Problems with a Conservatory

[Lucky7even]

My husband and I purchased our house 2 years ago.

 

There is a large conservatory on the back on the property which we fell for.

 

We we moved in, there appeared to be a lot of damp and mould, particularly in the corners.

 

We treated this with mould killer.

 

There is also one part of the garden which is always damp; we dont know if there any problems during the construction of the conservatory as the vendor failed to state anything.

 

We are concerned upon re-reading our survey, that it states that our solicitors should question about the construction of the conservatory as it appears to have been built over the drain.

 

There is also no access point to the drain, and nor is there any access to the soil pipe going from the drain into the bathroom, so i.e. if the toilet gets blocked or the kitchen sink gets blocked there is no way of unblocking!!

 

Surely, our solicitors should have picked this up; they didnt write to the company or ask the vendor about the construction of the conservatory.

 

Does this mean our solicitor was negligent and if so, what can we do?

 

Also the vendor failed to declare there was a mobile mechanic who lives 3 doors away, he is forever doing up cars and vehicles on the side of the road causing chaos; we do we stand on this issue.

 

Any help, please thank you.

[Desperate Daniella]

Hi,

 

Did you specifically ask the solicitor to read through the survey?

 

I'm not certain about the vendor having to let you know about the mobile mechanic. I would think this is a situation for the local council to sort out if he is essentially running a business from a residential street. Have you complained to them about this yet?

 

DD

[Desperate Daniella]

I think you need to get a good plumber to come in and look at the pipes and drains and he may also have an idea about whether some kind of overflow is causing the wet patch in the garden, or if an underground pipe has been damaged there.

[Desperate Daniella]

If it is very large it may have required planning permission, and you'll be able to find out about this from the local council. It should also give the name of the architect (if there was one) who designed it. There are questions about extensions and buildings on the Questions to Seller or Vendor. Is there anything there at all?

[Lucky7even]

Apparently all they got was retrospective consent from the Council, it was built with no planning and its about 13 foot longby around 8 foot wide.

 

I will certainly get someone out to see if there is any underground pipe damage; that might certainly count for a certain part of the garden always being damp.

 

I am seeking legal advice about the vendor not disclosing the mobile mechanic, the council were informed of this and they wrote to him, but they have failed to spot check him because he is still using the street as his garage. Apparently he is breaking Clean Neighbourhood Act 2005 section 4.

 

I will ask my local councillor to get involved. Yesterday he was doing work on a taxi right on the road, and he's got a further 2 vehicles waiting to be having work done to them.

 

The vendor failed to mention regarding any problems with construction of the conservatory; there was nothing said on the Buyer's and Seller's form.

[Desperate Daniella]

What a nightmare.

 

As well as calling the Councillor I would ring the Council every day the mobile mechanic is working. If it's the Clean Neighbourhood Act I would think that would the Environmental Health team, and they can send an Enforcement Officer. Why should you live next to a garage?

[Lucky7even]

At the begining of this year, an incident occurred by a drunk driver smashing my husband's car into the front bay window.

 

We had to ask our building's insurance to cover the damage, which was agreed.

 

It has since come to light that the builder purchased a window without a FENSA certificate.

 

We are now in the process of selling the house, and we dont know what to do about this.

 

Do we have to apply for retrospective planning for the new bay window!!??

 

Very confused and hope this does not loose us a sale.

[ericsbrother]

You dont need planning permission for something that already existed. The FENSA cert is basically an insurance contract taken out by the installer and is only good as long as they are in business so that is a matter of pot luck at best. the same applies to your builders who dont use the system. It will not affect your house sale unless your purchasers are particularly anally retentive characters and in that case they would be concerned about the length of the grass in the lawn, next doors fence, the cooker and light switches etc etc.

[reallymadwoman]

In a similar situation I managed to contact the supplier of the windows and they provided a certificate, but my builders had replaced all the windows and doors in the whole house.

[hammyhound]

You wont lose the sale, what you need to do is for your solicitor to offer to the purchaser's solicitors insurance against a lack of a FENSA certificate which your solicitor will obtain for you. It is most likely they will accept this. It is not too much, but obviously depends on how much you are selling for. If your sale price is not too high it could be in the region of £50/£60 but again it could be less or more. This is something which you will have to fork out. Your solicitor will be able to advise you on this

[Lucky7even]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I remember on the buyers and sellers form it does clearly ask if you've had any windows installed after a certain year.

 

Will ask the solicitor what to do.

[raydetinu]

All window replacement comes under building control and have to comply with heat and power regs to save heating lose.

Normally installers are suitably qualified and can self certify that they comply with the regs, with a cert for the replacement window.

If not you need to apply to building reg dept of council to get it checked and they will issue a certificate of compliance.

However in the op case, if the purchaser does not ask for certs you should be ok.

[ericsbrother]

Why didnt you claim against the driver of the vehicle's insurance? I would also take the matter of indemnity up with your own insurer as well since they are party to this-dis they arrange the builders visit or just refund what you paid out without question?

[Lucky7even]

Why didnt you claim against the driver of the vehicle's insurance? I would also take the matter of indemnity up with your own insurer as well since they are party to this-dis they arrange the builders visit or just refund what you paid out without question?

 

 

The police claim it was a drunk driver who did the damage to the front bay window; they claim they dont know who did it yet we are havigb problems with a mobile mechanic who lives 3 doors away!!

[ericsbrother]

Was your car shunted into the window by another vehicle or was it taken or driven without consent? If the former then there would have been evidence as to what the offending vehicle was and probably who owned it.

[Lucky7even]

Was your car shunted into the window by another vehicle or was it taken or driven without consent? If the former then there would have been evidence as to what the offending vehicle was and probably who owned it.

 

Well, my husband woke up and saw the car and saw it being used to ram our car through the window.

 

He gave a description of the car to the police, and we gave a piece of the rear light from the other car to the police who did f**k all to trace the vehicle concerned.

 

Police are now claiming it was a drunk driver because they cant be bothered for a full investigation, considering it was nearly £10K worth of criminal damage!!