Owning your own home

If the layout doesn't match the plans on record, then solicitors and surveyors will ask questions and may want proof of compliance. Valuations for a mortgage are often £0 until this is sorted.

As a structural engineer I often get asked by people in a panic trying to buy/sell, to provide calcs or a report for walls or chimney breasts etc taken out previously without building control approval.

I had to get a report from a structural engineer before I did the work to certify that it was ok, provided that to the freeholder before I could proceed.

Ditto.

I speak from a vast pool of anecdata of buying a house.

Our (full fat, all the bells and whistles) survey brought up that plans were different, and there was no building control sign off.

The bank's separate (as full fat as they mandated, for which we paid an additional £1,000) survey may have brought up the same. It didn't affect anything.

I asked our solicitor if we should follow up with Building Control and Planning, and he asked why bother?

We paid £50 for insurance against being pinged for it.

YMMV, of course.

We viewed a flat (ex-local authority) which had something odd about the bathroom, I asked if the owner had removed a wall and the estate agent said something like "oh yeah they did, but dont worry the seller will cover the indemnity insurance if the council finds out when you buy"

lol no thanks

As a structural engineer I often get asked by people in a panic trying to buy/sell, to provide calcs or a report for walls or chimney breasts etc taken out previously without building control approval.

I think my parents had the right paperwork when they took out a chimney breast 30+ years ago but I've no idea where it is. I'd have thought the lack of falling down would be more helpful though. Different if it was recent.

As for £0 valuations; that would be ace for probate, more details please!