mickdw

The building regulations 1991 would not apply to works commenced before the operative date.
Given that the building control regulations 1991 requiring notice of commencement came in around the same time, it is quite likely that this property having a grant of planning earlier than the regulation introduction date would be deemed exempt.
I would suggest a planning search be carried out for any clues in the file re dates on compliance letters etc that would need to be submitted prior to starting works. In the absence of any documentation to prove a later start date, I would be of the opinion that it is exempt.
The regulation simply state that the regs do not apply to works commenced prior to introduction date.

hikingjohn31

Thanks mickdw, that all makes sense to me - if there is no proof of a start date then it cannot be proved that the build started before or after the 1st of June 1992.

Is it possible for anyone to preform a planning search at the local authority office to find the relevant info, or would that level of detail be only available to solicitors/engineers etc?

ABajaninCork

You should be able to do this yourself. However - a Land Registry search on the property should have been done by your solicitor as part of the pre-contract process. Was this in fact done? And what did it show?

You need the answer to that question first.

hikingjohn31

A Land Registry search was done by my solicitor - I'm not 100% sure of the specifics, but I assume from the results of these searches these questions have been raised.

Would a solicitor normally perform a planning search for a property purchase or would it only be a land registry search? What is the difference?

ABajaninCork

He should do both if it's a self build - Did he?? And you should have had a copy of those searches - Have you??

hikingjohn31

It's not a self build,,,,, we haven't signed contracts yet so don't have a copy of searches.

So would it be the solicitor or surveyor that would normally do this search?

ABajaninCork

Solicitor. It forms part of the pre-contract queries.

Victor

Moved from Accommodation & Property.

Moderator

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Note that building bye-laws applied before the building regulations, but I think they only applied to Dublin and Cork cities.

hikingjohn31

Thanks guys, I'll double check stuff with my solicitor so and also visit the local authority office to learn a bit more myself.........

Gumbo

What local authority is it in?

hikingjohn31

Cork County Council

Gumbo

hikingjohn31 wrote: »

Cork County Council

Sorry. I could have checked Dublins internal files if it was there.

hikingjohn31

No worries, thanks kceire...