What happens if you don’t have a Licence of First Occupation?
Many buyers have been pressurised by developers into buying newly-built properties without LFOs, especially foreign buyers who don’t know they need one. If you are unlucky enough to have completed on a newly-built property without an LFO then you are probably living off the builder’s supply for water and electricity, with all the problems and hidden costs that entails. The builder’s supply can get cut off at any time, for example if the builder goes under, and the supply can be unreliable, even if it hasn’t been cut off. There are other risks and problems too. You may not be able to get a mortgage without an LFO, and you will find it a big problem when you come to sell, as many potential buyers won’t touch a property that has never been granted an LFO. So what do you do if you have completed on a property without an LFO? In short, apply for one yourself, and pay all the associated costs. If there are safety or planning reasons why an LFO has not been granted you (and your fellow owners
