Cert/Opinion of Compliance

sparxx89

Hi there,

Apologies if this in the wrong place, feel free to move it.

We are in the final stages of purchasing a house. (No contracts have been signed yet).

Background:
The house was built in the early 1900s and underwent complete renovation about 7/8 years ago. The vendor, who was a business man, bought the houses and 2 next to it in hope of demolishing the block and turning them into something else. He didn't get planning permission so instead renovated them which was suggested by the council in their refusal notes.

Issue:
Most of the renovation work was carried out within the original structure of the house. (He didn't knock it down and rebuild it) He added on a small extension about 15 sqm in total, which would fall under the 40sqm and wouldn't have needed PP. We got a survey done and the architect was happy with everything.

When we got the contracts, we didn't receive a cert of compliance or anything to say the extension was exempt for the bank. They (the vendor's solicitor) sent on a report from an architect which was dated December 2017, to say that the work was carried out to a high standard and the extension wouldn't have needed PP. My solicitor won't accept this as he said we need a cert. The vendor came back to say they're not providing one. (it's possible he's being put under pressure to sell these by the bank as I think he's in negative equity as he needed permission to accept our offer from the bank, so he could be just being uncooperative)

We have gotten a quote of €5,000 from the surveyor we initially used to certify the work. He said this is because there's some risk involved with him certifying work he didn't carry out. He also wants letters from the council to say that the house was never deemed derelict or had any closures on it. He said it would take about 3 weeks to get his case together and only THEN will he decide if he will commit to certifying it. We called the council and they have confirmed it was never derelict so we're just going to get that letter ourselves.

My question is, is this an unreasonable quote? If the council clear up the architects worries of it not being derelict, and there's an architects report to say that they were happy it would be exempt etc- I'm failing to understand our architects concerns or why he's charging €5K for "the risk involved"?
I understand the vendor should have provided this but he's not budging (we may push back and ask for a reduction in the house price). Surely this isn't totally unusual that buyers may need to get something certified?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

sydthebeat

i wont say its unreasonable but its a very high quote.

he seems to be quoting you for something you dont really need (an all encompassing cert to state continuously occupied therefore planing as a dwelling never lapsed, structurally sound etc)
when you really only need a cert to say
1. the extension is exempt from planing and
2. based on a visual inspection the dwelling complies with building regs. no comment can be made on works covered up etc

basically hes quoting you for the rolls royce service when all you probably need is the lada version, and hes probably not interested in offering the lada service.

if its a bank selling then im not surprise d they arent providing certs... if its a private sale then then absolutely should be providing certs.

sparxx89

Thanks for the response, that's probably true.

Do you reckon it would be difficult to find someone who would provide the "lada version"?

I understand he's standing over someone else's work so that's the "risk" for him, but he's also being difficult saying that he needs to assess the paperwork for three weeks to see if "it's worth his while" which I don't really understand.

sydthebeat

sparxx89 wrote: »

Thanks for the response, that's probably true.

Do you reckon it would be difficult to find someone who would provide the "lada version"?

I understand he's standing over someone else's work so that's the "risk" for him, but he's also being difficult saying that he needs to assess the paperwork for three weeks to see if "it's worth his while" which I don't really understand.

hes not really though

the cert is provided on the basis of what HE can see in a non invasive survey.
hes not being asked to provide certification into anything he cannot verify for himself.

mickdw

What county is this house in?
It is odd that a professional would be happy to report that all is in order and then not be prepared to certify that.
Do you believe the entire renovation to be truly exempt?
Would the origianl structure have been altered in a manner that might require planning - roof alterations, windows etc.

sparxx89

Thanks for the reply.

This is in Dublin.

I'm thinking that maybe because he (the vendor) would have had to pay more for the opinion of compliance? But I can't be sure.

Yes, from what I can see. Would planning have been needed to re-slate the roof? The layout on google earth from before the renovations were carried out, looks to be the same (bar the small extension on the kitchen) as it is now.

sparxx89

Panic over, the vendor has decided to comply and to provide appropriate cert. Might actually sleep tonight! Thanks for your replies!