Buying a property with a deck that has no final CCC. Need feedback.

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CrashAndBurn

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#258634 14-Oct-2019 09:55

Hi GZ,

We are interested in a property but it has a deck and ramp that has a consent but did not have a final inspection to get CCC. Below is the actual wording based on the LIM report.

Consent approved but a final Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) for this consent has not been issued. To obtain a CCC an inspection to confirm compliance with the approved plans and standards may be sought.

The bank where we plan to get a mortgage advise that they will only facilitate the loan as long as the property is insurable in full with no exceptions. As the sale is by way of auction I cannot make it as a condition of the sale. However I am thinking of 2 options. First is to get a final inspection and ultimately CCC or get the whole deck taken out. Unfortunately both options can only be done once the loan is facilitated e.g. I already win the auction.

Any suggestions/recommendations on best way to go about this issue?

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#2336588 14-Oct-2019 10:06

Yes - estimate the cost of removing and rebuilding the deck, add 50% as a buffer and deduct from the maximum price you'd pay at auction if the deck had a CCC.

Then ask oneself why they didn't get a CCC when they'd already paid for the standard council inspections when they lodged their application and got consent approved, raising big alarm bells about what else could be wrong with the place. "Did not have final inspection" seems like a stretch of the truth IMO.

CrashAndBurn

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#2336602 14-Oct-2019 10:22

Fred99:

Yes - estimate the cost of removing and rebuilding the deck, add 50% as a buffer and deduct from the maximum price you'd pay at auction if the deck had a CCC.

Then ask oneself why they didn't get a CCC when they'd already paid for the standard council inspections when they lodged their application and got consent approved, raising big alarm bells about what else could be wrong with the place. "Did not have final inspection" seems like a stretch of the truth IMO.

The consent to build the deck was done by the previous owners back in 1994. The current owners apparently were not aware that it was unconsented when they bought it in 2004 and only found out about it when they got a LIM report in preparation to sell.

Quinny

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#2336604 14-Oct-2019 10:23

A friend brought one like this and rules had changed. He had to back excavate and took 3 years to get sign off. He was very very lucky that the old owners and him agreed to share costs as part of the purchase. I would budget full removal and replacement into my bid. Walk away if cant.

MrAmerica

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#2336616 14-Oct-2019 10:38

When was CCC introduced? Quick google looks like 2004.

I assume not, but is it retrospective before its introduction?

xpd

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#2336634 14-Oct-2019 10:52

You could try for a "safe and sanitary" report

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/building-and-consents/understanding-building-consents-process/complete-project/building-certificates-compliance/Pages/place-third-party-safe-sanitary-report-property-file.aspx

XPD / Gavin

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BlinkyBill

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#2336649 14-Oct-2019 11:08

It is completely permissible, and reasonable, to apply a condition to your bid, but you need to do this by way of a variation to the Agent’s documentation in advance of the auction. Once you have bid and won the auction, the applicable agreement terms would apply, so if you didn’t vary them then the agreement stands.

in this case I would consider adding a condition that all consented improvements are issued a code of compliance in advance of settlement.

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Bung

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#2336654 14-Oct-2019 11:18

Describe the deck.

How would you get on if the original build consent was never signed off but a similar deck today would not require a building consent. IIRC height above ground requirements have been relaxed.

xcon

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#2336753 14-Oct-2019 13:05

Bung: IIRC height above ground requirements have been relaxed.

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/building-and-consents/building-renovation-projects/build-deck/Pages/check-need-consent-build-deck.aspx

A safety barrier/balustrade is required as you have identified the height of the deck to be greater than 1 metre.

The minimum dimension of this safety barrier/balustrade is 1 metre. As a result, we have considered the total deck height (including the barrier/balustrade) to be 2.4 metres.

CrashAndBurn

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#2336756 14-Oct-2019 13:33

The deck is below 1.5m from the ground with a balustrade of about 2m in height. It is about 6 sqm in total hence I am setting aside around 10k to get it removed and replaced or try and get CCC and fix if it needs fixing.

Bung

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#2336824 14-Oct-2019 15:09

xcon:
Bung: IIRC height above ground requirements have been relaxed.

https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/building-and-consents/building-renovation-projects/build-deck/Pages/check-need-consent-build-deck.aspx

A safety barrier/balustrade is required as you have identified the height of the deck to be greater than 1 metre.

The minimum dimension of this safety barrier/balustrade is 1 metre. As a result, we have considered the total deck height (including the barrier/balustrade) to be 2.4 metres.

Is this an answer you got from ACC?

This seems nonsensical if you can build a deck or similar 900mm off the ground without having a consent or being compelled to have a barrier but should you decide it would be sensible to have a barrier they measure deck height from the top of the barrier instead of the decking.

mattwnz

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#2336849 14-Oct-2019 15:55

I wonder if it is because someone can climb onto the top of the barrier?

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Geektastic

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#2337040 14-Oct-2019 21:44

I'd avoid it like the plague personally.

Those compliance certificates can cause no end of trouble down the line; our local council

1) Claimed our entire house did not have one when we bought it

2) Changed their mind a few weeks later claiming 'the file was lost'

3) Told a prospective purchaser there was no CCC about 10 years later

4) Backtracked when I sent them a copy of the letter they wrote in (2) above

I would tell them I would be interested but only after they have obtained the appropriate documentation from the council. I would not want the hassle of dealing with the bureaucracy myself.

sqishy

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#2337041 14-Oct-2019 21:58

At the end of the day do you like this property or not? The deck sounds low enough not to be of issue and outside to the main house.

1,000's of houses around NZ are sold without compliance.

mattwnz

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#2337066 14-Oct-2019 23:19

Have you got some photos so we can see what you are talking about? You could also ask them at https://www.building.govt.nz

We tried to buy a house without CCC, and made the purchase conditional on them getting it. We ended up contacting the council to see what they needed to do. But they didn't get CCC and it ended up being a huge waste of time and stress. Auctions probably don't allow making the purchase conditional on the owner getting CCC?

CrashAndBurn

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#2337079 15-Oct-2019 05:45

Below are some photos. I used the consent checker and even though it is below 1.5m, it will require CCC as it is next to the dining area.

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