Pearl Wright
Legal
Selling your property? There are some documents you may need to find
The ideal seller will have all the paperwork they need in order to progress a sale but the reality is, not many of us are that organised that we hold on to paperwork.
With most documents now being held mostly electronically, it’s easy to forget the reports, guarantees and certificates you have collected for your property over the years you have lived there.
In order to avoid delays, we have listed some of the key documents you may need to locate if you are considering selling your property:
- Planning Permission and/or Building Regulation Certificates – you would have received these if you made any significant alterations to your property that required planning permission and/or building regulations.
- Building Regulation Certificate for installation of gas boiler – this would have been issued by a Gas Safe registered engineer.
- FENSA Certificates – if you had replaced any of the windows in your property, a FENSA certificate would have been issued to show that the windows comply with building regulations.
- Electrical Safety Certificate – if you had altered any of the wiring in your property, an electrical safety certificate would have been issued by a qualified and registered electrician following an electrical installation condition report on the property.
- Warranties – if you’re planning on leaving any appliances in the property, you may need to provide any warranties that you have for them.
- Notices – if you have received any written notices from the Council or other organisation about building or repair works that may affect the property, you should provide these to the buyer.
If you are purchasing a property and the seller is unable to provide evidence of planning or building regulation, you might be advised to take out an indemnity policy by your solicitor. For example, if you are buying a property and significant alterations were done to the property but the seller cannot provide evidence of planning permission approval, you could take out an indemnity policy and this would cover the risk of the local authority pursuing a claim because planning permission wasn’t obtained to complete those works. Consideration will also have to be given as to whether the time limit for enforcement has passed and whether the works have been completed correctly.
Janeet Jawanda, Trainee Solicitor, in our Residential Property team, said:
“It is important for sellers to be open and honest about the property they are selling and providing the necessary documentation is part of this. Being transparent about the property’s history and condition creates a relationship of trust between the buyer and the seller and this ultimately results in a smoother selling process.”