Solicitor Negligence?

[mandimoo]

Will try to be brief, but please ask if further information will help you advise us.

The solicitors that are dealing with our house purchase have (I think) neglected to carry out one of the searches. Our solicitors advised us very late in the process, that chimney breast had been removed without building regulations. We were copied in on the email back from the sellers solicitors, saying that these works were covered by application number X.

I understand that when we received the results of the searches, there should have been entries relating to building regulations applied for, approved, and finally certified. We did not receive anything from our solicitors like this..... Just the letter saying that the chimney breast has been removed without building regulations, but in light of the application for building regulations, this letter doesn't really tell us the true situation, and surely that is what I'm paying for?

[Buenchico]

Since your solicitor has no access to detailed 'before' and 'after' plans of the property (in relation to the removal of the chimney breast) there's absolutely no reason why he should even know that it's been removed unless the vendor declares the fact. (If anyone should spot the fact that it's been removed it would be your surveyor, not your solicitor). So it's clearly unreasonable to expect your solicitor to tell you something until he's made aware of it.

The searches that solicitors carry out are in relation to such things as planning permission for the council to build a major road next to the property or whether the property is within (or or likely to become within) a designated Conservation Area (which might, for example, prevent you from having a satellite dish on the property):
http://www.reallymoving.com/first-time-buyers/the-buying-process/what-are-searches-when-buying-a-house

[mandimoo]

If I understand you correctly, they do what you might call a "planning permission" search, but not a "building regulations" search?

[mandimoo]

Thanks. Thing is, the sellers solicitors reply, stated the building regulations application numbers and even says "this should have been revealed on your Local Search" My solicitors had not advised me that any applications had been made. This is not included in anything they've sent me.

[Woodgrange]

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