We put our house in the UK up for sale in mid-December and accepted an offer in mid-January. In February the buyers' surveyor claimed that there were unspecified planning infringements. We badgered the buyers for weeks on end (without success) to ask them to clarify what these supposed infringements were. In the end we took matters into our own hands and requested all relevant documentation from the Council (both the Building Consent Department and the Planning Department, neither of which communicates with the other!).

When these searches arrived, they showed no registered infringements! Guessing that the surveyor had fabricated an erroneous objection, we calculated the approximate volumes added when the kitchen extension and loft extension were carried out in 2002 before we bought the house. I should point out that I used the floorplan drawn up by the estate agents for marketing purposes rather than anything as technical as a surveyor's plan or a tape measure. These calculations showed that the extensions were compliant. When we submitted these findings to the buyers the surveyor, a so-called professional, withdrew his objections!!

So we finally exchanged contracts today and expect to complete on 1st June. It only took 4 months! If only the UK were as litigious as the US...

Ooh, what a Grumpy Old Man rant that was!