Building control for en suite

[algas]

I fitted an en suite shower room at my daughters four years ago, they bought the house with planning permission for an en suite bathroom and the soil pipe was already in place, capped under the floor. This was all part of an extension so the planning was still active. I did not contact building control and now they may sell in a couple of years, is there a 4 year rule as in planning or is easier to buy indemnity insurance.

 

[noseall]

I fitted an en suite shower room at my daughters four years ago, they bought the house with planning permission for an en suite bathroom and the soil pipe was already in place, capped under the floor. This was all part of an extension so the planning was still active. I did not contact building control and now they may sell in a couple of years, is there a 4 year rule as in planning or is easier to buy indemnity insurance.

PP? Do you mean B'regs? Easy to get it regularised. Did you take photos etc?

 

[martygturner]

Buy indemnity...roughly 200 for upto £500k. But do not contact the council... but getting the work regularised can be cheap if its just late stage stuff... ie fittings. All they will want for a bathroom is IP rated ligh fittings, Toilet with limited flush...its not much for an ensuite.

 

[cdbe]

I don't understand. Building regulations and planning permission are two separate things.

 

[^woody^]

You can't indemnify against the water authority taking action against an unlawful connection to the waste and supply system.

 

[algas]

They have PP as it was lumped in with an extension before they bought the property, Woody the drain connection was already in place from when the origional PP for the extension was passed, just capped under the floor and I just tee'd into existing h & c supplies.

 

[^woody^]

You need to be clear about the difference between planning and building regs.

Planning - the permission to build something in the first place, is mainly concerned with what it looks like. And yes, there is a four year limit on the council taking action for planning beaches, but there are no inspections during the work or after. An internal ensuite should not require any planning permission.

Building regs - how it is built, the technical aspects of building. On-going and final inspection to confirm works meet required standards. Strictly, no time limits for action against any safety related works. This is what is normally indemnified against, but the new owner assumes ongoing risk and is in the same boat at their sale time. So it's down to how good their solicitor is in advising them - some buyers get the jitters.

I'd add that is also down to how good the buyers surveyor may be in advising. Some unauthorised works are fine if found to be done correctly, but some works may have more risk if they were never certified.