No building regulations certificate? Here’s what you can do

I'm in the process of selling my house and have no building regulations certificate for an extension which was put in by the previous owners. What can we do?

Angela Kerr Director, Editor

When is a building regulations certificate issued?

On completion of any structural works or works which involve changing of pipes or services, a house owner should obtain a completion certificate confirming the works have been carried out to the required standard from the Building Control Department of the local council. 

In order to obtain this certificate, the relevant inspector needs to have been notified before the works start and will inspect at the beginning and during the course of the works. Building regulation requirements do change over the course of the years and with works that were carried out a long time ago, say 20 years, you often find completion certificates were not even issued at that time.

Prior to 2013 there was no requirement for local authorities to issue completion certificates in all cases.

Building regulations followed but missing the certificate

If you had building control inspections for building work done in the last 10 years but you are simply missing the paperwork, here’s how to get a copy:

• If the building control work was carried out by your local authority, you should contact them to obtain a copy of a completion certificate or full plans approval notice. 
• If the building control work was carried out by an Approved Inspector, you should contact them for copies of any initial notices, plans or final certificates instead.

There may be an administration charge involved and if no building regulations completion certificate was issued, a final inspection letter may be sent to you instead (or an inspection organised if no final inspection was carried out).

If you did not have building control inspections or you are not sure if you did, it is best not to contact the local authority. Consider whether you want to apply for regularisation or obtain indemnity insurance if you are selling your home (see below).

What is an application for regularisation?

If the works have been completed in the last few years and there is no building regulation completion certificate, this does not mean the work is not up to standard. It does mean the correct procedure was not followed. However, the Local Authority Building Control department will accept an application for regularisation where no application was originally made, as long as this is within a reasonable timeframe. This can vary from council to council but is usually no more than 10-15 years.  Regulation certificates can be issued without pulling apart the entire structure although some opening up will usually be required.

Selling your home – no building regulations certificate

If timing is tight — maybe you are in the process of selling your home or you don’t fancy a visit from the building control officer, either you or the buyer can obtain building regulation indemnity insurance which will pay out in the event that the works have not been carried out correctly.

The cost of the indemnity insurance is directly linked to the cost of the house. For example, if a house is being sold for £500,000, the cost for a very straight-forward policy is typically around £175. It is up for negotiation who pays this cost and is the quickest way of dealing with the problem.  You normally obtain indemnity insurance via your conveyancing solicitor.

Should I get indemnity insurance?

Note that indemnity insurance policies become invalid if anyone makes an approach to the local council to ask about a lack of a building regulation certificate. So unless you are already aware that building regulations approval was sought at the time of building work (but you are simply missing a copy of the certificate), the local council should not be notified or contacted, since to do so will cause further delay. 

In terms of building regulation compliance, the reality is that the council usually will have taken action within 12 months of the work being completed, although it is open to them to serve a dangerous structure notice at any time if there is reason to.  Otherwise, if a council issued a notice for lack of building regulations after the 12 month period it could be rebutted.

In terms of the indemnity policies, frankly they are a sop to the building societies because you cannot take them out until after the 12 month period. What they cover is the position you would be in if the local authority takes enforcement proceedings, which they cannot do unless the structure is dangerous.  However, if a buyer or seller were to approach the local authority about work where there was no completion certificate, then the authority could come and inspect. In order to grant a certificate, they would have to check the work had been done correctly, which would mean opening up some of the work. This is why an indemnity policy will not be granted if any approach has been made to the local authority.

It is now standard practice to ask for an indemnity policy if there is no building regulations certificate and mortgagees’ solicitors will ask for them routinely, even if they really are not worth the paper they are written on.  As a seller, if you are asked for one, you can resist for the above reasons but as with everything it will depend on who wants the deal to go through more.  The price of the policy is always linked to the price of the house; the higher the price, the higher the price of the policy. See our guide for more advice about indemnity insurance.

In terms of the buyer’s comfort, if they have a proper survey carried out, which I always recommend, and a separate gas and electric test, then this should give them an idea of whether the fabric of the house is in a good condition or what work is needed to rectify a problem. However, the other point about these policies at the moment is that you have to look at resale. You may find that at the point of resale, especially if the housing market is weak, that a buyer will insist on a policy which is likely to be more expensive, because hopefully at that point, the value of your property has gone up.

Can you get a mortgage without a completion certificate?

Yes, you can get a mortgage without a completion certificate but it will depend on the lender. However, it’s riskier as the certificate guarantees the property meets building regulations. Lenders will typically require an indemnity insurance policy as a safeguard.

What happens if you don’t get building regulations?

If you don’t get building regulations approval, you risk being fined and the potential demolition of the work. Additionally, it may affect your ability to sell the property in the future.

With thanks to Gillian White from White & Co solicitors