House not compliant & possible handing back my house

shanks69

My newly built house is not compliant due not my own fault and it will cost thousands to put right which I don't have. This means I cant sell my house which I planned.

My house is on less than 1/2 an acre which I discovered a year after the house was built when putting the maps away for safe keeping. I noticed the boundary's seemed wrong on the map against the land I actually have. I have gone to the bank regarding it and they believed the solicitor that everything was compliant which in fact it's not. So I decided to get an independent engineer to carry out a report. The report shows that retentions are required on the position of the house, mapping issues, entrance and veluxs at the front of the house but stating that I required further land from the farmer to be compliant. I'm not in a position in buying further land to make my house compliant.

I placed another complaint with the engineers report again and this time round from the bank is offering to pay my new engineers and solicitor to do a deed of rectification. Does this mean that the land on the maps that's with the land registry is going to be carved to suit the land that I actually have which is less than have an acre which is required with my planning permission to have a 1/2 an acre. Will the local council allow this but if this is true, this action will devalue my house if I try to sell it??

If this is the case, I am seriously considering handing back my house to the bank and would it go against me if I'm in front of the Judge on the basis that:

1/ If the deed of rectification is carving the land on the maps to what I have which is less than half an acre will devalve my house.

2/ If my mortgage is 250k and the value of the house is 300k due to its location and size, my mortgage repayments would be the same based on the amount loaned of 250k with a house on 1/2 an acre but now (if the deed of rectification is shorting my land on the maps) will be on less. This is a change on the agreement based on the loan on a 1/2 an acre before building. Which means, I'm not going to accept paying a monthly mortgage for an agreement of 1/2 acre when its going to be nearly a quarter of a acre with devaluing my house. All this is occurred due to a engineer submitting my planning application in to some else s field to get me planning which I had no knowledge of.

Please only reply/steer me if you know what your saying.

Thanks a mill

The_Morrigan

You can't hand back a house to a bank and walk away, you still owe the debt associated with it, or any shortfall if they sold (which they can't as it's not compliant)...go to a solicitor about this and get legal advice.

shanks69

hi,

ok, Thanks for putting me straight on that but do you know what "deed of rectification" means please?

Thanks for replying

The_Morrigan

shanks69 wrote: »

hi,

ok, Thanks for putting me straight on that but do you know what "deed of rectification" means please?

Thanks for replying

It's a legal document to amend/rectify the property or land details. This really needs a qualified solr to get involved and legal advice is not permitted on Boards.

shanks69

hi morrigan,

so that means if I'm correct that the land on the maps will be changed to suit the land i have?

thanks again for your help and steer

The_Morrigan

shanks69 wrote: »

hi morrigan,

so that means if I'm correct that the land on the maps will be changed to suit the land i have?

thanks again for your help and steer

More than likely, but there may be additional costs like the purchase of land etc.
You really need to be asking these questions to the parties involved.

Victor

shanks69 wrote: »

The report shows that retentions are required on the position of the house, mapping issues, entrance and veluxs at the front of the house

Who built the house? For who? Who set out the boundaries?

but stating that I required further land from the farmer to be compliant.

Why do you need extra land? Is this a planning permission requirement?

shanks69

Hi Morrigan,

The planning permission is stating I should have a half an acre but I have less. So from what your saying, they will change the deeds from a half an acre to what I have (less than half an acre).

How serious is an enforcement from the council? and what can it do to me?

Regards

shanks69

Hi Morrigan,

The Engineer was shown what land I owned as he previously did my parents house beside me. he did the boundaries on both properties (parents and I). So he told me that I have enough land but from the engineers report it states i acquire further land. the land was given by my parents and he did the maps and designed house. It was a self build but the house is positioned wrong as it was suppose to be 18 metres from the road but it only 13, when I asked the engineer about putting velux at the front of the house, I was told its passed when it wasn't.

thanks

shanks69

sorry victor,

i thought that was Morrigan was asking but it was you.

thanks

Marcusm

As regards the land, presumably you and your parents can agree to rectify the land which they have transferred to you to ensure that you have adequate land for both your needs and to meet any planning conditions. If the house has been built in the wrong place (too close to road) or to the wrong specifications (velux windows on front), you'll need to get someone to explain to you whether these might be accepted (seeking the agreement of the council) or require fixing whether through removing the windows or demolishing the whole house. The first problem here is that you are mixing up some things which might easily be fixed by you/your family - the land which your parents have given to you - with ones which require external matters - the windows/building position.

Did you ahve an engineer/architect supervising the build? Who laid out the foundations? Who determined where threy should be laid? Who has issued certs of compliance? You need to get the right questions before you get answers.

mari2222

1. there was no wrongdoing by engineer or council in granting permission in respect of land not owned by you, but expected to be owned by you in due course.

2. If you declared to the council that you would own only quarter acre, they would not have given you permission to build.

3. The onus is on yourself to comply with the permission as it was received by you.

4. The deed of rectification is presumably to remedy the error in the present situation......but for goodness sake take specific legal advice

5. None of the above has any bearing on your borrowings from a bank, which you must repay. If the bank consider your security for the loan is worth less than you represented its worth you may be in bother with the bank. For example they may ask for additional new security for the loan.

Trish56

OP if you built a house by direct labour and got a mortgage then the bank would have required that the construction be supervised by a qualified Architect/Engineer who must have Professional Indemnity Insurance. A copy of the Professional Indemnity Insurance together with a copy of the planning permission would have been submitted to the bank with your loan application.

At each stage payment drawdown your supervising Engineer would have submitted an interim stage payment certificate confirming that construction to date is in substantial compliance with planning permission/building or bye law approval. When the property was completed he should have completed a certificate of compliance. This certificate should be with your deeds and your Solicitor should have a copy.

A sitemap should also be with your deeds showing the boundaries of the site and the property.

Your supervising Engineer is responsible if the property was not built in accordance with planning permission. Regarding the half acre site I'm sure that can easily be rectified as you would not get planning permission for less than 1/2 acre so I presume your parents will allow you change the boundaries.
If you have employed another Engineer I would recommend that he gives you in writing the problems/issues regarding the property and planning permission and you should then discuss with someone in your local planning office who will probably visit the site and make recommendations etc.

If it is serious and costly well then you will need to claim against the supervising Engineers professional Indemnity Insurance.