When I purchased my house back in 2008 there were some uncertified building works done by previous occupants of the property. As a condition of the sale the vendor had to take an indemnity policy out to cover the likelihood of these particulars needing further attention down the line.
The indemnity policy itself is quite vague; almost looks like a carte blanch coverall statement:
Nature of Defect:
Absence of a building regulation completion or regularisation certificate (or FENSA certificate for replacement windows/doors) for the development
The Development
a. Any extension, alteration or installation to and/or conversion of the property completed at least 12 months before the policy date and/or
b. Erection of the property (including associated outbuildings) completed at least 4 years before the policy date.
Well the items in question when I purchased the property were the removal of spine wall, removal of chimney breast and no Fensa certificate on windows. No building regulation approval was present or sort at the time of this works circa 1995.
Upon removing the old lath and plaster ceilings I have found the chimney breast above is unsupported and the RSJ is undersized for the function (I know this as neighbour had SE do calcs and I helped put the beam in for same wall removal). Has anyone been in this situation before would the indemnity cover these remedial works? Or is it more of a ‘it hasn’t caused any issues so must be OK response’?
I will be looking to sort this all out by putting a steel and plate to support the chimney breast and moving and replacing the current undersized beam position up to sit in the ceiling void. I would like to subject the cost of these works to the indemnity insurance but wonder if anyone has experience of a similar situation and the likelihood of a claim being successful?
Thanks in advance
The indemnity policy itself is quite vague; almost looks like a carte blanch coverall statement:
Nature of Defect:
Absence of a building regulation completion or regularisation certificate (or FENSA certificate for replacement windows/doors) for the development
The Development
a. Any extension, alteration or installation to and/or conversion of the property completed at least 12 months before the policy date and/or
b. Erection of the property (including associated outbuildings) completed at least 4 years before the policy date.
Well the items in question when I purchased the property were the removal of spine wall, removal of chimney breast and no Fensa certificate on windows. No building regulation approval was present or sort at the time of this works circa 1995.
Upon removing the old lath and plaster ceilings I have found the chimney breast above is unsupported and the RSJ is undersized for the function (I know this as neighbour had SE do calcs and I helped put the beam in for same wall removal). Has anyone been in this situation before would the indemnity cover these remedial works? Or is it more of a ‘it hasn’t caused any issues so must be OK response’?
I will be looking to sort this all out by putting a steel and plate to support the chimney breast and moving and replacing the current undersized beam position up to sit in the ceiling void. I would like to subject the cost of these works to the indemnity insurance but wonder if anyone has experience of a similar situation and the likelihood of a claim being successful?
Thanks in advance
