Buying a house with no building regs

[shininglight]

We are looking to buy a house, and have just found out that they have no building regs for the removal of an internal wall downstairs, and also the knocking through of a seperate toilet/bathroom into one room which happened 3 years ago.

We had a full survey which said that the work looked ok in his limited opinion (he didnt know what was under the plaster etc) but we should ask to see the regs. I believe the work was carried out by a relative of theirs. It does look like a good job was done, but we cant tell how it is internally.

They do not have any paperwork for windows, electrics or the replacement of a boiler either.

They have offered to pay for indemnity insurance, which is fine, except we have no way of knowing what standard the work has been carried out to. Should we ask them to get the council to come back and inspect it and issue the regs? We can live with the property as it is, but it would cause us an issue when we go to sell so Im wondering if its better to have them sort it all out now.

If the work has been done properley, then surely there wont be an issue getting the regs?

Thanks for any advice.

[MidlandsChick]

Hmm, this sounds a bit dodgy. Without all the correct building regs, you have no gurantee that the work which is done is safe and solid. It sounds like they've tried to get it done on the cheap by not seeking the proper approvals. I would definitely ask them to have the council send a building inspector round. If they are wishy washy about it, I'd walk away and find something else.

You could find yourself having to fix things at a later stage which will cost you, not to mention the electrics and the boiler! How do you know they are safe? Carbon minoxide poisoning anyone?

You also make the point about selling the property in the future.

Any sensible buyer would ask for this documentation and you would probably struggle to sell if you don't have it. Put it this way, would you drive a car with no MOT? Of course not. Apart from being a legal requirement, it's your guarantee that everything is working as it should do.

[shininglight]

Thanks for the reply.

We have had the electrics checked out and they are ok. We can get the boiler inspected Im not so worried about that.

But the internal walls do worry me. But I wanted to make sure we werent making a big deal out of something that is quite common in house buying?