Guide
Renovating before you sell: the paperwork buyers will ask for
Before you sell, you need an EPC in place when the house is marketed, and paperwork for any notifiable work: Building Regulations completion certificates, competent person certificates for windows and electrics, and any planning permissions. Missing certificates can be fixed by regularisation, which may require changes, or covered by indemnity insurance for one sale.
Updated 2 min readBy the Solubius team
Buyers judge work on the day they view the house. Their solicitor judges it again later and asks for proof that the work was approved. The paperwork is usually what slows a sale down. This guide covers what to have ready in England, with links to the official sources.
An EPC before you market the house
According to Gov.uk, you must order an Energy Performance Certificate before you market your property. An EPC is valid for ten years, and you can be fined for not having one. If yours is old, or you have since added insulation, a new boiler or new windows, a fresh certificate may show a better rating.
Certificates for work done
A buyer's solicitor will usually ask about any work that needed approval. Keep these documents together:
- Building Regulations completion certificates for work that needed building control, such as a garage conversion, a removed load-bearing wall or a loft conversion.
- Competent person scheme certificates. Installers registered with a competent person scheme can certify their own work instead of using building control. For replacement windows and doors this includes schemes such as FENSA, CERTASS, Certsure and NAPIT; electricians and heating engineers have their own schemes.
- Planning permissions or a lawful development certificate for anything that needed them, with the approved drawings.
- Guarantees and warranties from installers, if any were given.
Gov.uk warns that without Building Regulations approval, you may not have the certificates you need when you sell, and that building control can make you pay to put faulty work right.
If something is missing
There are two common routes, according to LABC:
- Regularisation. You apply to the council's building control for retrospective approval. It can require parts of the work to be opened up or improved before a certificate is issued.
- Indemnity insurance. A policy for the buyer against enforcement action. LABC notes that it "may cover the issue for one sale, but it doesn't remove the problem".
Sorting it out before the house goes on the market is usually quicker than doing it with a buyer waiting.
What is worth doing before a sale
Most pre-sale work removes reasons for a buyer to hesitate: repairs that would show up on a survey, tired decoration, worn floors, and rooms that look unfinished. When the house is empty, it can all be done together and in the right order, so nothing is decorated twice.
For work that needs approval, such as a garage conversion, allow for the approval process in your timing, and keep every certificate as it is issued.
Sources
Common questions
Yes. In England you must have ordered an Energy Performance Certificate before the house is marketed. You can be fined if you do not have one. An EPC lasts ten years. If you have improved the house since the last one, with insulation, a new boiler or new windows, a new certificate may show a better rating for buyers.
A missing completion certificate can delay the sale because the buyer's solicitor will ask for it. You can apply to building control for regularisation, which is retrospective approval and may require changes to the work. The other option is indemnity insurance. LABC notes that insurance may cover one sale but does not remove the underlying problem.
It depends on the house, the market and what a buyer would otherwise see. Repairs that would show up on a survey, unfinished rooms and worn decoration give buyers reasons to hesitate or negotiate. We can tell you what is worth doing and what is not after seeing the property, but we do not give valuation advice.
Planning home improvements work?
Send the address, a few photographs and what needs to change. We will tell you what applies to your property.