Selling a Home Without Building Certifications: What You Need to Know

Building or making any alterations or renovations to a property requires permission from the authorities. Upon completion, they inspect the house, and if it has met the required regulations, they issue a certificate. Depending on the country where you are, the procedure of acquiring it might differ. While many people seek building approvals when building a new home and obtain the relevant documents on time, this is not always the case when renovating.
The problem is that buyers are eager to know whether all the modifications and repairs have the relevant certificates in line with the law. It is also an assurance that the house has met all the appropriate standards. If you do not have any of these, this is where the problem starts. The process for selling the home requires some preparation and work. Let us dive into this issue to understand it better.
Who Issues the Certificate of Completion, and What Is Inspected?
The local council in collaboration with the building regulation authorities issue the certificate after a home has been built or renovated. The main concern is for the following areas.

• Completion of walls, flooring, and roof – if you are expanding an existing house, these areas are affected. As such, there are minimum regulations to meet. Actually, it starts by notifying the building regulations department so that an officer can conduct an inspection.
• Installation of plumbing and electrical appliances – these are crucial parts of the house, and there are strict regulations when installing them. People often remodel their bathrooms and kitchens or change the electrical wiring in their homes. As such, they have to follow up with the relevant authorities to get the relevant certificates when the work has been completed.
• Installation of pipes – when installing new water pipes, LPG pipes, drainage pipes, and sewage pipes, a certificate of completion should be acquired as proof that all regulations have been met.

The Problem
As mentioned, it is not always the case that a homeowner will have met these requirements. Sometimes, it is the fault of the previous owner who renovated and never followed the right procedure. Or, it could be you. The failure to follow the set procedures could be intentional or unintentional as many people have claimed to not know anything about these protocols. In the absence of these documents, home buyers, whether individuals or agents, may think that you have done some poor work. Actually, this could be the case in some instances.
How to Sell a Home Without a Building Regulation Certificate

But if one is really interested in selling a home, there is a way to go about this according to Home Flippers experts. It is important to take the right steps. Let us look at the various options that you have.
Reverting the Home to Its Original State
If renovations and modifications were done already and there is no certificate, you could be required to reverse the mess. It does not necessarily mean that the work was poor, but it does not matter if there are no documents. When the buyer comes with an assessor, accountability for all construction work done is necessary.
Many people have resolved to return the house back to its original state or up to where the building certificates support. However, one must be careful to avoid damage especially if the renovations were done to improve the functionality of the house rather than aesthetics.
Get Retrospective Insurance
As a seller, you can apply for retrospectively rated insurance to cater to the loss a buyer will incur when retrospectively obtaining a building regulations certificate. In such a case, the buyer will have nothing to fear when they see valid insurance. As such, an official inspector will now come to assess the work that was done without the proper protocols and make a decision on whether or not the work should be repeated.
The norm is to repeat the work according to the set procedures, and this is where the retrospective insurance comes in. If the building work must be redone, additional inspections will take place. The typical inspection process should consist of three stages. There should be one before, another during the work process, and the final one when the work is complete. If the officer decides that there is no need to repeat the work, full approval is issued immediately.
Obtaining Indemnity Insurance
As a seller, you could agree with the potential buyer that you will get indemnity insurance. This commits you to take charge of the loss that might occur if the authorities dictate some actions. The possible actions include demolition of the parts of the house that were built illegally and reconstructing them.
Such an agreement could be long term because no one knows when such a loss will occur. Therefore, you need to identify an insurer who will provide a long-term policy. Frankly, many buyers do not wish to go this way. Others prefer to make things right immediately, and they insist on informing the authorities soon after you get the indemnity insurance so that they can know the solution.
Seek an Expert Opinion
As you can see, there are options for handling this type of situation when you want to sell your house without a building regulation certificate. But all the options have pros and cons. If you are not sure of the implication of the choice you want to make, it is prudent to seek the help of real estate professionals.
From their experience, they will tell you what is best for you and the buyer of your house. After all, everyone would like to have peace of mind after selling a house. On the other hand, buyers should be satisfied and happy about owning a new home also. Ensure that the professionals you choose are experienced in such matters.
Conclusion
Selling a home without building regulation certification is an uphill task, but it is possible. There is no reason to give up if you really want to sell the property. If you follow the above highlights, the process will be easy for you.