House sold can’t find somewhere to live

[Stewpot]

2 hours ago, ProDave said:

If you go beyond 3 years you stump up £100 for building control to extend the building warrant for a time period that they seem free to decide.

 

It seems a curiously anti-self build regulation. I'm planning to do my own building with my own two hands - I'm a slow worker, an old geezer, and money will only become available over time. I'm reckoning at least 5 years building time, maybe 10. More fool me, but I didn't discover this strange Scottish peculiarity until after I'd bought my plot.

 

I spoke, briefly, to an architect about it - he seemed to think that the renewal is discretionary, and only for (I think) a year, but also thought that you should be granted one, possibly two renewals without difficulty. After that, he was of the opinion that things might get more difficult, especially if the building regs. have changed since the original warrant - you would then have to apply for a new one, complying with the new regs. Quite what happens if you have the shell completed, but the regs. change regarding the foundations, I don't know.

 

[ProDave]

As long as you keep renewing the building warrant you stay with meeting the regs that were in force when the warrant was issued.  I have extended 3 times without issue.  as I say they ask for an update where you are with the build and as long as they can see progress I don't think there should be an issue.

[newhome]

6 hours ago, saveasteading said:

I think this is sensible, to prevent people living in a caravan permanently. 

Buy the site, get planning permission, set up caravan....no more cost, but a permanent caravan would not have been permitted.

It seems that any believable or sensible reason is acceptable, but that there is a limit eventually, when they say 'last chance..6 months'.

My building warrant covered 2 houses and was dated 2005. A developer built one house and then sold the second plot to me in 2009. It took me until 2017 to complete my build but they accepted the reason and extended it (for a fee) every 9 months and later 6 months. When I had the completion certificate the building warrant still couldn’t get closed off as it turns out that the developer never got the house next door signed off so the owners who had lived there since 2008 had to make several changes to comply with building regs. The council never mentioned that to me in all the time I was extending the warrant even though it had been transferred into my name. My neighbours didn’t know either (their solicitor cocked up). Eventually they got the changes done and the house signed off sometime in 2018. 
 

It’s not in the LA’s interest to refuse renewal of a building warrant as you can’t just retrospectively conform to new regs and they risk houses never being signed off if they were to try to enforce new regs on a half or mostly built house. Most people don’t live in a caravan all that time however as most move into the house well in advance of sign off. It’s not lawful to do that in Scotland but most LAs turn a blind eye as long as they are getting council tax. 
 

 

 

[Kelvin]

Been an interesting and informative discussion. 
 

i don’t tend to get too stressed generally but have found this early stage of our self-build journey quite stressful so far and we’ve not finalised the land purchase although the contract is agreed. It’s the uncertainty of finding somewhere to live that’s driving that stress though. But it has made me realise I need to learn to manage the stress! 

[Ferdinand]

We have LOADS of threads about that ? .

 

One or two,  and there are more serious one's elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

[ProDave]

44 minutes ago, Kelvin said:

Been an interesting and informative discussion. 
 

i don’t tend to get too stressed generally but have found this early stage of our self-build journey quite stressful so far and we’ve not finalised the land purchase although the contract is agreed. It’s the uncertainty of finding somewhere to live that’s driving that stress though. But it has made me realise I need to learn to manage the stress! 

I would concur with that.  We have sworn we will not do another self build after this one, but that is not so much because of the actual building process, but the buying and in particular the selling process that is so awful.

[Kelvin]

Update...

 

As per a couple of other updates we've moved. Oddly enough it all ended up quite perfect in terms of a rental. I was lamenting to the seller of the plot that we couldn't find a suitable rental house and were at a loss on what to do. He said my uncle has a house coming up for rent and he'll take dogs. Long story short we are now in an old farmhouse 3 miles from the plot in the most beautiful location. Came with a garage too so we haven't need to self-store any of our stuff. Been here a couple of months and starting to de-stress a bit before the stress of self-building kicks in...