ChatterBank1 min ago
indemnity policy for conservatory
I am buying a house and just found out the conservatory has not applied for planning permission and building regulation which are required.
Right now the vendor is going to get indemnity policy. They said an indemnity policy will protect us if local authority has to remove the conservatory in future. However someone tells me the policy is invalid because we have spoken to the council and the council is already aware the conservatory was built without approval of planning permission & building regulation.
Is this the case?
I would be very much grateful if you could advise me. I suppose to exchange of contracts this Friday 29 Sept 06 and my solicitor just want to close the file ASAP and get his monies and run.
Right now the vendor is going to get indemnity policy. They said an indemnity policy will protect us if local authority has to remove the conservatory in future. However someone tells me the policy is invalid because we have spoken to the council and the council is already aware the conservatory was built without approval of planning permission & building regulation.
Is this the case?
I would be very much grateful if you could advise me. I suppose to exchange of contracts this Friday 29 Sept 06 and my solicitor just want to close the file ASAP and get his monies and run.
Answers
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No, many conveyancers are not solicitors and do not have to be. Many are legal execs/licensed conveyancers or just people who have worked their way up and have no qualification as such. This is quite common.
If the firm they work for is a solicitor's firm the firm is regulated by the Law Society and their guidelines and you can go to them with complaints.
If the firm they work for is a solicitor's firm the firm is regulated by the Law Society and their guidelines and you can go to them with complaints.
oh, forget to tell you, the complaint handler is partner of the firm, they do not have senior partner. should i make attention to him?
additonally I still need them to proceed with exhcange of contracts/completion and the rest of the things. Will it make me in a disadvantage position bec I make a complaint?
Or will they just terminate their service to us?
additonally I still need them to proceed with exhcange of contracts/completion and the rest of the things. Will it make me in a disadvantage position bec I make a complaint?
Or will they just terminate their service to us?
Well address it to the Senior Partner anyway as there may be a partner who acts as such.
It may not endear you to the firm but it should have no effect on their service, if anything it should improve it if they value their reputation with the Law Society.
In practice, if this is not the case and if there are any further problems make sure you keep a detailed log and go straight to the Law Society CCS.
If you can get a fax confirmation sheet for the fax then keep that too.
You could even ring and ask the reception who the senior partner is (if they say none ask who the closest thing is) and get their direct e.mail address (try and put a read receipt facility on).
They can be a bit funny giving direct e.mail addresses due to sales people and such esp for senior partners but make a note if they are rude to you etc.
If they ask what it is regarding then state it is a complaint you wish to discuss direct with them.
Who knows they may put you through and you may get somewhere!
Whether you send it by fax or e.mail make sure a hard copy goes too.
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
It may not endear you to the firm but it should have no effect on their service, if anything it should improve it if they value their reputation with the Law Society.
In practice, if this is not the case and if there are any further problems make sure you keep a detailed log and go straight to the Law Society CCS.
If you can get a fax confirmation sheet for the fax then keep that too.
You could even ring and ask the reception who the senior partner is (if they say none ask who the closest thing is) and get their direct e.mail address (try and put a read receipt facility on).
They can be a bit funny giving direct e.mail addresses due to sales people and such esp for senior partners but make a note if they are rude to you etc.
If they ask what it is regarding then state it is a complaint you wish to discuss direct with them.
Who knows they may put you through and you may get somewhere!
Whether you send it by fax or e.mail make sure a hard copy goes too.
Good luck and let me know how you get on.
Eric. In your other thread on the same problem here http://www.theanswerbank.co.uk/Home_and_Garden /Question297042.html ........ you are now asking about best ways to try and protect yourself from losing this house (to someone else) whilst the CLU is applied for. I have taken the liberty of linking the 2 things together because your question has legal connotations and Jenna is likely to know more than me. I'm sure you know that under English Law there's no contract until Contract Exchange, however it may be possible for both sides to sign a separate but binding agreement (on both sides) that commits the vendor to sell at an agreed price, and you to buy at that price on condition that the CLU is forthcoming. Its a bit like an Option to Purchase agreement but binding on both sides. I guess you will unfortunately lose your costs of professional advisors incurred to date anyway (solicitor, mortgage application, survey fees), so it may be worth considering.
By the way, I have successfully reclaimed money (once) from a solicitors' practice for my additional costs incurred through negligent advice. The Partner responsible for complaints investigated and made by a partial offer, I rejected it, they then decided to agree with me as the next stage would have been to refer the claim to their Professional Indemnity insurers. (Rather than run the risk that their PI premium might go up because of claims).
Hi Jenna
We tried today to speak to the Senior Partner/Complaints person regarding the whole issue, but was not able to speak to them directly. The Senior Partner subsequently sent us a letter (received via fax at our request). In the letter there is a para (see below):
"In addition by notifying the Council, having not actually purchased the property, you have potentially created an extremely expensive and costly problem for the seller. If you do not proceed to purchase the property and the planning officers now tum round and require the seller to take the conservatory down, then you have caused this problem. It is possible that you could
be sued by the seller."
Please advise if this is correct. Does the seller have a case to sue us?
In another section of the letter the para (see below)
"We also stated in our letter that the list of additional charges is not exclusive. In the event that circumstances rise outside the assumptions made on your purchase which are not covered then these will be charged at the chargable for the time being of the fee earner or the assistant carrying out the additional work. By going directly to the Council and not allowing us to determine the legality or otherwise of the conservatory through the proper channels you have created additional work.
We propose to charge you � 100 plus V AT for the work already carried out and will charge � 1 00 plus VAT per hour for the additional work incurred in resolving this problem if you still wish to proceed with the purchase."
Should we be charged additionally for the problem created by my solicitors' negligence in not checking the validity of the conservatory? Do you think we should still continue to use them to complete the sale?
Thanks
We tried today to speak to the Senior Partner/Complaints person regarding the whole issue, but was not able to speak to them directly. The Senior Partner subsequently sent us a letter (received via fax at our request). In the letter there is a para (see below):
"In addition by notifying the Council, having not actually purchased the property, you have potentially created an extremely expensive and costly problem for the seller. If you do not proceed to purchase the property and the planning officers now tum round and require the seller to take the conservatory down, then you have caused this problem. It is possible that you could
be sued by the seller."
Please advise if this is correct. Does the seller have a case to sue us?
In another section of the letter the para (see below)
"We also stated in our letter that the list of additional charges is not exclusive. In the event that circumstances rise outside the assumptions made on your purchase which are not covered then these will be charged at the chargable for the time being of the fee earner or the assistant carrying out the additional work. By going directly to the Council and not allowing us to determine the legality or otherwise of the conservatory through the proper channels you have created additional work.
We propose to charge you � 100 plus V AT for the work already carried out and will charge � 1 00 plus VAT per hour for the additional work incurred in resolving this problem if you still wish to proceed with the purchase."
Should we be charged additionally for the problem created by my solicitors' negligence in not checking the validity of the conservatory? Do you think we should still continue to use them to complete the sale?
Thanks
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