Survey finding
No building regulations certificate: what to do
Missing building regs are a routine but serious legal item. This page covers indemnity vs regularisation.
Last updated: .
Finding
No building regulations certificate
What this usually means
Many extensions, loft conversions, and structural alterations require building regulations sign-off. Where a completion certificate is missing, the homeowner is liable for any non-compliance discovered later. Indemnity insurance is the common workaround on minor cases.
Why it matters
Lenders almost always raise the issue. Indemnity policies are usually £100-£300 one-off but only protect against enforcement, not the underlying defect.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:What works appear to lack certification?
- Check:Is the build standard visibly compliant?
Ask the seller
- Check:Do you have building regulations completion certificates for all works?
- Check:Was indemnity insurance bought when missing?
Next steps
- •Get two written quotes from local trades before negotiating with the seller.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker before exchanging if the finding affects mortgageability.
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What you need to know
Severity
Significant. Specialist follow-up usually warranted before exchange.
Typical cost to fix
Indemnity insurance £100-£300. Regularisation application via local authority £200-£800 plus inspection. Remedial works to bring up to standard variable, often £1,000-£10,000+.
Mortgage impact
Most lenders accept indemnity for minor works; major works (loft conversions, two-storey extensions) often need regularisation.
Insurance impact
Standard if compliant or indemnified.
When to pull out
Pull out only if works are major (loft conversion, structural alteration) and regularisation is refused.
When to renegotiate, and by how much
Cost of indemnity or regularisation plus any remedial works; typical £200-£3,000.
Thinking of pulling out or renegotiating? What to do after a bad survey
Run the check on this address
The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
Run the check
Check the property before you offer
Free preview: flood risk, EPC rating, crime, tenure and air quality. The £9.99 report adds the remaining 17 checks, 22 in all, drawing on up to 15 public datasets.
Run a free previewRead next
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How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying: we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice: we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice: we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will correct it and change the update date.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.