Missing paperwork
No Building Regulations certificate? Here's how to sell or mortgage.
A missing Building Regulations completion certificate is one of the most common reasons a sale or remortgage stalls. There are three ways to resolve it, and the right one depends entirely on what was built. Here's how to tell, in plain English.
Why it stops a transaction
When works that needed Building Regulations approval don't have a completion certificate on file, a buyer's solicitor will raise it as an enquiry and the lender will want it resolved before completion. The concern is twofold: that the work might not meet the regulations, and, for a new build, conversion or major alteration, that there's no recognised certification of the build standard at all.
Those are two different problems, and they have different answers. Reaching for the wrong one wastes time you may not have. Below are the three routes, and the situations each one actually fits.
Your three routes
We'll be honest about which one your situation needs, even when that isn't the certificate we issue.
Regularisation certificate
Best when the works were genuinely never signed off
Apply to the local authority Building Control for a regularisation certificate. A surveyor inspects the existing work (sometimes requiring openings-up) and, if it meets the regulations in force at the time, issues retrospective approval. It's the proper route to close out a missing Building Control sign-off, but it can be slow and the outcome isn't guaranteed.
Indemnity insurance
Best for an older, minor item nobody intends to disturb
A one-off policy that protects against the financial consequences of the local authority enforcing against the missing approval. It's quick and cheap, but it covers a risk, it does not inspect or certify that the work is actually sound, and many lenders will only accept it for older, low-risk items.
Retrospective Professional Consultants Certificate
Best for a whole new build, conversion or major works with no warranty
Where the issue is a newly built, converted or significantly altered dwelling with no structural warranty, a retrospective PCC is often what's needed. A RICS Chartered Building Surveyor inspects the property and certifies it has been built to a satisfactory standard, a six-year certificate. Acceptance of a retrospective PCC varies by lender, though, so we check yours before you commit.
Where Sign-Off Direct fits
We issue retrospective Professional Consultants Certificates. That makes us the right call when the property is a new build, a conversion or has had major structural works, and a lender wants certification of the build standard, particularly where there's no structural warranty in place.
A PCC doesn't replace a local authority's statutory Building Control sign-off, and we won't tell you it does. If what you actually need is a regularisation certificate for a specific unapproved item, we'll say so. But on the great majority of cases that reach us, whole homes built or converted without a warranty, a retrospective PCC is the right certification to pursue, subject to your lender accepting one (which we check first), and we can have it signed within about a week of inspection.
Missing Building Regulations, your questions
The questions we're asked most when a missing certificate is holding up a sale or mortgage.
I have no Building Regulations completion certificate, can I still sell or mortgage?
Usually yes, but you'll need to resolve it. Which route fits depends on what the works were. For a small alteration that was never signed off, a regularisation certificate or indemnity insurance is often enough. For a whole new build, a conversion or major structural works, especially where there's also no structural warranty, a retrospective Professional Consultants Certificate is often the right route, though acceptance varies by lender so we always check yours first. Tell us what was built and we'll tell you which route fits.
Is a Professional Consultants Certificate the same as a Building Regulations certificate?
No, they're different documents doing different jobs. A Building Regulations completion (or regularisation) certificate is issued by Building Control and confirms the works complied with the Building Regulations. A PCC is issued by a qualified construction professional and confirms, after inspection, that a new, converted or altered property has been built to a satisfactory standard, it's the document lenders accept in place of a structural warranty. On many projects you'll want both, and they don't conflict.
Can a retrospective PCC fix a missing Building Regulations certificate?
A PCC doesn't replace Building Control's statutory sign-off, and we'll never pretend it does. What it does is give a lender independent, insured certification that the property has been built to a satisfactory standard, which is frequently the underlying concern when a missing certificate stalls a transaction. Where a regularisation certificate is also needed, a PCC sits alongside it rather than instead of it. We'll be straight with you about what your situation actually needs.
How quickly can it be sorted?
A retrospective PCC takes around seven days from inspection to signed certificate, or three days on our priority service for an extra fee. Regularisation through the local authority is slower and outside our control, it depends on the council's workload and whether any opening-up is required. If you're against a transaction deadline, a PCC is usually the faster of the routes where it's the right fit.
Will indemnity insurance be enough on its own?
Sometimes, typically for an older, minor item that nobody intends to alter. But indemnity insurance only covers the enforcement risk; it doesn't confirm the work is sound, and it's invalidated if you approach the council. For a new build, conversion or major works, lenders increasingly want positive certification rather than an insurance policy, which is where a PCC comes in. See our comparison of a PCC against indemnity insurance.
What does it cost?
A retrospective Professional Consultants Certificate is a fixed £950 for a single dwelling (£600 per unit on developments of six or more). Regularisation and indemnity costs vary with the works and the provider. We'll give you a clear fixed fee for the PCC up front.
Explore the retrospective PCC guides
Retrospective PCC, the complete guide
What a retrospective Professional Consultants Certificate is, the process, what we inspect, lender acceptance and cost.
Selling your property
The buyer's lender wants certification on a self-build, conversion or extension.
Remortgaging or releasing equity
Switching lender or releasing equity after major works with no warranty on file.
PCC vs structural warranty
Cost, cover, validity and lender acceptance compared side by side.
PCC vs indemnity insurance
What each one actually covers, and why they're not interchangeable.
Tell us what was built, we'll tell you the route
Send us the address and a quick description of the works. We'll tell you honestly whether a retrospective PCC is the answer, and quote a fixed fee if it is.