Updated Certificate of Opinion of Compliance

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Susan2020

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Hi all, we are in the process of selling our house and the purchasers solicitor has advised that the Opinion of Compliance with Planning Permission/Building Regs that was prepared over 20 years ago will not suffice and they want an updated one as it does not follow the model format of the Law Society for that time. When we contacted our architect he advised that this was what was accepted at the time (basically he doesn't want to know) and we are now left in a situation where we either have to pay to get new architect to issue an updated one. My question is; is the solicitor being fussy and should we just revert back and tell them they will need to accept the one that was originally carried out. Our belief is that this is a cash sale so there is no bank involved but I'm trying to figure out is this common practice that an updated Opinion of Compliance needs to be issued when there already is one in place albeit completed several years ago. Thanks.
 
Susan2020 said:
Our belief is that this is a cash sale so there is no bank involved but I'm trying to figure out is this common practice that an updated Opinion of Compliance needs to be issued when there already is one in place albeit completed several years ago
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Even if its a cash purchaser, why would they buy a house they might have trouble selling in future?
The purchasers solicitor is looking out for the purchaser.
 
ClubMan said:
What does your solicitor say?

Building regulations were updated in at least 2014 so a certificate prepared before then probably isn't up to scratch - and it doesn't seem surprising or unreasonable that the architect isn't going to redo 20 year old work for free.

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But do the updated regulations apply to work carried out before 2014?

Your link says:
Houses and apartments where a commencement notice for any works was served prior to 1 March 2014: A certificate of compliance with the Building Regulations will be required in one of the acceptable existing forms.

Now if it wasn't acceptable for the period in which it was prepared, that's different.
 
ClubMan said:
What does your solicitor say?

Building regulations were updated in at least 2014 so a certificate prepared before then probably isn't up to scratch - and it doesn't seem surprising or unreasonable that the architect isn't going to redo 20 year old work for free.

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Our Solicitor agrees that the original cert should be enough. I wasn't looking for our architect to reissue it for free, obviously if there is a cost involved we would pay. My query is, is it usual practice for an updated cert to be issued and if it is I would have thought that our estate agent would have pointed this out to us before we put the house on the market and we could have ensued all documentation relevant to the sale etc is up to date. If there had been no cert ever issued I can understand why they require it but a cert has been issued.
 
RedOnion said:
Even if its a cash purchaser, why would they buy a house they might have trouble selling in future?
The purchasers solicitor is looking out for the purchaser.
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Fully aware of that thanks. My question is is it usual practices for the cert to be re-issued when there is one there already but thanks for your opinion.
 
Susan2020 said:
Hi all, we are in the process of selling our house and the purchasers solicitor has advised that the Opinion of Compliance with Planning Permission/Building Regs that was prepared over 20 years ago will not suffice and they want an updated one as it does not follow the model format of the Law Society for that time. When we contacted our architect he advised that this was what was accepted at the time (basically he doesn't want to know) and we are now left in a situation where we either have to pay to get new architect to issue an updated one. My question is; is the solicitor being fussy and should we just revert back and tell them they will need to accept the one that was originally carried out. Our belief is that this is a cash sale so there is no bank involved but I'm trying to figure out is this common practice that an updated Opinion of Compliance needs to be issued when there already is one in place albeit completed several years ago. Thanks.
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I would have thought that the buyer pays for a survey of the house and then decides whether to proceed or not. In the past I have paid for a survey of older properties that I have been interested in.
 
If they, rightly or wrongly, insist on it then I gues you have to weigh up the costs of just getting it for them versus the possibility that the sale falls through and you have to start again.
 
Yes they did carry out a survey some weeks ago so I’m assuming there was nothing in it that gave them a reason not to proceed with the sale.
 
There is no hard & fast rule on updated certs.. it all depends on the market and the motive of the purchaser -- if the purchaser has said to their solicitor that they will only buy if everything is 'perfect' then the queries by the purchasing solicitor will be high level and anyway the solicitor is only asking, I'm sure he/she has dealt with plenty of purchases where there are no certs at all.

If it was me, I'd refuse the request on the basis of cost and that the house comes "as-is" "of its time" etc etc
 
The banks are getting more particular on compliance, and it may be they who are insisting on a cert in the current format prior to approving the release of funds.

Susan2020 said:
When we contacted our architect he advised that this was what was accepted at the time (basically he doesn't want to know) and we are now left in a situation where we either have to pay to get new architect to issue an updated one.
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That's fair, he did what he was paid to do at the time, no issues there. What you are now looking for is a certificate of compliance for the house as it is today, so a new report will be required. The house will need to comply with current regulations, or the regs in place at the time any significant work was carried out. Evidence of the timing of work may be required where things don't meet current requirements but were OK at the time the works were carried out.
 
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