No structural warranty - cannot sell or remortgage?
Contracts are close, then the buyer's lender asks for a structural warranty that was never put in place. Or your own refinance has stalled on the same question. Retrospective cover may still be possible, and we will tell you quickly whether it is worth pursuing.
- Instant response
- An honest answer, early
- UK FCA Regulated Broker
- 10 and 12 year cover
- Part built and finished projects
Why lenders ask
Why a buyer's lender wants a structural warranty
Most mortgage lenders follow the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook, which generally expects a newly built or newly converted home to come with a warranty from a provider the lender accepts - or, in some cases, to have been monitored during the build by a professional consultant who issues a certificate. Each lender sets its own rules on which warranty providers it accepts, and those rules can change.
So when the buyer's conveyancer reports that there is no warranty, the lender may decline to lend and the sale stalls. The same question comes up when a developer refinances a completed scheme, or an owner remortgages a home that was built without cover.
It rarely comes up early. More often it appears when a buyer is lined up and a completion date is in sight.
Situations we see
When a missing warranty holds up a sale or refinance
The sale is agreed, the lender says no
Homes that cannot be sold because each buyer's lender wants a warranty. Every failed sale costs time and money, and the problem does not go away on its own.
Refinancing a finished scheme
A project signed off only with an architect's certificate, and the finance company refinancing it now wants a structural warranty before it will lend.
Over budget and needing new finance
A developer who has overspent and needs to refinance to finish or hold the homes - and the new lender makes a warranty a condition.
Built to let, now being sold
Homes kept and rented out without a warranty, which now need to be sold or refinanced on standard mortgage terms.
What to do
Giving the sale or remortgage the best chance
- Let your conveyancer know a warranty is being looked into, so nobody is caught out near exchange
- Gather the build records - the building control completion certificate, drawings, photographs and any site reports
- Find out which lenders are involved, so we can check whether a provider is likely to be acceptable to them
- Talk to us before relying on any quick fix, so you know what the lender is likely to accept
Retrospective cover takes longer than a standard registration because of the survey and evidence review, so it rarely fixes a sale in days. Starting now gives you the best chance of keeping the buyer.
Selling or remortgaging without a warranty - questions
Can I sell a new build home without a structural warranty?
You can sell it, but many buyers will struggle to get a mortgage on it, because most lenders expect a newly built or converted home to have a warranty from an acceptable provider or, in some cases, a professional consultant's certificate. Cash buyers are not bound by lender rules, although they may still ask about it.
My buyer's lender has refused - is the sale lost?
Not necessarily. If retrospective cover can be arranged with a provider the lender accepts, the sale may still go ahead, although it takes time. Tell us the lender and the timescale and we will say honestly whether it looks achievable.
Will any warranty satisfy the lender?
No. Each lender sets its own rules on which warranty providers it accepts. We check whether a provider is likely to be accepted by the lenders involved before you commit, because a warranty the lender will not accept does not solve the problem - but the lender makes the final decision.
How long does a retrospective warranty take?
Longer than a standard registration, because the provider has to review the evidence and usually survey the building. The more complete your records, the quicker it tends to move.
Sale or refinance on hold?
Tell us about the property, the lender involved and any deadline. We will tell you quickly whether retrospective cover looks possible and what it will take.
- Takes under a minute
- Instant reply by email with your reference
- We call you, usually the same working day, with an honest view of what is possible
- Part built and completed sites across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- Free and no obligation
Already filled in a proposal form? Email it to us or send it on WhatsApp with any drawings you have and we will take it from there.
