Lack Of Building Regulations

[mandimoo]

turns out the house we are buying, has had the chimney breasts removed without building regulations. seller has offered to get idemnity insurance. the homebuyer survey didn't bring anything up. how worried should i be about this?

[rockyracoon]

Get a builder round to make sure the chimney is properly supported, then you can decide how worried you should be.

[The Builder]

Indemnity insurance is the cheap, easy way out for the seller. He really should put this right. It's a simple procedure to get retrospective approval. It's done all the time.

It would take no time at all to ask the local Building Control Officer to inspect. If all is Ok, then it's just the cost of an application.

If it's not right, then your mind should be put at ease by the seller paying a builder to do whatever is necessary.

I agree with Rocky that a decent builder would easily be able to decide if everything is safe. Even if work is needed, it's not likely to be anything onerous. It's a pretty simple job. The main considerations are how the first floor joists are supported without the chimney breast masonry, and the same with the bedroom ceiling joists, and any roof structure support that may be needed.

So... dump the onus back onto the seller; go with the insurance (but don't make it public or it may become invalid; or leave well alone if it's decided that the work is kosher.

This being a public site, I'm obliged to mention that the seller has broken the Law of course.

[mandimoo]

It seems our solicitors neglected to carry out one of the searches. Building regulations were applied for, work was done but not signed off. Seller has agreed to get the inspectors round to sign off the work (fingers crossed). Very, very upset about the solicitors now.