Wednesday 11 January 2012

Building Regulations and moving home

Do I have supply evidence of Building Regulation Approval in respect of works carried out to my property when I look to sell my property?

If you have the approval then of course supply it – it will help to ensure your sale moves quickly.

If you have carried out works and approval was required and sought and you no longer have a certificate then call the issuing council and ask for a duplicate.

If you have carried out work, and the work required building regulation approval, but this was not sought then you need to consider with your solicitor when the work was carried out and what to do in response to your buyer’s request for sight of the approval.

The following may help.

Check that work carried out actually required building regulation approval as not all work attracts the requirement.

If the building work was carried out before November 1985 it would not require building regulation approval. There is no need therefore to supply it or offer indemnity insurance.

If work was carried out after November 1985 you can apply to the council for a regularisation certificate. A fee will be payable.  Remember however that once you apply the option of offering indemnity insurance for the defect will be removed.

Depending on when the work was carried out you may also be asked for a completion certificate.

The Building Regulations 2000 provide for the issue, by local authorities, of completion certificates where work has been carried out and completed under the building regulations, and the local authority are satisfied, after taking all reasonable steps, that the relevant requirements of the building regulations have been complied with.

If the work was carried out within the last two years (time limits vary but in the main proceedings must be brought within 2 years of the completion of the offending works) before the sale you will most certainly be asked for the approval, completion certificate or a regularisation certificate if these are not available.  This is because the time for taking enforcement action exists during this period.

However by reason of a decision in the case Cottingham v Attey Bower & Jones it seems an enforcing council may be able to enforce a breach outside this time limit. Due to this when selling solicitors for the buyers normally seek confirmation of compliance of building regulations since the property was built.

The problem is that most council offices don’t keep records of building regulations more than four or five years back. They will often conduct searches of their archived records for £150 or so but what if they don’t turn up an approval? The chance to get an indemnity policy for lack of building regulations has passed so your only option is to pay for the council to come out and inspect the works and issue a regularisation certificate.

Is it always necessary to offer indemnity or a regularisation certificate? 

It is most unlikely that a council will be concerned about a wall being knocked through some 20 years ago particularly given budgetary constraints.  It would only take action if it considered the works were dangerous.  The fact is if they were dangerous this would be revealed in the buyer’s survey.  So if not revealed as dangerous I question whether the risk of injunction proceedings is as high as some buyer’s solicitors would have us believe.

The use of indemnity policy by the seller to address this defect if you are the buyer is one which should be avoided as the policy offered will not provide protection if the work was carried out and structural alterations arise by reason of it.  For this reason a full survey should always be commissioned.
If commissioned and you are the buyer then providing all is well the need for chasing the seller for building regulation approval on works carried out in the deep past must be questionable.

A lack of building regulations indemnity policy could be useful in the case of recent works where a survey reveals no defects and the buyer is in a hurry.
Remember any window or door installation since the 1st April 2002 (contract for work was entered into after this date) requires a certificate issued by the Local Authority Building Control of FENSA.  

As for certain building work involving electrical work or electrical work to existing installations all such work requires Building Regulation Consent if carried out after 1st January 2005.

A Building Regulation Compliance Certificate is also required for the installation of central heating systems after 1st April 2005. Since the 1st April 2009 the scheme changed from CORGI to Gas Safety Register.

Before accepting advice to take our indemnity insurance please read this article by the same author : Overuse of Indemnity Insurance  


.Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Saturday 7 January 2012

Breast Implant Rupture



Around 40,000 women in the UK have had breast implants produced by Poly Implant Prostheses (PIP).  

The announcement from the French authorities calling for the implants to be removed has caused an international health scare.  The French authorities believe there is an increased chance of the implants rupturing and leading to complications.

On the 23rd December 2011 the French authorities advised all its citizens who have had PIP implant to have them removed and the French Government would pay for the full cost of the procedure. 

ABOUT PIP BREAST IMPLANTS

The supplier of the implant, Poly Implant Prostheses is based in the south of France, and had been using to secure financial saving, industrial grade silicone, normally used for filling mattresses and computer parts, instead of medical grade silicone. 

The cheap implants rupture rate runs at 5%, although it is estimated that this could rise to as high as 10%. This is much higher than other implant rupture figures.

The company went into administration in 2010 and the use of its products has since been banned.  

THE SITUATION IN THE UK

In the UK it was announced yesterday that those who have had the implants through the NHS would be permitted to return and to the NHS for removal.  The Government has called on private providers to do likewise.


HOW DO YOU KNOW IF THE IMPLANT HAS RUPTURED


Often you may notice deflation of the implant by a change in the shape or size of the breast. This can happen slowly over a few days, but can often happen very suddenly.

In many cases a rupture may not be noticed without the need of an MRI scan, as many silicone based implants will not leak in the same way as saline based implants, due mainly to the gel inside the implant.


WHAT SHOULD YOU DO?

If you have had these implants you should consult with your GP immediately.

HOW CAN OUR TEAM OF EXPERTS HELP?


The MJP Clinical Negligence Team has many years' experience of successfully winning harmful product claims.

Our expert advice has helped us our team to be mentioned in The Legal 500.

Our lawyers have successfully recovered compensation for victims of other pharmaceutical products and medical devices.

For a FREE private consultation call Sara Westwood on 01603877000 or email sarawestwood@m-j-p.co.uk

Wednesday 28 December 2011

New approach to the offer of mortgages


Changes put forward by the Financial Services Authority will introduce some of most significant changes to the mortgage market this country has seen in recent times.

The FSA new rules for banks  to follow on approving mortgages are designed to make sure customers are not able to borrow more than they can afford. They include a ban on self-certification mortgages, new rules for those seeking to remortgage, stricter rules on interest-only mortgages, improved affordability checks, and a change in the rules on how advice is given by mortgage brokers.

These changes have come about prevent another boom in mortgage lending and in house prices. This is what happened in the middle of the last decade and why some right wing commentators say we are now facing one of the worst financial disasters ever witnessed.

So how does the affordability test, as proposed, work?

A lender will consider how much you spend on essential household expenditure such as heating and council tax plus basic living costs and other debt commitments. If these changes are implemented a lender will no longer have to consider how much you spend on discretionary spending such as on leisure activities and holidays as it will expect a borrower to change spending habits if the borrower wishes to succeed with the loan application.

Lenders will also apply a “stress test” on your finances so as to assess your ability to afford your mortgage repayments if interest rates rise in the future.

What about interest only loans?

Borrowers will only receive an interest-only mortgage if it can be proved there is a robust strategy to repay the capital, such as from the sale of a second home or have an Isa (Individual Savings Account) or from regular bonuses.

Replacing existing mortgages will also prove difficult under these new rules though the FSA have introduced “transitional arrangements” to help existing creditworthy borrowers that might not be able to move home or refinance as a result. Lenders will be allowed to waive the new affordability rules for existing borrowers if the borrower has met repayments for at least the last 12 months and have not fallen into arrears. Existing borrowers who need to borrow more will however be subject to the new affordability rules.

These new rules are unlikely to change the current attitude of borrowers and in the short term are likely to keep property prices stagnant.  Whether this will assist first time buyers remains to be seen, though our view is that they will only serve to make it more difficult for those looking to get onto the property ladder and force more people into looking to the rental market.   These rules could very well begin to turn our property market into those markets commonly found on the continent where home ownership is not a priority and indeed a goal of those looking for a home.

The rules will create a more stable housing market but one which will be seeing a reduced number of transactions and one where only those who have financial stability and a track record of proving it will be able to become home owners.  Whether this is good for the country as a whole and will lead to a more stable and balanced society will remain to be seen.

As conveyancers, there will be fewer transactions around and as those borrowing will face higher lender fees and perhaps spend more money to prove their track record and credit worthiness, there may be a temptation to make economies elsewhere, and perhaps look to find the conveyancer advertising the lowest price.

At MJP we understand this, and this is why we offer a competitive price for our moving service, but with the commitment to ensure we also provide a personalised service and one in which we take pride.   We are able to offer a quality service at a discounted price because we operate a unique case management system and have quality checks built into every stage of our process.  All out clients can access the system and receive regular updates straight to their phones.

Each client is also assigned his or her very own case handler who will oversee the transaction throughout its course.


Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

"David Pett and his team have been excellent - regular updates and speedy responses to queries. Something that has been problematic with other solicitors in the past" 

Louise Stone - December 2011




Wednesday 21 December 2011

Merry Christmas


We would like to take the opportunity to wish all of the followers of our Blog a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year and to invite you all to take some time out to read our Christmas Newsletter which you can find HERE

All the best from the team at MJP Solicitors in Norwich - have a good one!

Thursday 8 December 2011

Letter to the Justice Secretary

Dear Mr Clarke,

I wanted to write to you and express my dismay at your comments in the press this week:-

What we have marching towards us is an army of lawyers advancing behind a line of women and children saying, of course, they're not concerned about the income of the profession, they're only concern is these vulnerable clients who would be adversely affected if they're not paid at the rate they currently are".

I was deeply offended by what you said.

I am one of your “lawyers advancing…………..” and am against your proposals for removal of legal aid for clinical negligence claimants and even more so against the idea of taking up to 25% of a Claimants damages for a success fee. I have never been in this game for money.  I have always carried out this job so that I can help accident victims. That is my first priority and always has been. I have a real passion for helping accident victims.

Only this morning I spent 2 hours with an 18 year old and her mother talking about her child abuse possible claim which will be “free time” for which I will recover nothing. This is not unusual  as it happens most weeks, providing free advice to potential clients. I help at the CAB too. Last week I was in the High Court with John Foy QC settling a £9m plus RTA claim for a young lady who was knocked down by a car in 1996. Liability was only resolved in the Court of Appeal and the Defendants only came up with an offer acceptable (approximately £500,000 more than their previous offer) 2 days before trial (we were listed for 7 days about which see below). This was one of the last legal aid cases for personal injury, possibly in the country I would imagine.  We needed to provide the Claimant with enough by way of income from her lump sum (and Periodical Payments Order) for her care regime for the rest of her life. How could I ever have taken away any of  her damages for a success fee? How could my practice (or indeed any other) run that case (with a legal bill of over £1m) now?


Whilst talking about this case you may be interested to know 2 other points of interest. Firstly the discount rate currently set at 2.5% is going to mean that it will be a real struggle to bring in sufficient funds to pay for all her outgoings let alone taking some of her damages for losses. If it were not for her loving parents putting their lives on hold to care for her then she would really struggle. All because of someone else’s negligence and you want to deny people like her access to justice, Justice Secretary!

Finally the same case had leading counsel for both sides (plus a junior) and 4 leading experts in their field yet the court would not provide a fixture for the hearing, notwithstanding a joint application from the parties to do so. Hence we had experts (and counsel/clients/witnesses) all waiting on the whim of a court listing, which had still not come through 2 days before. I would estimate that this will have cost at least an extra £20,000, payable by the Defendant, onto the costs which would not have been incurred if the experts could have been given a fixture and booked other work in when they knew they would not be required.

I am not alone in these sentiments.

On my wall is a commitment to accident victims which tells them I will put their interests first and I do, with pride.
I thought you should know that there are in fact a great many people with similar sentiments to me. I would hazard to guess the wider public, if properly informed would actually be horrified at your plans.

If you would like to respond or discuss matters with me then please feel free to.

Yours sincerely,
Simon Bransby F Inst L Ex

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Are Banks lending to the legal sector?

I have attended many conferences over the past month or so and have had to listen to one bank representative after another making claims of how wonderful they are when it comes to helping the legal profession.   Often presenting with a smile and twinkle in their eye I have had to sit and listen to how lending to the legal sector is up on the previous year and how they have extended overdrafts and provided loans for practices to develop.

Listening and drifting off to another world it is easy to get lost in the fluffy words and  believe how lucky we are to have banks who despite the deepening recession and meltdown in Europe, are still there to help when help is needed.

Unfortunately the reality bears no relationship to this fairyland rhetoric. Yes, banks are lending to the sector, and perhaps lending is up, but the fact is that a solicitor business is viewed no different from any other business, and unless you meet the credit criteria fixed by some faceless person stuck somewhere is a skyscraper in London, you will not be helped.  It’s as simple as that.

The truth is that banks will only lend when the exposure to bad debt is minimized with security and capital reserve requirements.  Ask yourself how many practices fit this criterion.  Moreover, the very reason for turning to the bank in the first place is that there is nothing in reserve and short term assistance is required. 

In fact banks look at solicitor practices differently, and in a way which  when compared with other businesses makes it even more difficult to satisfy the faceless men who make these decisions.  Most firms are profitable, but face cash flow problems. Apart from those who own the premises they occupy, there is normally no other assets of value in the business other than work in progress.  The problem is that banks when looking at the balance sheet refuse to attach any weight to it, even though the Inland Revenue is quick to value and tax it!  I am not sure why this is so when its no different to stock in a stock room.

So what can be done?  Very little I am afraid to say as the banks hold all of the cards and will clearly dictate the fate of many of those legal practices who are struggling to keep their heads above water.  All I can say is to forget loyalty and shop around.  Although most banks are the same, there are some that are worse than others.  The days of receiving a more favorable hearing if you have been with a bank for some time are long gone.  Loyalty is only a one way street for many of these banks.

Morgan Jones and Pett are solicitors who provide legal advice and services to clients based in England and Wales and who can be contacted on 01603877000 or via email at davidpett@m-j-p.co.uk

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